RunningA5K

This gives me such hope. My stats are pretty close to your so its good to see the before and after. Congratulations...you are beautiful.

I had my psych eval last week. Rather cold and clinical. She was on the list that the surgeons office provides for acceptable psych to go to. No niceties, no pleasantries. Sat down for a cold 6 page interview that encompassed what did I know about the surgery, the risks, what do I understand from what to expect after the surgery, even what my understanding of the actual surgery was, family questions, mental type questions, some neuro questions, etc. Her questions, for the most part were yes/no questions, and I found out pretty quickly that if I tried to quantify my answer, she didn't really care and responded with 'these are standard questions' Then was led to another room for the computer portion of the 'fun' day, and that was 338 questions with about 300 of them being completely ridiculous. She told me to try and answer all of the questions, and to be open and honest. Which I did. After that was over, I was brought back to her to discuss the results of the test. The first thing she indicated was that the test seemed to indicate that I was much more positive 'than the average woman going through Bariatric surgery' and had much less negative feelings 'than the average woman going through Bariatric surgery'. She wasn't saying this as a compliment however...which really surprised me. In the end she said that she felt I was a good candidate for the surgery, and that I was we'll informed of the risks, etc. and that she would recommend me. I still have another appointment with her coming up soon and then after that appointment I think that is the end of the psych appointments. Just my experience...but it does sound like the experiences can be different depending on the clinic, insurance, etc. Good luck to you!

I, too, have told only one other person besides my husband, and that other person was someone who had been sleeved herself, so of course she was completely supportive. What I find so incredibly ironic about the people who judge us for doing this, is that they are the same people that judge us for being overweight. Sometimes you just can't win. It's so easy for people to say 'you are taking the easy way out' or 'why don't you just diet and exercise'. That proves how misinformed they are about this process for sure. I like the other posters suggestion of 'this is the best course of action as determined by myself and my doctor'. End of story. Best wishes to you!

When I did the informational seminar, they indicated that the process took between 9 and 14 months on average. My insurance company requires 4 months of NUT visits, so it will be at least 5 months for me. It's extremely variable as you will see, and also depends on the patient load of your surgeon as well and insurance requirements. Best wishes to you!

I've been through the initial visit, and just today had my first of two psych appointments. Have my second psych appointment next week. Nice to 'meet' you!

An update: Today was the first of two psych visits. Today I took the 338 question test, and met with the psych. After I took the test, she reviewed the results with me, and finally indicated that I was a good candidate for surgery, and her recommendation was that I go ahead with it. Good news...another hurdle jumped!

My husband and I have chosen to keep this between us and one other person (who had the sleeve herself...we spoke to her to find out about her experiences). I live far from my family, and don't get to see them more than a few times a year, so what a shocker it will be!

Just to give you a little insight from someone who was overweight all of her life: I will never forget the bullying (although I don't think they called it bullying back then), that I was on the receiving end of in high school. The day that the 'mean girl' started the entire bus chanting ' (insert my first and last name) IS A WHALE!' over and over for the entire 15 minute bus ride was probably the most horrifying day of my life. I was made fun of over and over again for my weight. I also had a cruel 'parental figure' who tried to 'fix' me with forcing me to eat hardly anything in front of my family, while I watched them all eat a normal dinner, because she just knew I would lose weight that way. I was made to eat gross salads while everyone else ate their regular dinner, I was forced to leave the table early so they could enjoy their dessert...in her mind, since I was the only overweight one, she needed to fix me because I was the embarrassment. What this truly led me to (and please don't think that I am indicating that your daughter is doing the same thing, this is just MY experience) is that, yes, I was on every diet in the book, but when the cat was away, I was trying to sneak anything I could just to not feel hungry or as deprived as I was. When I was at my friends house, I was eating everything I could get my hands on because I knew I would go home and be starved again...and surprise, I never lost the weight. Move forward to college...my first time out of the grip of the parental unit, and inside the world of pizza parties, late night Taco Bell runs, lets take a day trip to such and such place for fast food...you name it...that's what college students do...and it seemed Ike it was all the time...having a bag of chips and soda in the tv lounge, the 3 am donut calls, etc. I'm prefacing my post with all of that to just say this...I can't imagine going through high school or college in a situation where it was pizza night, or a early morning doughnut run where I would have to follow the restrictive portions you need to eat after the sleeve. I can't imagine people not wondering what was wrong with me because I was only eating a cup and a half of food, and I can't possibly imagine what I would feel like sitting there while everyone else was doing this in front of me. I'm not going to give you my opinion on whether or not you should let your daughter do this...I just want to give you a look at what my reality was and just put out there some of the things she might face on the other side. It's sometimes difficult for me to process the change I am making in my eating habits with my friends now and I am 41 years old..it's hard for us adults to process and change, I can't imagine the difficulty I would have faced as a teenager. Again, this is just my experience, but it was my reality, and just something to keep in mind. Good luck to you and your daughter.

Welcome Tony! Of course it is completely normal to be nervous. I am beginning the process myself and am super excited, but even a little nervous...and I just had my first appointment. It's a tremendous thing you are doing for yourself...best wishes to you!!

Thank you for sharing your pictures. Congratulations on such wonderful success. You look amazing!

Yes, what I have found is that Anthem is not the same across the board. As you may have read in some other posts, some people aren't required to have 6 months of dietician appointments, etc. so it definitely seems to vary by state is what I have found.

Just to update...had my appointment today. Anthem requires 4 NUT visits for me. Was hoping Anthem was consistent across the board...apparently that is not the case.

Wow! I just need a little time to let all of that sink in...a bit overwhelming...

Thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Welcome and best wishes to you.

Will do....hope it's good info!

My appointment is on Wednesday....just three short days away (not that I am counting or anything) LOL

How did the seminar go for you?

Thank you so much for your info. I actually have seen this document several times (as that is what they send me when I ask specifically about the pre-requisites). They don't seem defined here. Again, I understand the qualifications for medical necessity, and meet those, and am hoping to find out about like the 6 month diet prior to surgery...many people have not had that requirement through Anthem, so I am curious what dictates those pre surgery 'hoops' if you will. Perhaps it is more surgeon/clinic defined...I'm sure I will get all of the information at my appointment, but just wondered if anyone had insight as well. Seems like all insurance plans are different for sure. Thanks again so much! I appreciate it.

This may be a silly question, but I tried to contact Anthem ahead of time to find out exactly what their prerequisites are for the surgery, and they wouldn't give me any information except for the basic 'medical necessity' blah blah blah. I explained in my question that I already understood the medical necessity part and that I more than qualified for that, I was just wanting to know what they require as far as the other items, and no answer. I am hoping to fast track this and get it done this year, but will the surgeon's office already know what Anthem requires...meaning, they won't make me go through a 6 month diet if it isn't required by Anthem would they? Since I couldn't get the answer ahead of time through Anthem, I was hoping that you all might be able to shed a little light on that for me. Thank you in advance for your help!

First appointment is next week. Super excited. Good luck at your seminar!

Minnesota here