On average what is the time from start to finish?

[Nelis 0]

Hello all, I was wondering from your experience what was the time frame from the day of your first consultation about getting the lap band to the day of your surgery, thanks in advanced!

:grouphug:

[sirvine89 0]

hey well ive been doing the process since november and im finally done and waiting for insurance. however, i did have a few complications with the doctors. most people ive spoken to it takes them about 3-4 months. its because i live in nyc and all the specialists are always busy and u have to wait a while for an appointment. good luck!

[MerryHearted 20]

For me, seminar day to surgery date was about 5 weeks. From first surgeon consult to surgery date was under a month.

I think the real bottleneck for most people is how quickly their insurance will approve them -- that includes how many hoops they make you jump through. Some insurance companies require a 6 month physician-monitored diet before they will approve you, for example. Other insurance companies try to deny you and force you into multiple appeals before they give in and pay for it. Isn't insurance fun? :grouphug: You'd think they'd want you to get slim so they could avoid paying for things like CPAP machines, blood pressure meds, diabetes meds, etc.

[LundyLane 0]

Started in Mid Feb 08 Banded May 28, 2008

[PRCowboy 0]

I was self pay so I went faster but, I attended my seminar on May 3rd and I was banded on June 11th. Made for a busy month, but it was nice to do it fast. Good luck.

[minimeemz 0]

well my seminar was on the 3rd of may and my surgery was june 4th. So mine took about a month. It all depends on what you need to get done. I already had 6 months of dieting documented from weight watchers and i was able to get my physical and phsych evals done pretty quickly.

[heatheranne 0]

My insurance approves easily (< 4 weeks) as long as the BMI is over 40.

However, my surgeon is booked heavily during the summer due to school year employees that scheduled their surgery for over their summer break. So I went to the info session on June 10th and it will probably be end of August beginning of September for me.

[Kalipso2 25]

i was self pay and i didn't have to wait long at all. between my initial consultation and surgery it was 3 weeks! talk about everything happening fast! it was the best decision i've ever made.

[juliatabor 0]

well if all goes according to plan and I get my band next week , that'll be 3wks after having my 1st consultation. it's hard waiting , I just want to get it done and get on with it! probably helpful to add that i'm self pay.

good luck with your journey!:biggrin2:

[Sirius 0]

I live in South Texas, right across from the Mex. border, so I had my surgery in Mexico. (I was self pay) I had my first consultation on the May 15th, and had all the pre-op tests done the next week, and I just waited for school to be out (I'm a teacher) to have my surgery. I was banded 3 weeks after my 1st consult. I'm so glad I didn't have to wait at all. :grouphug: