I'm thinking about getting surgery and have my first appointment in Feb. I was wondering what your timeline from first visit to actual surgery. If there was a delay or anything like that also let me know too. Thanks so much!! :-)

The wait usually depends on the insurance requirements you have to meet. In my instance, I went to my first seminar Oct. 29, got an appointment to see the surgery Nov. 6, decided on the sleeve and was approved on Nov. 10, as long as all my tests came back ok. I chose to be sleeved on Dec. 29th, as it gave me enough time to get all my testing done before the date I selected to be operated. Today my Dr. turned in my clearance forms and I'm officially good to go for the 29th!!!!

Yes, one thing you'll find quickly is that every question will have a million different answers because every doctor, every visit, every test, every everything is slightly different for all of us. But for what it's worth, I had my first surgeon visit in the last week of July, packed in all my tests (which had a couple of bumps along the way), submitted to insurance the first week of September, was approved by the third week of September (another bump there), and had my RNY on October 23.

Met my surgeon for the first time 10-15-14 (set surgery date of 12-18). Saw NUT, psych, and had FIT test all on 11-18. Submitted everything to insurance on 11-26. Insurance final approval 12-8. Pre-op 12-10. Surgery next Thurs 12-18.

My insurance required 6 months of visits to the Dr and the dietician. I had to keep food logs the whole time. I also had 2 visits with psychologist to be cleared for surgery. First visit was last July, then they submitted my paper work after my December 2 visit. I was approved on Dec 8th and given a surgery date of 12/29/2014.

My First visit was August 11th and My actual surgery date was November 3rd. The best thing you can do to prevent delays is know your insurance Requirements (if you plan on having insurance cover cost) hear it from the insurance Companies mouth exactly what you have to do. Call customer service and have your pen and paper ready to Write. Most surgeons offices work with various insurance company's so it's not hard for them to get things mixed up. I have a wonderful surgeon but I caught a few mistakes along the way that saved me both time and money. (Like scheduling to many dietitian appointment that I didn't need ect...) it's just best to know YOUR specific plan so you know what to expect. Good luck!

My first visit with the bariatric doctor was January 28. I wasn't required to go to classes, see a nutritionist, or lose weight. The hardest requirement for me was getting my teeth fixed. There was a question in my application packet concerning the current state of my teeth. I was honest and admitted that I had a few broken in the back that were never fixed due the cost of getting them fixed. Well, the bqriatric doctor decided that I needed a clean bill of dental health before being considered for surgery. It took me 11 dentist visits, some complicated oral surgery, and a cost of over $1800 to get it done. Supposedly, a dental infection can spread down to your newly cut stomach.

My last bariatric visit was the third week of September and I was cleared for surgery October 7. The wait seemed to take forever and there were times I thought I would lose my mind.

Insurance requirement was 89 days and 3 nutritional visits.

Doctor required EGD and psych clearance

met surgeon in February and was ready April.

GI doc insisted on a colonoscopy due to family history he found during egd.

As others have stated know your insurance requirements directly from them. My surgeons insurance coordinator kept messing up the filing.

I was sleeved 6/24

I went to the pre-program seminar on June 26th, had my first apt with the Surgeon and my first of 3 NUT appts on the 7th of July. Worked on getting all the other requirements (cardiac clearance, psych, PCP signoff, upper GI) so that by the time I had my last NUT on 08 October I was ready to submit for insurance. I was approved on first try. Could have had surgery in November, but chose to delay until 03 December because the holidays is a down time at work.

So apt to surgery was 5 months.

It really depends on your insurance company requirements which you can find out now by calling them. This will also get the clock rolling for you if they do have a 6 month or whatever timeline.

I started the process last December 26th and had surgery on September 29th. There were no delays. Just a 6 month doctor or nutritionist managed weight management. A visit with psychology. I had to choose a certified bariatric center of excellence. Then the bariatric clinic has their requirements, as well which were pretty straight forward.

All of this to get you ready to live this new lifestyle of eating healthier, good meal behavior, understanding how exercise plays a role. It was very educational and I am glad they took their time because I feel like I have been given all the tools for my toolbox and now it is up to me to be successful.

