How long has it taken to get to surgery

[hallelujah.girl 1]

I was wondering how long the surgery process has been for some of you. From seminar to surgery. I have seen some really quick turn over times. example Went to seminar 1st of Feb, have a surgery date end of March.

Are those of you who are getting in quick self payers?

The reason I am asking is because I went to a seminar in Oct of 08. I was thinking surgery would maybe be in February at the latest.

I personally handed in all my medical records within days of the seminar. After that it was January before my 1st appointment.

Was approved by the Dr. who did my psych eval on Feb 2nd

(at this time they were supposed to submit to my insurance for approval) Called my insurance company on March 9 and paper work had not been submitted. Called the Dr. office to let them know, the girl pulled my file and my paper work had not been submitted yet. So she said she would take care of it that day. She called back on March 13th and said they received insurance approval and scheduled an appointment with the surgeon on April 13th. They said from there It expect it to be 4-6 weeks for my surgery. So it will probably be the end of May before I have surgery.

I have not had to jump through any hoops except for getting appointments scheduled. This process will have taken 7 months from start to finish.

I'd like to hear how this process has gone for others.

Thanks for sharing!

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

I didn't go to a group seminar. I made an appointment at the office for an evaluation because I knew what I wanted, knew that my insurance wouldn't cover it and had financing in place. My first office visit was 1/2/08. had to finish all my pre-op testing by january 26, final visit with surgeon on 1/27 and surgery on 2/10. My girlfriend went on the same day as me for the first visit but had insurance. She had surgery exactly 2 weeks after me (2/24). A lot depends on the surgeon's office/way of doing stuff/scheduling.

[sil 0]

I had to do a six months supervised dietian classes. i started in march 08. had surgery in january 09.i had to do all the pre op testing.part of my problem was not making my own appointments i was waiting on the doctors office to do it for me.no you have to follow up on your own make sure you call them an ask is their anymore tests you need. then i had to wait because of the holidays. but in all i had it on january 13th.with no complications thank goodness. in all its took me 10months.good luck on your new life journey.

[hallelujah.girl 1]

I had to go to a seminar even though I had been to others. It was a requirement. My surgeons office it it very clear we were not to call them to schedule appointments, but they would call us. They send us post cards telling us where we are on the journey.

I received a post card on Fed 9th saying paper work is being submitted to the insurance company. After not hearing anything for a month, I then called my insurance company. That is when I was told it had not been submitted yet. When it was finally submitted it only took 4 days. They called me saying they received approval but I am in the process of waiting to see my surgeion on April 13th another month of waiting just to see the surgeon.

I know every office will be different, just wanting to hear from others how it has gone for them.

Thank you for sharing!

[swishbc 0]

I have Kaiser and went to orientation 11/25. Met with surgeon 12/10, had psych eval 12/11 and then had to finish losing the 10%. Did that and had final case manager appt 2/23 and surgery was scheduled for 4/6...a week from TODAY!

For Kaiser, this was a pretty quick process. From orientation to surgery it will be about 4 1/2 months and they tell us to expect 6-18 months.

I'm excited!

[ParrotheadCathy 0]

You guys are just making me appreciate True Results even more. At my first visit I was assigned a "lap band advocate". I was given her cell phone number and was told to call anytime I had a problem or question during the process! And from their forum, I see that lots of people are in and have their surgery within a month's time or so (unless they have insurance that requires supervised weight loss, etc.). I did make all my appointments for pre-op testing myself, through my PCP, so that was all covered by my insurance but the TR office would have made referrals and appointments for me. But I figured all that was extra and I may as well pass it all through my insurance which would cover all of that even if it didn't cover the surgery.

[swishbc 0]

I haven't minded the wait time. I've lost 40 lbs since Dec 1st and had a great head start. I feel like I'm already on a great path as far as eating and exercise go and being banded 40lbs down already will be pretty motivating for me...plus it's less weight that I have to lose with the band which gives me better chances of losing all of my excess weight!

