How long from first doctor visit to surgery?

[firesafety 2]

they tell me about 4 months - insurance requirement. I do not have a surgery date as of yet but sometime in November. Have health issues is the main reason for the gastric sleeve. so far I have had a psych evaluation, 2 dietitians visits - useless in my mind. a endoscopy because of a hernia surgery 18 years ago, had to see the cardiologist because of the heart bypass I had 7 years ago, EKG and stress test just for his clearance. have 1 more appointment with my nephrologist because he will not clear me until there is a surgery date due to the fact, he doesn't like the fact I am cutting carbs and eating too much Protein. I understand that because of the fact that I have stage 3 kidney Dease with only 1 kidney working. So, more labs a chat before he clears me. have to visit my endocrinologist because of my diabetes, have to make a plan to resolve the insulin resistance before surgery and then right after to check how my medications will need to be adjusted. Have to point out that all these doctors insist that surgery is no longer a choice but more of what is needed. my family also insist that I have surgery. Am hesitant about it to be totally honest. I feel that I do not overeat and have been on sugar free diet for 15 years now. But have tried and failed too many times on various diets never losing more that 15 lbs before hitting some kind of plateau and stall for weeks. So frustrating. I am going forward to have the sleeve. will post my progress as I know more.

[BlondePatriotInCDA 243]

2 minutes ago, firesafety said:

they tell me about 4 months - insurance requirement. I do not have a surgery date as of yet but sometime in November. Have health issues is the main reason for the gastric sleeve. so far I have had a psych evaluation, 2 dietitians visits - useless in my mind. a endoscopy because of a hernia surgery 18 years ago, had to see the cardiologist because of the heart bypass I had 7 years ago, EKG and stress test just for his clearance. have 1 more appointment with my nephrologist because he will not clear me until there is a surgery date due to the fact, he doesn't like the fact I am cutting carbs and eating too much Protein. I understand that because of the fact that I have stage 3 kidney Dease with only 1 kidney working. So, more labs a chat before he clears me. have to visit my endocrinologist because of my diabetes, have to make a plan to resolve the insulin resistance before surgery and then right after to check how my medications will need to be adjusted. Have to point out that all these doctors insist that surgery is no longer a choice but more of what is needed. my family also insist that I have surgery. Am hesitant about it to be totally honest. I feel that I do not overeat and have been on sugar free diet for 15 years now. But have tried and failed too many times on various diets never losing more that 15 lbs before hitting some kind of plateau and stall for weeks. So frustrating. I am going forward to have the sleeve. will post my progress as I know more.

I agree about the nutritionist visits being a waste of time (imo)...most, not all, of us have researched, dieted and know what we should and how we should eat for years as we have fought the weight...its whether we actually do it. Mine consisted of 5 mins of you doing this, you doing that..."yes" ok..see you next time. Its all insurance hoops!

[Nuttynuts23 4]

7 years for me. I have hiatal hernia and asthma. My bypass date is the 5th of October. Please do as much reading as you can. The LRD is horrible but it’s worth it. I live in the uk so it’s different but covid didn’t help at all. Good luck and I hope yours doesn’t take as long as. X

[OctoberSky 9]

I'm still pre-op, finished everything required. So now playing the waiting game on insurance approving. So frustrating.

[gadgetgirl68 13]

It took me 3 weeks, but every insurance is different, Weight Loss Hospital Programs, pre-op weight loss requirements are different.

[kodak2004 1]

Mine was a little over a year.

[Arendiva 22]

My initial appt was July 23rd and my surgery is scheduled for October 20th. So just shy of 3 months for me.

[ElleRodri 39]

From my first appointment until I found a surgeon that would be willing to do mine because of the failing Nissen fundoplication that needed to be broken the rest of the way down before proceeding with anything. It took me 2 years to find a surgeon that would do it and that I could bear. Had a surgeon who would do it about 45 minutes away but the way he talked to me on my 1st appointment with him turned me completely off to him and his clinic. I had to travel 5 hours away to get to The mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. They initially set up my appointment with a gastro doc because I'm having gastro issues but once he realized what the issues really were and that they were surgical he walked me to the front desk and we made an appointment with the surgeon that day. It was about 4 months between my initial appointment with the surgeon and my surgery date. Insurance didn't approve my Monday procedure until 4:45 p.m. on the Friday before so it was almost rescheduled.

[BlondePatriotInCDA 243]

1 hour ago, ElleRodri said:

From my first appointment until I found a surgeon that would be willing to do mine because of the failing Nissen fundoplication that needed to be broken the rest of the way down before proceeding with anything. It took me 2 years to find a surgeon that would do it and that I could bear. Had a surgeon who would do it about 45 minutes away but the way he talked to me on my 1st appointment with him turned me completely off to him and his clinic. I had to travel 5 hours away to get to The mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. They initially set up my appointment with a gastro doc because I'm having gastro issues but once he realized what the issues really were and that they were surgical he walked me to the front desk and we made an appointment with the surgeon that day. It was about 4 months between my initial appointment with the surgeon and my surgery date. Insurance didn't approve my Monday procedure until 4:45 p.m. on the Friday before so it was almost rescheduled.

It sounds like that last doctor was on the ball! Glad it worked out for you!

[NaiJenn 1]

Just wanted to say hello. I’m 10 days post-op and feel pretty good. Just setting small goals for myself. Currently looking forward to October 16th which is my PURÉE DAY!!!!