Thanks gals! I've wanted this surgery for so long but because of insurance reasons have had to wait. I know the U of I does the surgery as well, but I have heard so many good things about Dr Glas**** and I really liked the overall problem.  Plus.. with the U of I there's such a long wait list for even the consult appoint.  :-( I'm counting the days until my appointment.  :-D

Congratulations Stacy, for getting this far & for choosing to have your surgey done by Dr G. I believe that he is the best gastric bypass surgeon in the state but I suspect most of us believe that of our own individual surgeon. Dr G did mine so I'm partial. I'm afraid that I can't help you with an estimate of how long it takes. My surgery was over 3 years ago & things have changed so much in that time. It's all very individual, depending on what tests you need completed (having a sleep study done can hold things up because it often takes a while to get an opening) & how fast your insurance company is at approving. In the last newsletter, Dr G wrote that they were hiring someone to be a patient advocate & to help with getting the preauthorizations. That has always been the part that took so much time when their normal office staff did it as it was done in addition to their other duties. All the paperwork that they have to send out often got held up. This new person should really help speed things up. One thing I can tell you is that once you get everything done & preauthorized, they will schedule your surgery date & it is usually only 2-3 weeks off. Dr G requires 2 weeks of clear liquids before surgery so they can't set it up any sooner. Good luck & let us know how it turns out next week. Dixie

I wanted to post an update. I called Dr. Eibes office on Monday and was politely reminded I still need to attend the support group. I will be there Saturday! She said I can then call and schedule my next appointment on Monday AM and they should be able to get me in next week. Yeah! I forgot to ask her how far out the surgeries are right now and I keep forgetting to call. :( I will be sure to call tomorrow! Thanks everyone!

Thank you for sharing your story and your experience. Everything helps. I think I am going to stick with the Mercy program just because I already paid a lot of money and I have my surgeon visit today. Which is like the final step before the submit to insurance.

Hi Sheena, I started out looking at Mercy b/c I also work for a branch of Mercy up here in Mason City, North Iowa. I am a nurse so I wanted to stay "in the system" if you will. Well I got started with Susan the nurse of the program and wow all I have to say is she treated me like a number not an individual patient. Now I am not one to rant on things, I let A LOT of things slide b/c I just don't have the backbone to stand up for myself, but thi**** home for me pretty bad b/c I am a nurse myself and in my career I have NEVER made a patient feel the way she made me feel. She was very rushed, worried about getting to lunch. Didn't like that I was asking if we could do some of the preop testing AFTER I got my approval b/c I didn't want to have to pay all these out of pocked costs and copays if I didn't even know if my insurance was going to approve the surgery or not. I thought that was a very rational and logical question. She took one look at me and asked "You really aren't ready to do this are you?" My husband had the surgery himself (not there) 4 years prior and I had been research myself for 2 years. Well I think I just sat there stunned. My husband (who is much more backbonish than me) got up stood up to her and said "don't worry we aren't gonna "burdern" you any longer, because I know damned well YOU are who we will be dealing with until she has her surgery and I have already had enough with my 20 minutes I have had with you, we have had enough" He told me to get my purse/jacket and that we were leaving. So after all that drama we ended up finding Dr. Glas**** in Cedar Falls, IA. I have been more than pleased with the care I have received there. I have had no complications from surgery and they always return my calls promptly. I love them. Their aftercare program is very strict which I also love. His PA Angie, is great also. I never had a problem with them. So I guess it is individualized for everyone on who they choose. Just make sure you don't "put up" with anyone's meaness as a healthcare professional. They need to show you the upmost respect you deserve. If the volume of patients is that high (which at my doc it is too and he never nor his staff showed me that attitude!) and cannot handle it, then they either need to scale down or take a look at how they are treating people. I think a lot of people expect to be treated that way in the health care profession but I just can't allow that to happen to me when I am a nurse myself, it doesn't make any sense to me. Sorry my review isn't as positive as some of the others, but I wanted to share my experience. Dr. Glas**** is at a center of excellence as well if you were to look at him. Good luck with your choice and let us know if there is anything you need information wise to help you along. Hugs!