Don't get me wrong, I was bummed that I had to lose weight pre-op and that I couldn't have surgery ASAP, but now that it's almost here, the wait and the weight loss have totally been worth it.

[TSB 1]

Have just recently begun this Journey, myself.

• Met w/ the surgeon for the 1st time on 03/13/09
  
• Attended group nutrition class 03/20/09
  
• New patient orientation scheduled 04/01/09
  
• Will have blood work done on 04/10/09
  
• Upper GI, Upper right quad ultrasound, chest x-ray, EKG & individual nutrtionist appt. 04/20/09 (have that day off so scheduled as much as possible)
  
• Upper Endoscopy scheduled for 04/24/09
  
• sleep Study Consult 05/13/09
  
• Psych Eval. 05/26/09
  

I also have to shoot for a 10% weight loss and have been a non-smoker for 3 months. Will hit the 3 month mark in May. The folks at the surgeon's office said that if I don't quite make 10 % that would not neccessarily mean no surgery. I have not weighed myself since the 1st appt. I have been religiously keeping my food diary since 03/21 and on average am eating between 1200-1500 per day of a high Protein diet.

At any rate, the clinic coordinator told me that realistically I should not plan on surgery until late summer, early fall --IF the insurance approves it. But I am pretty motivated on the weight loss and seem to be moving right along w/ all the pre-op appointments. I think I will meet all of the surgeon's requirements w/ no sweat, but the insurance company maybe an issue. As of now, my only health issue is high cholesterol, which the insurance company does not perceive to be life threatening. Since my BMI is below 40 (barely), I have to have a life threatening issue. So, this sounds weird to wish for, but I hope the sleep eval. determines that I have sleep apnea! It would make insurance approval a breeze.

Edited March 30, 2009 by TSB
corrections

[alabubba 0]

My journey took over 2 years!

There were several issues that came up as well as some emergency surgery that delayed things and there were times I thought that it would ever happen. But thanks to my family and my spirituality I managed to keep my sights on my goal.

I used that time to work on some other things like quitting smoking.

I finally got my band on 3/9/09

Eye on the prize.

[phthaloblue 0]

I started my journey with an info seminar last August. It took 6 months from that point to get all my pre-op testing and clearances. I got insurance approval a few weeks ago, but I won't be banded until July. (My doctor has a big backlog of patients waiting for surgery, but it's okay with me since I'll be off work for the summer and can recover well)

So total it will be about 11 months. I'll be honest, it's been a long road, but I haven't been "weeded out" yet and I am determined to do this. That gives me confidence. Good luck in your own journey!

[hallelujah.girl 1]

Alabubba - congratulations on finally getting banded. You are doing great! I wish you much success!

Swishbc- my birthday is April 6th the same day as your band day. I'll be thinking of you. I don't have to do a pre-op diet, but I have been trying to lose weight. I am pretty much cutting out bread and potatoes for now. Trying to wean myself from them.

TSB - good luck with the insurance approval, and hope your sleep study goes the way you want it.

[adamsmom 4]

First approached my PCP on November 11th, 2008. Had surgery on January 13th, 2009 --about 2 months total.

[band75 0]

I have Carefirst-BCBS of Maryland and must attend 6 months of consecutive weight loss seminars. I wish that I could have the surgery today. I went to my 1st seminar in January 09. I met with the Dr. and dietician February 2009, my first of 6 appts. I hope to have surgery late July/early August 09. I had my sleep study and psych eval in mid-March 09. I have the GI tests in May and the cardiac eval early June 09.

Current 214-15

Goal 135

BMI 36.7

[1RockinMom 0]

Mine was really fast, thank god, first appt was Feb 6, and all the rest (psych, nutritionist) the following week and surgery March 11th. I had my seminar back in Nov, but put the surgery off till after my son came home from Iraq, i was a nervous wreck. :seeya:

Good Luck!!:thumbdown: