So- I will be the first to admit that I am a total control freak. And this "pre-op" process seems to be more of a life lesson than anything. By that I mean- not being in control and having to (im)patiently wait on other folks. I'm curious if any of you can share your timeline in the approval process with me. Here's where I'm at:

-Tomorrow = my last weigh in for the 6 month supervised diet

-Jump start class required by surgeon's office completed

-Psych test completed. Waiting for psych office to call and schedule my appointment to finalize that portion.

-December visit with surgeon's office will entail scheduling for EGD & gallbladder ultrasound.

I'm trying to figure out when they'll actually submit to insurance. I'm in a fairly new job and my boss is aware of the possible surgery- but he does need some time frame of when I could possibly expect to be out so he can schedule someone to cover my facility while I'm out. We're an IT Consulting company and we have multiple hospitals, physician practices and non-non-healthcare businesses. The sooner I can give him an answer, the better I would personally feel.

I can relate! It is maddening!

my office gave me a list of all the requirements (both the insurance and the doctor's. They submitted to insurance a few days after all those requirements were met. I have BCBS of NC and it only took about 3 days to get everything approved. My BMI was under 40 - but I had plenty of co-morbidities, so approval was easy and quick.

After approval it was only a little over 2 weeks before my surgery date. Different doctors have different time lines I'm pretty sure. I went on my liquid diet right away - had my pre-op class, saw the surgeon and anesthesiologist all within 2 weeks.

I had gastric bypass so stayed in the hospital for 2 days. I had a friend that had the sleeve and only stayed one day. I am only 4 weeks out. Balancing everything Water and Protein wise is pretty hard and it took me almost 3 weeks to find what works for me. It also took a little over 3 weeks to get my energy back. I'm still not at 100% but function quite well without a nap most days.

All that being said - if you have a coordinator at your doctors office, that is the person who can answer your questions best. Every bariatric office seems to be a little different in what they require and their timeline.

Good luck to you in your journey!

My surgeon gave me an estimate of my surgery, I just know end of January but we are finalizing the date mid-Dec. Like already mentioned, every place is different. Mine's giving me a date before the insurance approval and I will get my ducks in a row then- tell my manager, apply for short term disability, apply for FMLA.

Mine go delay like 7 months more of the planned schedule because insurance was asking for more info and they even deny my surgery but after waiting long time they approved it