What to expect.....

Hello All,

This is my first post on OH.  I am in the process of getting approved for my surgery and I was wondering how long it usually takes from the time you have your initial consultation ( mine was on 1/8/2016) to the time you have surgery.  I'm just trying to get a feel for when my surgery might be.  I know my insurance doesn't have any crazy pre-op programs I need to go through other then meeting the a psychiatrist.  I meet all other criteria pretty easily.  Any insight would be appreciated.  Thank you in advance.   

Congratulations on starting the journey and welcome to the boards! I was a cash patient so for me it was a matter of doing the testing and once all the testing was approved by the surgeon, i was scheduled 4 weeks later for my surgery. I can't give you much insight on the insurance part though.

each insurance company is so different, as is each surgeon. my surgeon set my surgery date at our first visit which was in sept. we also set up every month's visit then -  oct nov dec and my pre op two weeks before the surgery which was on Jan 6. i had quite a few requirements before surgery though. and i didn't get my approval until about a week or two before surgery, they didn't wait to do all the stuff, we just kept going. 

Welcome to the forum.  I hope you find it as informative and supportive as I have. 

I had 3.5 months from initial consultation until I had my surgery, and that included a 90 day pre-surgery diet required by my insurance.  3 months was pretty typical of my hospital's program.  You should ask your surgeon what the typical timing is there.

I used my time pre-op to lose 50 pounds, and get in the habit of eating as I would post- surgery.  It was very helpful to do this, and I think you will be glad if you use the time before surgery to get the weight loss started.

best wishes,

Carol

If you had an initial consult call and ask to recommend a psychiatrist.  Also ask how soon you can be scheduled.  I have seen people wait a year and people who had surgery a week after their initial consult.  Each program, surgeon, and insurance company is different.

It is really impossible to say. Your surgeon will almost certainly want things like an exam and clearance from your PCP, a cardiology checkup, meetings or classes with nutritionists, maybe even a sleep study. Then there is the surgeon's schedule, the hospital, OR, and anesthesiology to consider. As White Dove said, I've seen it take a few weeks, or a year.

The first time I was going to have the surgery, two years ago,  I started the procedure in June and was scheduled for the end of September. Another medical issue popped up in the pre-testing and my surgery was cancelled. The issue was found to be resolved in May of this year and I went back to meet with the surgeon in June, this time my surgery was for Oct. 12.

Like you i am in the process of getting approval.  My first appointment was November 18 2015. I them got my blood work done and scheduled an appointment with a cardiologist for thr cardio clearence. I met with the psychiatrist(Dec 31st), nutritionist(Dec 29th) and surgeon(Dec 31st) all the week between christmas and new years. Ater the meeting with the surgeon i was scheduled for my Endoscopy(jan 29th)  The surgeon also wanted me to see a pulmonologist. I saw them and they wanted me to do a sleep study. I was afraid this would push my surgery back even further(i was hoping for a March surgery date) since i have to do the sleep study February 5th and go back to pulmonologist on February 26 for results. I was told by my surgeons offce that they would submit to insurance on February 1 as long as there were no problems found on the Endoscopy.  On Febuary 1 I cn then schedule a tenative surgery date and as long as all my clearances are done before that date i can have the surgery. Sorry that was a lot but i wanted uou to see my time frame even though my insurance company does not have a lot of requirements my surgeon does. 

Alana