Question:
How long to get to the surgery?

what should I expect? I know that I will have to get approved and see a dietician what else? how long does it usually take?    — chemo_mom (posted on July 25, 2009)

July 24, 2009
Hi Tia, I found that there are two things that will dictate when you will have your surgery- what your insurance company needs and what your surgeon requires. For instance, my insurance only required a BMI above 35 with a comorbidity or a BMI of 40 or greater to approve the surgery; however my surgeon required that I meet with a nutritionist, a psychologist, attend supports group meetings, have a sleep test, blood work, see a heart specialist, have a lung test and an upper GI series as well as a letter from my PCP. That being said once I got my "to do" list I got to work. My consult with my surgeon was in May and I am scheduled for surgery on August 12... I would start with my insurance company and then expect that your surgeon will have a list of things for you to do. If you do smoke or drink, your surgeon is going to require that you stop- in fact my surgeon tests everyone's blood just to make sure. I hope that helps.
   — kaylazoe

July 26, 2009
I really depends mainly on your insurance requirement. Some require a 6 month dr monitored weight loss program. I think 6 months is pretty much the norm required my ins companies. There are some that don't require anything, and some that require more. Mine for instance required 6 months of a dr monitored weight loss program, 6 months dr monitored exercise program and 6 months dr monitored on a weight loss drug. It also specified they could not all be at once had to over the course of 18 months. Then it also said i had to prove i had been monitored by a dr for weight issues for at least 3 years. i freaked out, 3 years is a long time to wait for insurance approval. However, my surgeons office submitted for approval at 1 month post visit and got approval due to medical necessity and i didn't have to do anything stated on my wls rider. So again, just depends on your insurance. I would call them and request a copy of their wls rider, once you have that give it to your surgeons office so they can review it. After i got surgery approval (i'm a DS gal here) my surgery was scheduled for a little over 2 months out. All together my first appt with my surgeon was june 4th, and my surgery is scheduled for september 23rd. hope this helps.
   — [Deactivated Member]

July 26, 2009
Along with what the other posts have stated(they're pretty accurate in what they're saying, most surgeons require you to lose some weight. When I first checked out wls about 5 years ago, the surgeon wanted everybody to lose at least 30 pounds. I decided against him(not because of the 30 lbs.) because he wasn't the best man for the job. The surgeon that I'm going with wants people to lose only 10 lbs.
   — Kathleen W.