Was wondering from the group, what is the average time from initial consultation to surgery? Please don't count insurance delays, just curious on a timeline.

Thanks

I finally made my initial consult appt. for Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Very nervous.

I finally made my initial consult appt. for Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Very nervous.

congrats! Good luck!

Was wondering from the group, what is the average time from initial consultation to surgery? Please don't count insurance delays, just curious on a timeline.

Thanks

I have Aetna and they required a 3 month supervised diet. Initial consultation was Feb 6th, along with my psych eval. Met monthly with nutritionist in Feb, March, Apr, and May. Was submitted to insurance for approval on 05/09 and I got approval on 05/14. I have an endoscopy scheduled for 06/04 and surgery scheduled for 07/31. Could have had it much earlier but with my benefits at work, it was better to wait till after 07/29. So 07/31 it is! Good luck!

I finally made my initial consult appt. for Wednesday, May 28, 2014. Very nervous.

So happy for you!!! I'm almost 2 weeks post op and I'm so glad I did it!! Your life is about to begin!

Thanks, very scared and excited at the same time.

I have Aetna and had 2 choices (i was eventually denied but jumped through hoops)

6 months of a supervised weight program

OR

3 months of:

meeting with a personal trainer monthly

meeting with a NUT monthly

meeting with my PCP monthly.

I chose the 2nd option but because I wasn't obese enough and didn't have enough co-morbidities I was denied. I self-paid and would do it again in a minute.

Very nervous.

@@Sbagdan

some/many/all of us have many different emotions prior to surgery

very normal

you might be scared, concerned, nervous, than elated, excited, happy, anxious, impatient et al

these feelings will periodically change - you'll have your ups and downs

but in the end - you will have your surgery, and most likely everything will go great

you MIGHT have some minor normal issues of gas/being extremely tired et al

but this too will pass

and hopefully things will continue to go better PO day after day

my insurance

condensed story - i was told Medicare would approve me

had surgery and 2 months late received a bill for 22,000.00!!!!

medicare didn't cover the sleeve (now it does)

after 3 months of "discussions" with my secondary insurance (Blue Cross) i was finally approved!!!!

good luck with pre-op

getting all your T's crossed and your I's dotted!!!

you are on your way to a healthier, happier, longer life with the sleeve (or whatever you are having done)

good luck

kathy

Edited May 24, 201412 yr by proudgrammy

I chose to go to Mexico and do self pay with Dr Aceves for many reasons. One of which is that I did not want to jump a whole bunch of hoops and deal with all that crap just to go to a doctor that may not have quite as much experience. I could have scheduled and gone and within a month. But I needed to work it around my work schedule so my first available date was fine with them, which is next Friday!

For me, my first informational meeting was February 7 and I was sleeved May 15.

I STILL don't know how long it's going to be for me, and the waiting is killing me.

I had my first mtg. on May 2. I have since collected all the documentation I need and visited all the docs I need except for psych (even had my endoscopy already). Psych eval is June 11. I start NUT counseling on May 28.

SO! With my insurance, I can't even submit until the end of August. Then they have to approve and schedule the date. Earliest possible for me, I'm guessing, is mid-Sept. That'd be a total timeline of 4.5 months from the first visit, and that's a best-case situation. I'm thinking it'll be more like mid-October. But I wish I knew for sure!

I hate all this waiting.

Congrats on making your first appointment! Hang out on this site a lot if you're nervous -- it helps!

I was extremely lucky! Only 6 weeks! My insurance only required a psych consult and a nutrition consult. Back in 2010 I had a 6 month wait period with nutrition consults and didn't make it through my full 6 months. Different insurance.

I have Highmark. They require six months monitoring prior to surgery (along with all the other tests. My original surgeon left the bariatric practice I was going through, so that six months turned into nine (I should have had the surgery in February...it was pushed back to May when we got another surgeon in). The clinic here had an information seminar. I set up my consultation and first weight visit that day, along with all of the other appointments I would need (bar the testing immediately prior to surgery, which was set up the day I received my surgery date)

Thanks, very scared and excited at the same time.

I think that's completely normal... I've been on this journey for about four months and it's been filled with highs and lows and lots of anxiety about ugh just about everything... I know it will be worth it in the end. Tuesday is my big day!

Wow, this forum is great... I can only say thank you to everyone. I will be living on this site for a long time as my journey begins....

Keep the stories coming, I am learning more every day.

thank you to everyone - learning more every day.

@@Sbagdan

from all the fellow sleevers et al

You are very welcome

always great to see a handsome newbie on site

i can tell you are a smart "cookie" by coming to the board

listening to all our "wise" advice

ask more questions

be sure to listen to everyone elses situations too

many problems/concerns that "they" have.............you might face sooner or later

you can also go to the "search" button in the right top corner and put in a word (ie stall)

but don't be afraid to ask any questions - we don't bite - wellll most of us don't

hope you go through all the insurance hoops successfully, sooner than later

good luck

kathy