Ok so I've made my decision...

Ok so I’ve made my decision…I’m having surgery!!! My Fiancée is all on board and is very happy that I’ve found an alternative to RNY, and to him Lap-Band was never an option.  I’ve already called and signed up for next weekend’s informational session at weight wise in Edmond. And I have also called and made an appointment with my PCP for Monday. She already knows this is something that I’ve been thinking about for awhile and is on board with the idea. Since I live in Tulsa and I’m going to have my surgery done in Edmond I’m going to try and have as much of my testing as I can done through my PCP (also that way my insurance will pay for my test, since they will not cover my surgery). Does anyone know what test I can have my done through my PCP, and what test need to be done through weight wise? Also can anyone give me a time line of how long it took them to get all their testing done and surgery scheduled? I’m so excited!

Weight Wise is awesome! How fast you go through depends on how quick you can lose the required amount of weight.  They require you to lose 5% of your body weight from your first weigh in at your first appt.  Some have to lose 10% (I did).  A friend of mine at work just went through the entire process in less than 2 months.

CONGRATULATIONS! You will not regret your decision! My consult was May 8th and I had my surgery on July 7th. I had my pre-ops done by WeightWise and my insurance did pay even though they did not cover the surgery, but all insurance is different. I was also close so not as big a deal either.

Congrats on making your decision.  You won't regret it.  You won't really know what tests you need to do until your first consult.  But once they give you your list, you can have them done at your PCP.  

My time to surgery was about 6 or 7 weeks, but my Aunt who had surgery on Wednesday, waited 19 days from her first consult to her surgery.  Of course, she did have to lose 10 pounds, but she was diligent and made it by surgery day.  Good luck with your journey. 

Congrats on the decision. It was the best one I ever made.

Congratulations on your awesome decision.  I love, love, love my sleeve!  Sorry I never posted on your other post but I picked VSG because I worried aobut the malabsorption part of RNY.  (family history where most have to take anti-inflammatories which you can't take anymore with RNY)  I have not had even one second of regret!

You'll have to have bloodwork, EKG and a sleep study.  My insurance also paid even though WeightWise did the testing.  But I think your question is more that you are in Tulsa instead of Edmond.  WeightWise will schedule all of your appointments on the same day that they can..

Anyway, welcome aboard and keep posting early and often!

Kim

I STARTED APRIL 19,2008 WITH THE INFO SESSION AND HAD SURGERY JUNE 23, 2008. THAT WASN'T TOO LONG BUT IT SURE SEEMED LIKE FOREVER WHILE WAITING.I HAD MY BLOOD TEST DONE HERE IN MCALESTER AT MY LOCAL HOSPITAL AND ENDED UP HAVING SOME KIND OF STOMACH VIRUS THAT THEY WANTED ME TO HAVE ANTIBIOTICS FOR AND MY DR GOT ME THOSE. THE OTHER TESTS I JUST DID AT WEIGHT WISE. GOOD LUCK AND CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING THE BEST DECISION YOU COULD EVER MAKE FOR YOURSELF!

It just depends on your starting weight.  If you BMI is over 40, they want you to loose 10% before surgery, however you will see the nut and exercise to help you do this.  I live 3 hours from Edmond and every time I have an appt, I ask them to schedule everything in the same day and they are very accommodating.  If you schedule on Thursdays, you can stay late and attend the support meetings.

As for testing, I had all pre-op testing done from my local hospital.  Even the sleep study.  WW gave me the lab slips and I just took them to the hospital lab and they did the tests.  My insurance has paid for them all, but you could take your lab slip from WW to your PCP and have them order the tests for you on their own lab slips.

I have my sleep study done at an in-network lab, so it only cost me $50.  If it's found that you do have sleep apnea, you will have to use the CPAP for a least 2 weeks before surgery.

It took me from Sept 29, 2008 to March 11, 2009 to get surgery, but that was because I had to fight myself and the diet I was supposed to be following, but I finally lost enough weight and got my surgery and I'm so happy I did!

I am having surgery 2 months from my first consultation, I had all my testing done in one day b/c I live so far, and my insurance paid for almost all of my preop even though I am having to self pay for my surgery.  The staff is awesome to work with and they have tried very hard to schedule all of my stuff at the same time so I don't have to make repeated trips.  Your preop testing is differnt for everyone based on age, symptoms, preexsisting health conditions, and family history.  I am 35 have no health problems myself but have a strong family cardiac history.  So I had to have the all the lab, an EKG, seminar, support group, dietcian consult, exercise physilogist consult, and psch testing with consult along with a stress test.  The stress test was an extra but eveybody has to do the other stuff and like I said the clinic scheduled all of these for me on the same day.  It was a long day but I got it done.