Hello everyone,

I'm still in the early stages of wls. I had my surgical consult and psychological evaluation on the same day is that normal? I've started my medically supervised journey. I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. I haven't told any of my extended, family or co workers. I just told them I'll have to be off in the summer or fall for hernia surgery. Can someone tell me the length of time from pre op to the actual surgery? I'm trying get a feel for when I should put in paperwork to request time off work

Welcome aboard. This is a great community and there are a lot of people that are happy to answer your questions.

It's been 2 years, but I can still remember how nervous/excited I was when I committed to surgery.

The time from pre-op to finish is really going to depend on your insurance requirements and your doctor. From start to finish, I was done in less than 30 days. But, my insurance was Bariatric Friendly and I was already diagnosed with a co-morbidity (sleep apnea) that qualified me for VSG surgery.

Some insurance companies require lengthy doctor supervised diets, multiple sessions with a nutritionist, in addition to the normal pre-op tests done to prepare for surgery.

The best advice I can give you is to call your insurance company and ask them for a list of pre-surgery requirements and a list of WLS co-morbidities that they will accept before approving surgery.

Then call your surgeon and find out his expected timetable for your surgery.

Stay strong and keep on pushing on...and never give up on what is important to you, even if yesterday it got further away from you. Pull it back towards you today. Stake your claim. Change your ways. Do what is right for YOU!

Pre-op to surgery time can vary anywhere from 30 days to a year. Average time for someone paying with insurance is about 3 or 4 months. If you are requires to have a medically supervised diet it could be anywhere from 3 - 6mths. Mine took 4 mths. I was required to attend an informational seminar before I even was allowed to schedule an appointment with the surgeon. I then was required to have 3 monthly appointments with the baratric team.

Edited January 25, 201511 yr by BLERDgirl

Welcome aboard. This is a great community and there are a lot of people that are happy to answer your questions.

It's been 2 years, but I can still remember how nervous/excited I was when I committed to surgery.

The time from pre-op to finish is really going to depend on your insurance requirements and your doctor. From start to finish, I was done in less than 30 days. But, my insurance was Bariatric Friendly and I was already diagnosed with a co-morbidity (sleep apnea) that qualified me for VSG surgery.

Some insurance companies require lengthy doctor supervised diets, multiple sessions with a nutritionist, in addition to the normal pre-op tests done to prepare for surgery.

The best advice I can give you is to call your insurance company and ask them for a list of pre-surgery requirements and a list of WLS co-morbidities that they will accept before approving surgery.

Then call your surgeon and find out his expected timetable for your surgery.

Stay strong and keep on pushing on...and never give up on what is important to you, even if yesterday it got further away from you. Pull it back towards you today. Stake your claim. Change your ways. Do what is right for YOU!

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I've been heavy my whole life and was told by my family that I should just accept my size and that my whole family is "big boned" but I want to be healthier for myself and my children, I want to be around to watch them grow up. I know I'm making the right decision

Ah yes the urban myth that some people are "big boned". Nope, we're just fat. The truth is the average person has the same size bones as the next person. There is only a small percentage of people with larger than average bones.

Ah yes the urban myth that some people are "big boned". Nope, we're just fat. The truth is the average person has the same size bones as the next person. There is only a small percentage of people with larger than average bones.

I totally agree with you ????