Time.. How long from the time you thought about surgery till the day you actually had surgery ?

how long before surgery

I attended an informational seminar at my surgeon's office in August, and had surgery in the middle of December.

Insurance requirements tend to have a serious impact on everyone's timeline. I was required to do a three-month supervised diet, which stretched the process out. Some people may have longer diet requirements (or none at all), which can affect things. The surgeon's availability can vary too; my office was able to book my surgery within two weeks of insurance approval, busier offices may have a longer wait.

When I met with my surgeon and said I need to have surgery ASAP or I will change my mind he said his program was not for me. I was in tears....he said it would be 6 months to a year. His take was we need to work on our head issues before surgery. While I was not happy it was the best 6 months I invested in myself and why I feel I have been successful. So for me 6 months.....

Keep us posted on how you are doing and what if anything we can do to help

3 years. I went to an information session, got freaked out and said "I can do this on my own" , did it on my own and lost 50lbs , gained it back, went to another information session and then 6 months after supervised diet and exercise had my surgery.

• The same thing happened to me but i was a smoker .i was scared of losing too much weight. But because i didnt lose the weight they wanted me to lose after 6 months the nutritionist told me no ...i cried so much but this time im determined..

Ha! That's almost my same exact situation/timeline. I went to one session, did the same. Gained it back. Went to two more. By then my insurance had changed and I had to go through 6 months wait. I am still annoyed at myself that I didn't commit earlier.

On January 22nd, 2016 my orthopedic suggested I look into it. I called my PCP the next week and asked for referrals. I did some research on the options she gave me, and booked an appointment with Dr. Weiner on February 9th to discuss my options. I had my RNY on March 23rd.

It was all very fast. I had no supervised diet requirement due to my BMI being over 50. I quickly had my psych visit, PCP clearance and endoscopy and I was scheduled for surgery.

I first started considering surgery after my father died in 2009. I still believed I could do it on my own. I started seeing a nutritionist and working on my weight.

In the years from 2009 to 2012, I gained more weight. My diabetes was out of control -- I was taking insulin 3 times a day plus Metformin -- had a dream of my father that made me check out surgery again seriously. Did the online seminar in November of 2012 and had my first appointment in January 2013.

Did the the pre-op testing, classes, counseling -- was accepted into the endo program -- and did the 9 months of certified visits required by my insurance.

Had my surgery on New Year's Eve 2013 ... so almost 12 months exactly.

Insurance companies have requirements, and surgeons have their own. If you are self pay and have a willing surgeon, you could have it done next Thursday. But that is neither likely or desirable.

You'll have insurance hoops to jump through, preop nutrition classes, medical clearances from cardiologists, etc etc, psych evals, bloodwork, PCP clearance, and so on.. All that takes time. And you really, really want to get your head in the right place.

My insurance was easy, so from first surgeon appointment to surgery could have been just about three months. I took an extra three to get myself ready. But I see many people waiting over a year.

Let's see. I talked about WLS with my PCP in September 2013. I met with the surgeon on December 2, 2013. First endoscopy was Jan 2014 and I would have had surgery in February 2014, but it was rescheduled for March due to an ulcer found in the endoscopy. So about 6 months.