Hello all! I'm brand new to this forum and I'm hoping to get some insights from you all on timing. My first appointment is on Friday (2/2) and I am so excited. I went through this process once before and had my first appointment with surgeon/dietician/nurse and then later was told my insurance wouldn't cover it. I've changed jobs and reached out to my insurance (health partners) ahead of time and made sure it's covered and figured out which doctors are in-network.

I am a teacher which means that summer is the only viable time to do the surgery. I'm wondering whether I should be pinning my hopes on being able to snag a surgery date in mid- to late July (hubby and I have a trip booked returning 7/9) if my first appointment is on Friday. I know it varies by insurance and it'll probably depend on me being able to complete pre-surgery weight loss, but I'm wondering if others who are farther along in the process could give me a sense of the timing from first appointment to surgery...

Thank you in advance!

Oh sorry - I'm not from the US so can't comment. Don't like to read and run though. Good luck xxx

Hi! I'm a teacher too and had my appointment at the beginning of my Christmas break in 2016. I started my process in May of 2016. Our district gets 3 weeks for vacation, it was plenty of time to adjust to the change. I was ready to return to work within 10 days from my surgery date. The most difficult part of having surgery during Christmas time was most certainly the family gatherings and the realization that every occasion revolves around food. It did a number on my patience, but I strove on. If Christmas weren't an option, I certainly would have waited for summer. All in all, I was about 7 months from my first appointment to my surgery date. Hope this helps, good luck!

RNY 12/20/16 32YO 5'9" HW- 408 SW- 388 CW- 247 current BMI- 27

Sweat is just fat crying!

AEsme - my clinic very carefully calculated the days from the initial consult to the first day they could submit for insurance approval based on the insurance requirements. I started in August mid month and they scheduled a pre-op appointment 1/9 and surgery 1/31. Those dates were set up back in November so I’ve had lots of time to plan.