I just spoke with my GP and he gave me the go ahead to pursue the lap band surgery. So now I have to put in the referral form in to the lapband place that I am going to. How long does it take before you get schedule for your surgery? Week, months, years? I know there are procedures but no one has ever given me a time frame. Very curious to start this new scary adventure

Hi and welcome to LBT! There is a lot of information and support here, so dive in. I'm sure you will find the answers to the majority of your questions.

As far as a time frame, it really all depends on your circumstances and insurance requirements. Some here are self pay and managed to have surgery in a matter of weeks. Others have had to meet the requirements of their insurance companies, including 6 months of a doctor supervised diet. Some insurance companies are just S-L-O-W. Generally speaking, I don't think it has taken anyone who didn't have problems with insurance a year to get approval. Several months would be a more common time frame I think.

Good luck to you!!

Someone at a support group had all of her testing and approvals done in a month. It took me six months to get everything done.

I think some of how long it takes depends on your health, too. If there are major concerns, some of those may need to be under better control before you'll get your clearance.

Best of luck to you.

Welcome. Call your insurance carrier and ask for a written list of what they require to pay for weight loss surgery. That's the best first step to take.

My insurance will pay for the surgery, but I have to go thru 6 months of a "physician approved" weight loss. I have been with LA weightloss for the past year..(lost 20 pounds gained back 16). I'm hoping my insurance co will approve that. The surgeon has sent in all the papers from my PCP, so I'm waiting for an answer.

i spoke to my insurance company and said that the lap band procedure is covered under my plan. all i need to do is pay a $250. COPAY AND the office visits which are $20.00. they also said that all the need is approval from the doctor and do all there tests and once i have they have approval from the doc office they schedule the sugery 3 days afterwards. Sounds to simple and i hope it is. i

Wow! That does sound easy! I hope it works out that smoothly for you. When are you going to make your first appointment? Good luck!!