I am going to have my surgery done at the Mayo Clinic although it is 5 hours from home and there are other places in the state closer to home I decided I wanted it done at the best hospital in the country. It is a super long process, according to the paperwork I was given at my first appointment. It says I have to complete a 12 week behavioral modification program, which is perfectly fine with me. I want to be assured I can do this as well. But, once that is done and I meet with the surgeon they then get insurance approval, which they say can take 4 - 8 weeks. I can't really imagine that, but then they say once they have the approval the surgery won't be scheduled for another 2 - 4 months. Has anyone gone through this at the Mayo and had it really take this long? I was hoping for early February as I get super busy at work in April then. I want to be recovered by then and want to have a great summer being able to get outside and be and feel energized and active.

I didn't have my surgery at Mayo but both my surgeon and the hospital are Centers of Excellence and the timeline was pretty much as you have described. Specifically, my first meeting with my surgeon was on May 10, 2011 and the surgery was Oct 20, 2011. I don't think there is one person on this forum that can't relate to your desire to get it done and get on with your life. But there are a lot of players - insurance company, testing, surgeon's schedule, hospital OR schedule - the list goes on and on. Try to be patient and stay positive - you're gonna love the new you!!

I'm also traveling to Mayo Clinic in Rochester to have Dr. Todd Kellogg perform my Roux-en-Y. I was told 4-8 weeks for a insurance approval, but it was approved in 3 days, now I'm just waiting to have a surgery date scheduled. Hopefully, that when I return on 1/23 for a barium swallow image (yuck) they will pick a date.

Fingers crossed!!