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Can someone tell me how long it took



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Can anyone tell me how long it took from start to finish, first doctors visit to actually getting approved and a surgery date, also I am in Maryland anyone had surgery in my state that would not mind helping me, I am literally just starting. I had my initial visit with the surgeon at AAMC in annapolis, and have just started the nutrition portion.

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Believe it or not, the time goes by really quickly. I had my initial appointment in October 2018 and had surgery May 2019. I actually went through GW hospital just because it was closer to where I worked and it was easier to get to appointments. But once you start the nutritional portion, it usually depends on what your insurance requires. I was required to attend 6 nutritional appointments and have a psychological evaluation. Once I completed my 6th appointment, I was scheduled shortly thereafter.

My husband went through AAMC several years ago and his time frame was similar to mines, so I think it mainly depends on your insurance and you not missing any required appointments. If you do, usually the time will start over. But both hospitals have good programs, I think AAMC was a little stricter in the after surgery eating requirements. I hope this helps.

Edited by lyladyp

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5-6 months. I completed everything in April but corona hit in March. We were shooting for May but looks like June or early July. I'm in the Atlanta area.

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I started on 10/7/19 with the first appointment with the surgeon. I had my surgery on 3/3/20 so right at 5 months. I had to fulfill a lot of appointments with others doctors in that 5 months per the required guidelines of my insurance. I was dedicated and got it all done within the timeline. Mine was supposed to take 6 months but I got it done in 5 months. Whatever your surgeon’s office asks you to do and whatever appointments you need to make, do it. Good luck.

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My first appt was 10/7/19 and I had surgery on 12/18/19. I had a somewhat unique situation in that my insurance was going to expire on 12/31/19, so my surgeon's staff was awesome about pushing everything through quickly. I also stayed on top of things as far as getting all of my mandatory clearances (EKG, PFT, Cardiology and Psych clearances) completed ASAP.

Best of luck to you!!

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My timing info will probably useful/of interest for anyone in Australia and who have a revision from ESG to sleeve.

ESG is not covered by medicare or private health insurance in Australia so no real requirements other than some blood tests. Could have had my ESG within three or four weeks of my initial appointment with the doctor, however, I delayed the procedure for some leave that was already planned a few months away.

18 months later for my revision to sleeve I went out of state to a surgeon who had already done ESG conversions to sleeve (some will only do bypasses). I was fortunate, the office arranged for me to have an endoscope the day following my initial consult and from there it was less about one month to my sleeve. I had some bloods taken in between, Medicare/private health insurance covered this one but I did have out of pocket costs. There were no required to lose weight prior to the surgery or pysch clearances. There was one appt with the dietician (did that the same day as my initial consult) and two appointments following the surgery.

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Many take 6-7 months start to finish. I was fast tracked. First surgeon consult May 20 - surgery Sept 4. Of corse, I do think it took 1-2 months from my PCP to get to the surgeon.

Sent from my SM-G955U using BariatricPal mobile app

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3 months

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Well I've seen people self pay and get surgery in weeks other people have very strict insurance or doctors and can take years... There is many many factors involved...

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The length of time, consult through surgery, is largely dependent on your insurance carrier. Your doctor's office can affect it, but the insurance plan may require a 6 month (maybe more) monitored diet. They may also have a history of back-logging or slowing down processes for elective procedures.

For me, my initial consult was in September 2017 and I had the surgery April 2018.

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I started the process 01/02/2020 and should have had my bypass on 04/07/2020. Because of Corona its been moved to 06/30

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I started in August 2019, had a health scare in September 2019. I was on blood thinners so I had to wait until Jan 2020 to continue my appointments. My estimate schedule date was May 2020 then COVID hit. And my surgery date was pushed out to June 17th. So my timeline is not as streamlined but a typical person takes about 6 months.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
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    • KimBaxleyWilson

      Three months and four days ago... I was in Costa Rica having a life changing surgery! Yesterday we had a followup visit with Dr. Esmeral via video chat and this morning my middle number changed.  I'm down 47lbs and two pants sizes. I can wear a Large tshirt for the first time in like... 14 years! Woot!! Everything is going great. I have zero regrets. I went down to the riverwalk with a friend and walked 2 miles on Monday without even getting fatigued. And no more snoring or chugging pickle juice for crazy leg cramps! I need to go to the gym more... I'm making new shirts next week so that will motivate me. LOL But I'm also just not as TIRED all the time! I have a LONG way to go...but seeing the progress on the scales and in the mirror is a huge motivator!! Thank you all for cheering me on and supporting me!!
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      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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