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Waiting time on Lap Band surgery



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Hi all! Just starting on my adventure of joining "The Lap Band" group! Went to see the dietician day before yesterday. And I will see the Dr. in a week. Can you tell me about how long from the initial visit that you received the Lapband?:confused2:

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It took me about 3 months to get the lap band. The first thing I did was to attend a seminar. After that it went rather quickly. My insurance was great also, so I did not have to do the six month diet like a lot of others.

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From the first consult with the surgeon to having surgery took about six or seven weeks. Altogether with referrals, insurance approvals, other appointments, ect. it took about four months. I really think it depends on if you are paying or covered by insurance, what your insurance requires for prerequisites for surgery (sleep studies, nutritionists, ect.) and also how booked up your surgeon is, and also what your surgeon's requirements are......it sounds as if you almost there though, good luck!

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My Surgeon said he'd have me ready in 8 weeks..well l'm at 12 weeks now, still waiting for my insurance company to say OK..appartently they are usually the biggest hold up...no reason for them to move fast l guess:redface:

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3 weeks to wait for the seminar; 1 1/2 months to wait for first appointment (I did the psych eval and pulmonary eval in there; after the seminar, everyone and their uncle called for appointments, and I waited until 11:00 or so on the Monday following to call in.); 4 weeks to wait for insurance approval; then, I didn't want to have the surgery for another month after that (travel, medication scheduling). So for me, 4 months.

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Started my process april 5th and I will be banded sometime in November. 8 months :unsure:

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Hi, it has taken me (so far) since November 2007....which included initial consultation with surgeon, a slew of testing (stress tests, endoscopy, upper GI, psych etc.) supervised diet of 6 months, diet history and finally letter of surgical necessity. I finally have my date of Sept. 2 (only because I have to be out of the country in Aug. and the docs do not want you out of the country for atleast 6 weeks after the surgery.

My insurance (cigna) required the 6 months supervised physician diet, or else the process would have gone easier.

Hope this helps you.

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I went for my first evaluation and consultation April 22 and was banded July 10. Much of that time was waiting on insurance approval. I have UHC and they denied my claim the first time and we had to submit an appeal. After waiting the required three weeks for the appeal to reviewed, we called and they never received it so it had to be submitted again. After another two weeks, I got the approval on June 20. During that waiting period, I was able to have all the tests and evaluations done so was ready to go as soon as my doctor had an opening. I'm so thankful I didn't have to go through the six months of doctor visits to discuss my weight.....I've done that for years! Good luck to you!

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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
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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.
      · 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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    • bellaamey

      https://alluniqueguide.com/java-burn-coffee-reviews/
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