Pre op process

Hey all, I am very new to this and am seriously considering having WLS. I am leaning towards the VSG, but need to talk to a surgeon yet. I am just curious how long your pre op process was? From what i've read, it can take quite awhile?
Thanks much!

It depends on your insurance and your surgeon and the bariatric program you go to.
I have Medicare and basically all they need is a BMI of over 40 or 35 with comorbidities.  They will pay if it is medically necessary.  No other hoops to jump through.  The bariatric program I went to had no requirements at that time (2002).  I did have to have some normal pre op testing but nothing like a sleep study or 6 month diet program.
You can call your insurance and see what they require and who they want you to see.  If you have a choice you can call all the programs and ask them to send you information on their program, or you can look it up on the internet.

Welcome!  I guess I had gotten a bit of a jump start on all the tests but it took about 3 months. I made all my decisions in May, had them confirmed at the surgeon's info session in Jun, finished all the pre-op stuff in July and had surgery on the 9th of Aug, 2007. I didn't have to do a 6 or 3 month diet first like some insurance companies make you do.

--gina

Great! Thanks! I'll start with my insurance company and go from there...

Insurance is a good place to start because they sometimes require a Center of Excellance and you may need to stick to one of those.  My local group wasn't then, now are, so I ended up having to go about 1.5hrs away.  My insurance didn't require a 6 month diet but my group required 12 support meetings and you couldn't do but occasionally 2-3 a month that counted.  So the process can be slowed down in lots of ways.  Even without the 6 month diet, my process was about 5 months, from information session to surgery.  But it gave me time to get lots of research done and learn a lot.

I had to do sleep studies (2), upper endoscopy, pulmonologist, and cardiologist visit (2), psych evaluation, and multiple nutrionist visits.  During that process, I lost too much weight on the pre-op diet, so I was a self-pay patient.  At least my insurance paid for all the pre-op stuff - it amounted to about the same amount as the surgery.

I recommend you find a good bariatric center that does multiple types of surgeries.  Based on my co-morbidities, RNY was the best surgery for me - VSG or DS would have created problems.  For other people, VSG or DS would be better than an RNY.  An experienced surgeon worked with me to talk about risks and benefits as they applied to me, and I hope you can find a similar doc.

Insurance required 3 month supervised diet, upper endoscopy, sleep study, lung tests, psychologist, cardiologist, pulmonologist, exercise physiologist, 3 meetings with nutritionist, and 4 group support sessions. Whew. It took about 6 months to jump through all the hoops, still, I learned a lot and it's helped me make maximal use of this tool (VSG) and I think will help me be successful in the long run.

My bariatric group is a Center of Excellence and my insurance required a 6 month program, then testing, then scheduling surgery... congrats on your decision to take a look into this! It's the best thing I could have done for myself!

Meg

My insurance required 6 months of a supervised weight loss program, along with 6 months of support group meetings or counseling.  You had to use a center of excellence.
I have State Health Insurance with the State of Georgia and as of January 1, 2012 they will no longer be covering Weight Loss Surgery.  They only covered it for 2 years.

I would check with my insurance first to see what is required.  Try to get them to send it to you in writing.

Good luck.
Linda

Medically speaking, I was rather healthy. I showed at my surgeon's seminar July 9, 2010, followed by an appt with him. I had several tests in the next few weeks, a sleep study in August and September, moew testing and a psych eval, and landed in the bariatric OR on October 25 of the same year (So that makes 3 1/2 months for me).

Thank goodness I had sleep apnea. It was my only co-morbidity that could be documented. Oh, and our stats are very similar! I am so happy I had this surgery and am quickly entering my one year surgiversary...  Good luck in your journey.