Hi everyone....

[Meme6]

I’ve been following this site for a while so decided time to say “hi”. I have my first appt Wednesday April 25 with a surgeon. Have a lot of questions for him, but excited about the thoughts of a new beginning for me. How long from the first appt to surgery day for any of you on the blog? I know there are a lot of factors but just curious. And, of course, I have a busy spring and summer, 2 new grand babies on the way, one in May and one in June, and vacation to visit family in August. Do I put surgery off until I’m through all this? I am feeling so ready to get started...... Thanks to all for sharing. It’s been great to read and see what a support y’all are for each other!!!!!

[Cardshark98]

For me it was 7 months from my surgical consult appointment. My insurance required 6 month of seeing a nutritionist. During that time i also had lab work, a physical and physiology consultant. If your insurance is the same, the earliest you could do the surgery is late fall.

[TheSassWay]

My first consultation was in October 2017 and my schedule surgery was March 2018. If you are going through insurance you will have to meet certain requirements before the procedure is approve. My insurance required that I see a nutritionist for 6 months. Which it is sooooo worth it to prepare you for the journey and the life style change!! I don't suggest you wait, until after you get through all of those event happening in your life. When I had my surgery it was the Thursday before Spring Break. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with family. I was just a little sore (like I did too many crunches or sit ups) nothing that kept me down. The following week I was back in the office. Good Luck!

[Luv49ers19]

I had the same experience as Jennifer. Consult in Oct 2016 and surgery May 2017. Next month will be a year already! From my experience I changed the way I ate with my first meeting with my nut (nutritionist). I was required to lose 10 pounds in 6 months per insurance. I lost 51. It has helped so much to get to my goal that much faster! I'm now 15 pounds below my goal weight!

In my opinion and what worked the best for me is to change the way you eat sooner than later. It has helped me so much! You are always going to busy you just have to be in the mind set to change. This is just a tool not a magic pill
It works if you follow the rules and it is so worth it. You are worth it!

Congrats on the new grandbabies!

[sraebaer]

I would get the surgery in as soon as I could; why wait to get started on this new, amazing life!?

Speaking of grand babies, my 5 year old granddaughter was playing with my phone and saw a fat picture of me. You should have seen the look on her face - sort of that wide eyed, mouth open, hands on face "home alone" look! So funny. ! I had the surgery when she was a baby, so she doesn't even remember fat grandma. Your grand babies won't either. Congratulations on your decision and best of luck to you.

[IamDetermined]

My insurance requires 6 nutritionists visits over a period of 6 months as well. I just had my third and have 3 more to go. I'm hoping to have the surgery by Aug/Sept. I can't wait to start my new life. Good luck to you!

[AnnieG]

Tomorrow's your appointment. I hope everything goes well. You will do beautifully! I had mine done in October and have 5 grandchildren...and feel better than I have in 15 years! Be sure your doc answers any questions you ahve.

[Stacey03]

Congratulations and get going as soon as you can. It's so worth it :-)

[Christie13]

My opinion...don't put surgery off. The sooner, the better. I love my post sleeve life. As for the length of time, I had a 7 month time frame because I went through my insurance and it is a 6 month supervised weight loss program with your surgeon to get approved.

[SuperCheryl]

First appointment was 12/21/17 and surgery scheduled for 4/30/18.

[Marsh17]

My first appointment was on Jan 25th and my surgery was on March 27th of this year so just a few months. One thing I have noticed is that if you are using insurance and start at the beginning of a insurance benefit year (01/01/18) then it will be easier for you to reach your maximum out of pocket expenses and then your responsibility is zero. NOTE: We all have a different benefit plan so check with your insurance company to see what your benefits are. I don't know if I could have waited a year I was so determined and excited to get this done. It just happened to work out that way for me and WOW has it saved me a great deal of money. Best of luck to you!

[DHB]

I'd suggest you look at your insurance requirements ASAP, then work with your surgeon to sync the schedule. Some tests, for example, have to be done within a certain number of months before surgery. You want to start the process as soon as you can but you also want to factor in your own needs. Chances are, you won't be able to have surgery any sooner than the fall so it should work well for you.