Does everyone have to wait this long?

I know maybe I am too impatient and don't mean to be.  I had my first consult with the surgeon last week.  He will not do the lap band removal and new WLS same day and that is ok with me.  And I know the office staff is working at it because they have had conversations with one of my 2 insurance companies that I am aware of.  But at this place, there is a program to go through with the NUT, Psychologist, etc. and informational meets.  When I asked about a timeframe for the new surgery, he said several months.  Now, as I look at it, that is about 6 months and at least 4-6 weeks after the band removal.

I am so excited to get this thing out of me.  And even more so for the next surgery!  Also, the way in which things are moving, I think the plan is being written by God because no other explanation is viable.  But, how many of these surgeries require such a long time span?  Is this the norm?  I am not questioning the surgeon or his staff.  Just wondering if it is normal in most cases and looking for your responses so that maybe I can settle my nerves on this.

Oh yeah, it takes awhile especially when going thru insurance, plus there are the requirements by the surgeon/hospital program. My insurance required at least 4 months of a medically supervised diet program, that's the dr & nutritionist, plus a therapist session, bloodwork, a letter of medical necessity from my primary doctor & medical clearance from him, an endoscopy, pre-registration (X-ray of heart/lungs, more blood work) then a 4 week pre-op liquid diet to shrink my liver, so yeah it's a lot, but better to be thorough & informed. During all the testing I found out that I had a mild case of gerd & a hiatial hernia & here I thought my tummy was being fussy, on a ppi now, but tomorrow is my surgery day & it was worth it! I think when you pay out of pocket you only have to go thru the hospital requirements, whatever they are, Good Luck to you!

Totally normal, unfortunately. Even if you were a millionarie paying ca****'s almost always a matter of months. Stick with it! You know it's worth the wait.

Thank you Logancircle.  yes, I do know it is worth it and although he has not et committed to the second surgery, I do believe he is making the decision of RNY or Sleeve.

Thank you1 last time.  I am hoping to hear that this is more the norm than the exception.

Yes, it's the norm -- unless you're self-pay and go to Mexico.  It generally takes that long to get through all the medical appointments and informational sessions, etc.  Plus some insurance companies require 6-month supervised diets.

I started in October, and will be having surgery in May.  My big delay was getting appointment for sleep study, getting c-pack and having to use it for one month prior to surgery.

It's very common to have to go through a psych eval, at least one appointment with a registered dietician, at least one pre-op class at the surgeon's office, and more.

Thanks all.  It is nice to be reassured that it is this way for most.  I can rest easy now and just let it take it's course.

My doc postponed my gastric bypass due to concern about my heartbeat, only ONE WEEK before the procedure, ten days into the clear liquid diet! A week later, my new heart monitor results cleared me for the surgery. Then I had to get all my blood tests re-drawn, new pre-op appointments with GP and surgeon to review the good heart results, a recap of all pre-op preparations and meds, and then I still had to wait an additional period of weeks while the surgery scheduling lady found another slot. Put your head down and do what you gotta do :) You're not alone! 

I had my seminar on 1/1/14 and I had my surgery on 4/2/14. The time frame was all on me. I didn't have to lose weight per my insurance company guidelines. I just had to do all the special appointments and honestly I just did them as fast as a I could. Sometimes there may be an office that is booked up for months like when I needed and endoscopy, the office was booked for four months! I said... um no thanks and went to an office farther away from me who could get me in within a week. Granted this office was recommended by my doc otherwise I would have done more research on the facility. But the part that took the longest were the test results for my sleep apnea test. I did the take home test and it look 3 weeks for them to tell me the results were inconclusive! So I went in the facility and did it and it literally took like 3 hours and I could have gone home but I didn't. The doc had the results by the end of week. Interesting how things work out :) I was also blessed with a one day auth approval from Blue Cross. Thanks BC! and I was in surgery a week later. 

There were times I forgot I was even trying to have the surgery. There were also times that I wanted to give up because it didn't seem worth it. Keep chuggin on! 

But back to your original questions. Sorry I ramble. I think a few months is at least four.