hi,

i have my first apt on aug 9th. i was wondering how long it takes to get the sugery. the nurse said they are pretty fast there. How long do the tests ect take?

thanks so much

Took me about 3 months. Good luck.

why does it take so long what do they have to do?

The amount of time it takes will depend on your insurance policy and company. It will also depend on your medical history, and how much of your previous attempts at weight loss are already documented by a doctor. Your insurance company may require more tests, or less tests.

You'll get a range of responses, because of that.

It took 4-5 weeks from the start of asking about it, to having the surgery, in my case.

Good luck!

Cindy

Submitted my paperwork in December, I think. Had my consultation in January, and surgery in March. The time between December & January was getting the insurance taken care of, and waiting for an open consultation time. The time between January and March was all the pre-op testing and waiting for an open surgery date. My surgeon was booked out about 6 weeks, if I remember correctly.

It's really not "that long" when you think about it. For me it was just about right. Plenty of time to make sure I was comitted (to the surgery), get things prepared, get my last minute questions answered, etc.

LeenaBeena....My consultation was on May 1 2006, and my surgery was June 5, 2006. I was self pay so it went really fast.

I started the process in late January and had surgery on May 1. The main reason it took so long for me is because I had to wait for my appointments. My doctor's office gave me the wrong time for my nutritionist appointment and the woman was booked solid so I had to wait over a month to see her. Then I had to arrange to see my doctor for surgical clearance and that was tricky because my doctor was booked weeks in advance and because that appointment could be no more than a week before surgery and they wouldn't even schedule my surgery until I'd seen the nutritionist, there was a lot of waiting going on. Ironically, the insurance approval was the fastest part of the process. It only took two days!

The receptionist said that my doctor moves pretty quickly. I have been to my regualr doctor to lose weight. should i get that documentation and bring it with me. I also have tried my own diets, and LA weightloss. I even tried mesotherapy for a month. I'm gonna really stalk everyone so i get the first available appointments i can. Thanks for all ur replies.

Lena

It took me about a month too but I was also self pay in Mexico and it's much faster but expensive.

It took me 8 months. I started the pre-op tests in november and was banded july 17th. i had to see a pulmonary doctor, a psychiatrist, a cardiologist. Had to have breathing tests done. Ekg's, echocardiograms(I have a heart condition anyways) sleep apnea test,. 2 nutrition consultations, bloodwork,and then wait for my insurance approval. I was approved at the end of june, but my surgeons soonest date for me was july17th. The appointments are what took so long because some of them couldn't get me in until a month or so,but it was worth waiting for, and it did go by pretty fast for me.

I had my consulation with the clinic on May 5, met with the surgeon on June 16, and had surgery on July 24.

I was amazed at how quickly I got all my appointments in during that time. I had a CT scan, EGD, psych eval met with the nutritionist, physical therapist and lost 15 or so pounds in that time. May and June were busy months for me.

I went to my first orientation February 8th and had surgery July 5th...it went fast, I thought.