Is self pay much faster than Insurance?

I have my consultation appointment tomorrow and was hoping to have my Roux-en-Y in the next couple of weeks.  My  29 yr old son had it last year and it took 6 months or more to be approved and go through all the requirements.  I know I will save some time but I was wondering if it will be only minimal or a lot.  Has anyone else had it done without insurance?  I would love to hear your experience.  I know I will still need to see a nutritionists but will I still need to see a psychiatrist  or lose a few pounds to show that I can? 

If you have a "spare" $20K + laying around, it may be faster.  Those of us who used insurance did have some pre requisites that had to be completed.  6 mo. medically supervised wt loss attempt, 3 or more co morbidity issues if 40 BMI, etc.  The amounts of time before your sugery depends on how long it takes you to complete medical pre requisites, the amount of patients doing through the same tests, the surgery schedule of your chosen surgery or that surgeon on staff with your insurance co.  I doubt that everyone has identical time frames before surgery--whether they were either self pay or used insurance.  I beleive it's best to gain knowledge prior to surgery--follow online forums, do your own research, go to support groups to learn more about the surgery, as patients of you potential surgeon about the doctor, etc. DAVE

I don't have any insurance and believe me I don't have a lot of money laying around.  It's not costing me anywhere near $20,000.  Maybe half.  I've been doing research for over a year now and watched my son's success. I am as ready as I will ever be.  My husband just gave me the ok so I want to get it done as soon as possible.  It is also tax deductible so I was hoping to pay this year so I can deduct it from this years taxes. That's why I am in a rush...

I see you are from the Houston area, do you mind sharing which surgeon you are using?  Are you going to Cy-Fair Hospital?  I had surgery there and the staff was fantastic so just curious.

I actually live right down the street from the C-Fair Hospital.  I was going to use the doctor my son and his wife used  Dr. Levia who uses Cy-Fair Hospital, but he was over $17,000.  I am using Dr. Nawzarden.  He is the Dr that had the TLC show "My 600 lb Life"  He uses less expensive hospitals so I can keep the cost down.

LOL yeah, I'd wait the 6 months and save your money for plastic surgery.

If only that were an option.  I have no insurance.    My BMI is probably not high enough that insurance would pay anyway.  I hope I wont need plastic surgery.  If I do, I will have to scrimp and save to get it like I did for the RNY.   

Hi - I was self pay and it took 6 months before surgery.  I had to see a psychiatrist, go to a 4 week class on nutrition and vitamins.  I had to have blood tests.  My sleep test was already done prior so I didn't have to have that done.  I met with the doctor twice before the surgery.  So all of that took me 6 months.  So it wasn't faster for me but that was ok because it gave me time to find out about RNY and ask questions.   debbie

I was self-pay and went to my first appointment to learn about RNY on October 17th.  I had my surgery on November 6th.  So yes, it can be MUCH faster.  I was able to get in all the nutrition classes, pre-op testing, and the psych eval in those 3 weeks.

That is great.  That is what I am hoping for.