what do you guys think about the process from start to finish ...from first request to finally getting to have the surgery??

i've had people tell me they had everything approved within two weeks ,to some people telling me it takes 3 to 6 months to MAYBE be approved.

I have just requested for the surgery from my PCP and she set me up with the nutritionist and said I would have to meet with the psychiatrist as well and it may be 3 to 6 months to actually be approved

I started this process in May and was sleeved in October and that was everything going pretty well and I did not have to do the diet. So it could take as long as a year but hopefully sooner then later

One day I asked my primary physician if he thought I might be a good candidate for a lap band. He gave me a referal to the Bariatric Clinic at Loyola University Medical Center. I called as soon as I got home and the nice lady told me to go to their website, watch the 30 minute presentation, take the quiz, and then call her back for an appointment if I still wanted surgery.

The next afternoon I called her and made an appointment for a couple of weeks away. One thing I wanted to ask her about was this "sleeve" surgery - as I had never heard of it. When I got to my appointment they set me up with the bariatrician, psychologist, and nutritionist who started me on a three month supervised diet required by my insurance.

Fast forward through those three months during which I had blood tests and the other imaging and tests required. As soon as my packet was submitted to the insurance I was approved two days later. At that point I was scheduled for sleeve surgery three weeks later, which during the last two weeks was my liquid diet. The whole process took from Mid August to late December.

@@taweedeegirl Your process length is going to depend on your insurance company. I started mine middle of July and was sleeved beginning of November....roughly 3 months w/o any issues. If you have issues it can drag out.

I had my first appointment in April and was sleeved in September. I missed a month of appointments due to family obligations and I missed my first surgery date because I got sick the day I was supposed to have my sleep study. I didn't have to do a pre-op diet. So I could have been sleeved in August. I don't know exactly when my doctor submitted the request but I'm pretty sure it was after my 3 mandatory appointments with the baritric team and the psychologist.

Edited November 21, 201411 yr by Blerdgirl

I started going to monthly meetings June 2013, my program only requires 3 monthly meetings along with all the paperwork and various tests. I dragged my feet. Do I want to do this, do I not? Fast forward to March 2014, I went to 6 meetings in a row, got my psych eval and all paperwork done handed that all in in august, got approved by the surgeon team, then got my appts for my upper gi and gall bladder ultrasound, nutritionist appoinent, nurse team visit and finally surgeon meet on November 13 2014.

Got a call Monday with my date - January 19th 2015. So almost two years from my first thinking about it to getting it done. In reality, a year from psych eval (first appt I had to make on my own to accompany my paperwork) to surgery

what insurance did you guys use?

I have Keystone 65

I started this process in early October and I will be done with all my requirements on 5 Dec. I'm PRAYING for a surgery date in January! My case worker says my insurance is good for approvals in 2 weeks max but legally they have to say 6. I'll have a 4 week liquid diet prior to surgery. The biggest issue for me will be the $350 I have to pay out of pocket. Though it's not a huge amount, I'm unemployed so it may as well be $3,000 lol.

Edited November 21, 201411 yr by laurenella82

I started this process in early October and I will be done with all my requirements on 5 Dec. I'm PRAYING for a surgery date in January! My case worker says my insurance is good for approvals in 2 weeks max but legally they have to say 6. I'll have a 4 week liquid diet prior to surgery. The biggest issue for me will be the $350 I have to pay out of pocket. Though it's not a huge amount, I'm unemployed so it may as well be $3,000 lol.

what insurance do u have?

I started this process in early October and I will be done with all my requirements on 5 Dec. I'm PRAYING for a surgery date in January! My case worker says my insurance is good for approvals in 2 weeks max but legally they have to say 6. I'll have a 4 week liquid diet prior to surgery. The biggest issue for me will be the $350 I have to pay out of pocket. Though it's not a huge amount, I'm unemployed so it may as well be $3,000 lol.

I'm on a fixed income. Mine was $400. Ask about installment payments. Oh wait, forgot I had to pay $200 for nutrition class not covered by insurance.

Edited November 21, 201411 yr by Blerdgirl

I'm on a fixed income. Mine was $400. Ask about installment payments. Oh wait, forgot I had to pay $200 for nutrition class not covered by insurance.

Yup. Same thing. Mine is $350. Smh. I will figure something out. My mom might pay it. She's surprisingly EXTREMELY supportive! But she did always say that there would come a time where I'd be sick and tired of being sick and tired and she would support whatever I choose to do to fix it (mainly so she could buy me clothes....I'm okay with that!!) lol

I have BC of Texas. I was approved in 1 month. Surgery is 12/10/14.

I have harvad pilgrim.

My process was very long (11 months) because of unforseen health issues. I didn't complain because it truly gave me time to come to terms with this surgery and what it meant for me. I needed that time to really prepare. The usual time frame for approval with my insurance company is 3 months. My biggest surprise during my journey was the discovery of so many health issues! I learned I had asthma, sleep apnea, relatively high blood pressure and I was pre diabetic throughout my process. Shocking.

I will have surgery this coming Wednesday, Dec 17th 2014. My first appointment with the surgeon was Dec 15th 2013. So it will be 13 months almost exactly for me. My insurance company requires a 12-month education program before you can qualify. It begins with the first visit with the surgeon if they recommend you for surgery. Even my surgeon was surprised at how long my insurance makes you wait. I have Anthem BCBS for the Commonwealth of Virginia.

When starting the process, the 12-month wait completely had me deflated. It felt like 12 months would be FOREVER to wait. But here I am and it's been 13 months. So... I guess it's a pain while you're going through it but will ultimately be worth it.

Out of pocket costs will be a 300 dollar deductible, plus many co-pays at the surgeon's office, and their required nutrition/exercise specialist/behavior specialist visits and pre and post-op diet, and post-op vitamins, which is not covered by insurance. This is very pricey. I think my first visit was 250 back in February, then I paid 300 for the pre/post-op diet (Bariatric Advantage brand), 86 for post-op vitamins, and then a few hundred more (I feel terrible, I just paid this about a week ago. I should remember the amount!) for some post-surgical education. (Not sure why this is not covered!) In total I THINK that's like 1496 out of pocket not including the later follow-up visits post-surgery. So... a LOT! However, I was smart and set my flex-spending account to my max out of pocket for the year, and used a Care Credit card for my out of pocket expenses not billed to insurance (the supplements, etc.) If I hadn't done both things, I would never be able to afford the out of pocket costs. Thankfully my insurance pays everything else.

Edited December 13, 201411 yr by heynowkc