Does everyone have to wait six months before surgery?

[Phatmonkey85 0]

Why do you have to wait??

[Lovinglife0423 8]

I had to wait over a year with my insurance. I had to prove I had tried to lose weight on my own, then I had to take 24 week long classes, and then finally when those were over it was another 2 months before I could meet with the surgeon. I am glad I had the classes and can refer back to my material. I am 2 weeks out and cannot believe I am on a new journey. It seemed time has flown by.

[Christian Zaccone 243]

all depends om insurance and the program your on.. mine was a 3 month wait.

They want to make sure your ready and you need to lose weight and shrink that fatty liver.

Chris

[FitnFabfor2014 358]

I had to wait six months. My insurance company wanted me to have monthly weigh ins and make sure I was committed to this life changing surgery. At first I was discouraged about the wait time, but when it was said and done it worked out for me. The main thing going through my mind was "what if I go through all this and they deny me". My doctors office reassured me everything would be fine (as far as approvals), and it was.

[Kindle 8,667]

Self pay = no wait

[Bob2013 326]

The main reason the insurance does the 6 month doctor monitored weight loss is to see if you are committed. and to weed out people who are not willing to put in any effort ahead of time. I just got done reading an article that mentioned it.

[mentalistfan 189]

It makes me mad because my insurance isn't requiring it, my Dr. is

[Cupcake 801]

My program and insurance required a 6 month weight management programs, lab work, EKG, exercise class, 2 four hour meetings with the surgeon, pre surgery class, support meetings, as well as they offer continued assistance 1 year after your surgery it has been 8 months so far and I can't have surgery until may 5/14 because of the long surgery weight with the surgeon , but it is a center of excellence and I must admit you learn a great deal as well as get a big binder to refer to . .

[lockkill 47]

I've been working on this since October !! So yep we did sorry!!! But on the bright side you have a

Chance to think about everything and I had to loose weight and exercise and write down everything I ate.. And it reaffirmed that it can't do it alone and I do need this !!

[macman 603]

I had a six month wait required by insurance. Although long, the good news is it gave me a chance to get ready physically and mentally. Losing 40 pounds in the process was a bonus head start!

[awold0 246]

Why do you have to wait??

I had no wait. Also no weight loss prior either. I am blue cross blue shield Texas.

[one_more_time 145]

There was no wait for me... I went in for my consult on a Thursday and was approved that following Tuesday morning. Super fast approval. Basically, all my doctor had to do was confirm my BMI was high enough and I was morbidly obese. I have Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield Texas as well.

Edited March 24, 2014 by one_more_time

[NMJG 1,266]

Every practice is different and insurance vs. self pay makes it different, too. I was insured and it took 4 months from first info meeting to surgery date. Mostly it took time because I had so many different tests to do, psych eval, doctor visit, etc. then the doctor's office submitted to the insurance company. Insurance took 3 weeks to approve then we scheduled the surgery based on the doctor's schedule.

Maybe you are thinking of a mandatory 6 months pre-diet. Lots of people with insurance have those, luckily I did not,

[Sarahjane79 397]

I have bcbs of MI and I went in for my consult on 12/26, (and that scheduled surgery and my EGD that day) and surgery was less than 2 month later on 2/19.

[pinksjo1 137]

I had BCBS of IL, no waiting.