Good luck on your journey and feel free to reach out with any questions!

My journey started in Jan 2014 with a referral from my general surgeon (who was going to take care of my ventral hernia) to the bariatric doctor. Went to a seminar late Jan 2014. Found out I had to do a doc supervised 6 month diet. Started seeing my regular doc monthly in Feb 2014.

I also had to see the NUT, do a psych eval and a swallow test (can't remember the name, it was the less evasive of the two).

Then in May 2014 I got a letter from my insurance saying that they weren't going to be in contract with the hospital my surgeon worked out of. I was told they were in negotiations but wasn't guaranteed they would get it figured out. Then at the very beginning of August 2014 the contract was settled and I continued on with my psych eval it was the only thing left to do. I had continued to see my general doc for my 6 month diet just in case. I was able to get an apt for middle of September for my psych evaluation. Turned everything in and was approved in less than two weeks.

My surgery was scheduled for Nov 3rd. Had everything set, time off of work, hubby off work, mom flying in and then the surgeons office called and my date was switched to Oct 27th. We were able to get everything relined up Thank God.

And here I am almost 7 weeks post op (on this coming Monday 12/15). Time sure has flown!!

I started the process in November 2014 and am scheduled for sugery on December 29th. My insurance does cover the procedure but the requirements were crazy and my part would be $5,000. I completed (2) sleep studies to confirm sleep apnea, endoscopy, stress test, EKG, blood work, met with dietician and now I'm ready. During the summer, I was diagnosed with gallstones. My surgeon will complete the gastric sleeve, repair hiatial hernia and remove my gallbladder all at once. My total cost was less than $3,000 for the whole procedure. My doctor was able to bill the insurance for most of the procedure due to my gallbladder. He is magic! He did the same for my husband who had the surgery a year ago and is down 125 lbs. I'm on Day 3 of my pre-op diet and feel great.

Edited December 17, 201411 yr by mns112182

I agree with the above statements it depends on your insurance and the program your in, I was required to have 6 months supervised doctors visit as well as psy visit,exercise class, multiple of test from start to finish it took me 10 months good luck it's so worth the wait.

My journey started in Jan 2014 with a referral from my general surgeon (who was going to take care of my ventral hernia) to the bariatric doctor. Went to a seminar late Jan 2014. Found out I had to do a doc supervised 6 month diet. Started seeing my regular doc monthly in Feb 2014.
I also had to see the NUT, do a psych eval and a swallow test (can't remember the name, it was the less evasive of the two).
Then in May 2014 I got a letter from my insurance saying that they weren't going to be in contract with the hospital my surgeon worked out of. [emoji20] I was told they were in negotiations but wasn't guaranteed they would get it figured out. Then at the very beginning of August 2014 the contract was settled and I continued on with my psych eval it was the only thing left to do. I had continued to see my general doc for my 6 month diet just in case. I was able to get an apt for middle of September for my psych evaluation. Turned everything in and was approved in less than two weeks.
My surgery was scheduled for Nov 3rd. Had everything set, time off of work, hubby off work, mom flying in and then the surgeons office called and my date was switched to Oct 27th. We were able to get everything relined up Thank God.
And here I am almost 7 weeks post op (on this coming Monday 12/15). Time sure has flown!!

Did you have your ventral hernia repaired at the same time as your bariatric surgery? How was recovery?

I went to my pcp on 12/13 and got the referral to see a bariatric surgeon. She was against it due to my low BMI, but my orthopedic surgeon was all about it due to my osteoarthritis (knee replacement at 36 years old already, it’s really bad). Anyhow, went to the bariatric surgeon and had to wait 3 months to submit to insurance due to pre-op diet requirements.

I finished my 3 months on 3/13 and was approved by Cigna by 3/15. I am scheduled on 4/16 for VSG.


Age: 37
Height: 5’6
BMI: 37
VSG scheduled for 4/16/18
GW: 160
MFP: Fit4LifeAR

Congratulations TexasMommy on you date upcoming. Just about 3 weeks to the Day of Days and after renovation you're on the Road to Recovery, better health and fitness. Shore enough you'll do just fine! Say No to your little cowpokes for,me![emoji12][emoji106][emoji13]

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