Right off the bat I want to say that i'm seriously not trying to rush things, I'm just curious about how fast the process can be done based on my situation.

I had the initial consultation on June 6th. My packet says that I have to do two nutrition visits and one support group, plus a ton of medical clearances. I had one nutrition visit in June, and I have one July 24th. I think that for most people the medical clearances take a long time because it takes awhile to get in with a cardiologist or pulmonologist if you've never had one before. However, I had a pulmonary embolism in 2013 and already have all these doctors so I was able to get appointments with them right away. My sleep study, pulmonary function test, chest X-ray, bloodwork, endoscopy, EKG, primary doctor clearance and psych evaluation will ALL be done by the last day of July. Plus, by July 24th i'll have completed both nutrition visits and a support group meeting.

It seems like everyone is saying that if my first consult was June 6th, I won't have the surgery until early-mid September. But i'm wondering if thats true for everyone if the requirements are met. Do I just have to sit around in August and wait? The only thing my Amerihealth policy says is "The individual must participate in preoperative surgical care through a multidisciplinary preparatory regimen including: a thorough medical clearance, consultation by a professional on low calorie diets and mental health evaluation" So it doesn't explicitly say 3, 6 or 12 months.

Is there any way my doctor could submit the packet in August and see what happens?

My insurance will cover it 100% as long as I:

1. Have a letter of necessity from my PCP

2. Have a 2 year weight history from my PCP

3. Have a 3 month doctor supervised weight loss diet within the last 12 months

I have everything except the doctor supervised weight loss. I have been to the PCP and began this diet and am currently 3 weeks in. Only 2 months and 1 week to go. Otherwise I have all other info the insurance will need. I've already had my pre-op appointment and underweight the psychological testing. Once my diet is over, the hospital will send to insurance which usually takes 3 weeks. In the meantime I will go thru blood work, classes, and another appointment with the surgeon. Once insurance gives the okay then I'm good to go. The hospital predicts I will have my surgery late September, early October.

Edited July 10, 201511 yr by ASUgrad

I guess there's a chance that you can try and get those things done asap, but insurance is triply like that. My insurance doesn't require a lot, so my waiting is max 2mo.

@@danaadoo The main reason I was asking is because I wasn't trying to get everything done ASAP on purpose, I just called my doctors to make all of these appointments and I was already a patient of theirs so I was able to get in really quickly. I actually got in to see my pulmonary doctor the next day because there was a cancellation. I think it takes some people a lot longer to get an appointment, sometimes even 1-2 months. I'm hoping my insurance is like yours and I can get approved in August instead of September!

Well I got approved 3 weeks after my initial consultation and now I am sitting around waiting for my dr's office to call me back to schedule. It is my dr's office that is dragging their feet.

@@danaadoo The main reason I was asking is because I wasn't trying to get everything done ASAP on purpose, I just called my doctors to make all of these appointments and I was already a patient of theirs so I was able to get in really quickly. I actually got in to see my pulmonary doctor the next day because there was a cancellation. I think it takes some people a lot longer to get an appointment, sometimes even 1-2 months. I'm hoping my insurance is like yours and I can get approved in August instead of September!

Right. Making appointments are a pain because how far you would have to make them out. Yes I really hope this goes as quickly and smoothly for you! Good luck and God Bless on your journey!!

@@danaadoo You too! Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! I'm here if I can help in any way!

I would say it depends a lot on how busy your doctors office and surgery schedule is. Once I finished my last NUT appt (and everything else had already been done), my Dr office filed same day at noon on a Friday and had a response by Monday morning. I got a call a few days later to schedule surgery and though I had to wait 4 weeks from that date, that was by my choice due to work conflicts. I probably could have gotten it done in 2 weeks instead of 4. To me late August sounds like a reasonable expectation for surgery.

My insurance requires the >40 BMI and the psych clearance. My surgeon requires the EGD, bloodwork, PCP clearance, Pulmonary, attend a meeting, and meet with exercise specialist. Well, these 'specialist' appointments are out to Mid-August and September. I asked the surgeon's office once I've seen the psych (appt 07/21) would they be able to submit to the insurance? She said the doctor likes to have all the orders completed before submitting to the insurance. But I don't understand why when BCBS only requires the psych clearance and BMI.

Now I will be done with the insurance requirements by the end of this month. I could possibly be approved early August and have surgery schedule in September. BUT with the surgeon's requirements I am now looking at a October - hell maybe even November date. ugh!!!

I'm feeling you ThickAndTired .. why can't the surgeon's office submit to insurance?

If you have the free time to take appointments whenever offered, less than a month. I had all my pre-op done in around 6 weeks and the only reason it took that long was memorial day and vacations. It could have probably been done in 2-3 weeks easily.

It took 5 weeks from first meeting with the Dr to insurance approval, and within 8 weeks total to being sleeved. I didn't have any obstacles or roadblocks in the process. It all went very smoothly.

@@OutsideMatchInside that's how I'm hoping it will go for me, because not only do I have a flexible work schedule but I also already have all of the doctors and specialists I would need (PCP, cardiologist, pulmonologist) so I'll have all of the clearances from them by the end of this month. And I would hate to have to sit around and wait because of some insurance technicality.

@@Running2theSleeve I'm sorry it's going to take you so long to get those appointments! I guess the only "good" thing that came out of having a pulmonary embolism in 2013 is that I already have all of these specialists so when I called them for clearance they got me in within a week or so. I know I'm lucky in terms of that. Maybe you could get on a cancellation list or something? People cancel appointments all the time!

I was also able to get all of my appointments really fast. I think you will be through this in no time! Good luck and keep us updated!

I had my initial visit on January 7th and was sleeved on March 2nd.

I had my initial consult on May 21st and my surgery will be August 3rd. I completed all of my requirements/appointments in 5 weeks and that was even with switching surgeons! My doctor is really busy and has a 4 - 5 week waiting period so thst has been the longest part of the process. You could probably ask your surgeons office how far out they are booked right now?

I am cash pay and had originally hoped for a July surgery date but it is worth the wait to go with this surgeon?

Good luck with your journey! Your date will be here before you know it!

Thanks guys! I was really curious to know if it was even possible to have a 2.5 month turnaround time if one was able to schedule appointments quickly...and now I know it's possible and others have done it!