First Consult
I'm curious how long it took any of you from the time you had your first consult with the surgeon to your surgery date. I have been following a medically supervised eating plan for 2 years and it is documented, but I'm not sure what all else other than the mental evaluation and pre-op things need done. I know every surgeon is different so there is no "one size fits all" plan, but any information would be greatly appreciated! =)
Blessings!
I had my first appointment in May and surgery in October, but my insurance required a six-month preparation period. People whose insurance covered them right away sometimes had to only wait two weeks. It depends on your insurance and on your surgeon's schedule and the hospital schedule.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
First time i wanted to look into having surgery done was about 6 years ago when i had medicaid. The hoops they wanted me to jump thru the qualify were pretty lengthy. I think i had to 12 months monitoring prior plus 4-6 visits with state appointed psych and some other stuff. This time my current insurance had way less requirements. Witch could have been a combination of my current condition. my last job i ended up gaining 110lbs in 2 years and was pushing a pretty hefty number. Along with back in June going in with Chest pain. My BMI was around 61-67 and i was approved for it fairly quick this time around. i was supposed to do 8 weeks of their planned out diet. and 2 weeks in i got a call saying everything was approved i was cleared to go as long as i made the required weight loss of 30 lbs before the finally class my surgery was moved up 3.5 weeks from originally planed.
TLDR I think the biggest determining factor on the length of time required will bee your insurance and what hoops they want you to jump thru along with your current health/body situation.
Sorry for the rambling i get that way when im tired.
Good luck with your adventure!
Komatos
I had to jump thru the ins hoops requirements, plus there were the tests the surgeon wanted to make sure I was healthy enough for surgery. So overall about 4- 6 months.
Even though you've been on a medically supervised eating plan for 2 years, you'll have to check with your ins on whether or not they'll accept the results. Plus if you're on the edge of bmi requirements, some go with your ending weight rather than your starting weight. If either one fell below the threshold they might turn you down, or start over.
Other ins policies might have it if you gained weight while on the plan, they'll turn you down. I don't want to dissuade you from the surgery, it's just some ins games they play sometimes to get out of paying for it.
No one surgery is better than the other, what works for one may not work for another.
T-Rebel
Hello! I am new here but it is taking me a total of 4 months. I had my consult in Sept 19. Oct 1st started my 1st nutrition class (I need 3 total). So I have only my Dec 3rd apt left. I completed a mental eval, cardiologist, EGD and PCP apt already. From what they told me I just have to complete the Dec 3rd and they will submit to my insurance company. Lastly I meet with the surgeon to get the final clearance next week. I have BCBS and I understand everyone is different.
I had researched WLS for years before mentioning it to my family Dr. I had a referral in for a program in a larger city but like many others in the U.S, there was a lengthy process of meetings, testing and other appointments. My health is declining due to my obesity and someone mentioned Mexico to me. I found a good surgeon there and after that decision was made it was only several weeks before I had my surgery. The health issue that led me to considering WLS is in remission. I did have complications but it wasn't due to the WLS but a medication in the U.S and how my body healed. WLS changed my life and that is the goal really, not just weight loss. Your mindset and how you see not only yourself but the world around you will change too. I will always be grateful to my WLS surgeon and after spending a lot of time in American hospitals I just have to say, the care was amazing.
that's awesome i glad it worked out for you! if i wouldn't have ended up in the hospital with chest/heart problems and maxed out my insurance. i dunno if i would have been able to get mine done. Then again a bunch of people that my mother works with in mining almost all of them are Hispanic decent no saying as a racial just saying they had a good lay of the land and better communication with Spanish speaking facilities they had theirs done in Mexico and probably 9/10 of them had no problems what so ever. and the price difference is astronomical! so that was a consideration in my mind as well. you hear so many horror stories about getting different care in other countries being American and sometimes its rough to dig thru the facts and the fear mongering.
