I am going to be self pay but I am waiting until I have a bill paid off (it will be paid off in May). If I want to have surgery in June, what month should I go see the doctor that does the surgery? I have not called them about it yet. I'm thinking make the appointment at the first month of May. I have read some that were self pay waited about a month after their doctor visit for their surgery. Also how much do you think it would cost for the doctor consultation?

You should start now. There are many tests to go thru and then you can surly get the date you want. Do not wait till last minute. You also have a lot of research to do. Doctors, sleeve, other options. Do not take this lightly, it is a huge change in your life so read, read,study. You must be sure of which doctor is best, his outcomes, his experience with the sleeve. It took me going to 4 different doctors seminars to finally choose the best one for me. This alone took 3months. It was march of 2012 and I was finally sleeved on nov 28.

it was 6+months testing and i up waiting year because the nature of my business...all testing took longer than i thought it would

My dr required 6 monthly visits with their nut. So even if I wanted to do surgery before 6 months, they wouldn't do it.

I'd contact your doctor's office now. They often schedule several months in advance.

I had my surgery less than 6 weeks after my initial meeting but part of that was because I was able to get into all of my presurgery appointments very quickly, which is unusual. I was trying to get my surgery before a certain date, and my doctor's office was very accommodating to that.

Even if you see them now, they will work with you to schedule the time that works best for you.

It took me 5 weeks from first visit till surgery. I self paid and was lucky to get all preop apts done quick

I am going to be self pay but I am waiting until I have a bill paid off (it will be paid off in May). If I want to have surgery in June' date=' what month should I go see the doctor that does the surgery? I have not called them about it yet. I'm thinking make the appointment at the first month of May. I have read some that were self pay waited about a month after their doctor visit for their surgery. Also how much do you think it would cost for the doctor consultation?[/quote']

You need to talk to them now. My doctor is part of a nearly full service group who has a specific process they follow. They set up the nut, psych and exercise sessions and then walk you through the additional required testing. My insurance required 5 years of weight documentation, which i luckily could provide from my pcp, and she also cleared me for going forward where some want you to do 3-6 months with them before they clear you. So you see, you cannot guess what you will be required to do and plan your date. Find out what the doctor requires and find out what insurance requires..if you are going that route. As far as consultation, again..they are all different. Mine had a seminar then i made the appointment to talk to the patient support person and the PA to determine next steps. I spent nothing for that.

Thanks. I will call them this week. I just worry how much a visit will cost. I'm going to be self pay and the funds will not be available until the end of May.

The initial informational meeting was free for me. There are other appointments you will need. I had to meet with a nutritionist (cost $175), get surgery clearance from my regular doctor as well as letter from my doctor, have a sleep study, psychiatric evaluation and an endoscopy. Some of this was covered by my insurance, and some was required by my insurance. Other things (like the clearance for surgery) was necessary regardless of insurance requirements. The endoscopy and sleep study were also things I had to do to prove I was cleared for surgery as well as some blood work. These weren't required by my insurance, so they weren't something someone who is self-paying could avoid.

For a while, it felt like a full-time job to get in all of my appointments and clearances before I had surgery. I had insurance, and my insurance did not require pre-approval.

For now, you might need to have an initial doctor's appointment with your surgeon to discuss what types of prerequisites you will need to get done. Do you have any insurance? It should cover these pre-op appointments even if the insurance doesn't cover bariatric surgery.

Good luck! There are most of these things that everyone is has to do for insurance approval. There may be some that you do not have to do since you will be self pay. My doctor required an EGD with a biopsy. He wanted to make sure I did not have a hernia or H-pylori. This surgery can be quite expensive and most doctors require payment up front. There are more costs than just the surgeon. There will also be an anesthesiologist that will need to be paid. The facility will also require payment. Sorry these are just a few things that I could think of. There may be more. My primary insurance pays 25 thousand life time max and my 2nd insurance pays 10 thousand life time max. My doctor's office said that it will most likely max out my insurance. Just to give you an idea of the cost.