PRE-SURGERY QUESTION PLEASE HELP WITH FEEDBACK!

[kpa201484@yahoo.com 0]

HI, my wife is working towards getting this surgery and has done all insurance requirements past 6 months and got the letter of approval from insurance. She was told when she started 6 months ago that the dr would like her to lose up to 60 lbs before surgery. She has tried really hard but has been difficult overall and only lost a few pounds. She went to her 6 month appointment to the doctor office to be told they want another 30 days to have her come back so she could try and lose more weight. She goes back Sept 25th for an appointment. She is very nervous that the doctor may deny her surgery if she can't lose enough weight to make him happy, has this happened to anyone before??? or is the dr just trying to push it out to see if she can really just lost more weight but the dr may still actually approve her for it? at most sure my wife can try to lose a few more pounds in the next 3 weeks, but it won;t be 60! just nervous all of this hard work to get all the other requirements and copays, and meeting our deductible may go to waste. any insight from anyone? will she be ok and get this amazing life changing surgery? are we overreacting?

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I can't answer because I am not her surgeon. But, I would guess that if she hadn't lost enough where he felt it was safe to operate he might postpone rather than cancel outright.

I too had a hard time losing pre-op but fortunately didn't have a weight loss requirement. I carry most of my weight in my lower body. For people who carry their weight in the abdomen it can have a significant impact on how easy it is for the surgeon to operate.

Has her NUT given her a food plan to follow. Has she tried cutting out carbonation, drinking lots of Water, and eating high protein/low carb? That seemed to work the best for me.

[kpa201484@yahoo.com 0]

Nutritionist gave some advice, and she is dieting the best possible and watching calories. She is diabetic and insulin dependent so just difficult to keep pre-op weight off. Just not sure how long he'd want to postpone, we really want to get it done this year we have met deductible and insurance has approved... i mean reality is she may lost up to 10 pounds this next 3 weeks if she really could, but thats tough, no where near what he wanted 6 months ago.... just hopeful...i havent read or heard though that a patient would still get the surgery if they didnt lose enough weight, we just want a better idea what to expect

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

The only person who can give you a definite answer is her surgeon. Just stay positive and don't give up. Best of luck.

[shellyd88 463]

Hello I'm sorry your wife is having a hard time my surgeon required his patients to lose 5% before you could even have a consult with him all appts went thru his staff they put you on south beach diet and which is low carb low fat low sugar no Pasta bread rice Desserts or even fruit in stage one when u reach the 5% they will schedule your consult and if he approves you for surgery they schedule it and he told me that I couldn't gain any weight or he wouldn't do it I had two months and three days from the consult to day of surgery I was on south beach for six months and I lost 62 lbs before surgery I'm not sure if this is a standard practice with all surgeons

[vincereautmori 323]

Nutritionist gave some advice, and she is dieting the best possible and watching calories. She is diabetic and insulin dependent so just difficult to keep pre-op weight off. Just not sure how long he'd want to postpone, we really want to get it done this year we have met deductible and insurance has approved... i mean reality is she may lost up to 10 pounds this next 3 weeks if she really could, but thats tough, no where near what he wanted 6 months ago.... just hopeful...i havent read or heard though that a patient would still get the surgery if they didnt lose enough weight, we just want a better idea what to expect

If you've met pre-surgery requirements and been approved by your insurance, then the surgeon is the final roadblock, so you need to talk to them. One piece of advice, this surgery can change your wife's life in both her physical limitations and her health, but it's not going to be easy, the WLS provides you with a tool to use to lose weight, like any tool you have to know how to use it. As all of us know, obesity is a complicated disease, there can be physical causes but there are many more mental causes and that's where a lot of us struggle. Has her surgeon and NUT worked with diabetic patients successfully? Where is she struggling to follow the diet and lose the pre-op weight? Once you have an answer to those two questions, you'll have a place to start from. It can be an amazing journey, help her through it. Good Luck.

[newmebithebypass 713]

what plan did the nut give you. i can tell you my nut put me on basically the south beach diet but im allowed fruit

[Inner Surfer Girl 12,015]

I want to ask too, has she already had a psych consult? If she is like me, she might find it helpful to talk with a counselor or therapist, attend support group meetings, and/or even explore overeater's anonymous. Is she on BariatriPal, too? This is also a good source of support.

Obesity is a complex disease, and using every resource available doesn't hurt.

[Jefferyc79 103]

I agree with Inner Surfer Girl here. She should reach out to her NUT to see if she can find a diet that would help her lost more. I find that eating more Protein helps. I'm super sorry that your wife has to deal with this. When I started my program I was 342.7 pounds. Before my first meeting with the surgery I lost 15 pounds. He was very happy with that and told me that I didn't need to meet a weight requirement. He did tell me that the only time he makes a person lose a lot of weight is if they have a super high BMI. The larger you are the more weight they require for you to lose. He told me that at the most it's 10% of your body weight. Your wife is so close. I would maybe try going through another Bariatric program. Without knowing all of your wife's stats I can't tell you if the surgeon is just being a jerk about it. It's a disease. He should want to help. Wishing you all the best!

[Proud2BMe 1,016]

Unfortunately, requirements of weight loss are done to make sure that the person is actually in the right mind set and is truly sincere about losing weight. The sad truth is that many people who want the surgery should not get it because they have no intention of actually working to lose the weight. The surgery is not a miracle cure. If a person does not change their eating habits they will regain the weight, even if they have had the surgery.

My best advice would be to consult your doctor and see if she can begin the pre-op diet now. I lost 25 lbs in two weeks just on the pre-op diet. Otherwise, a low carb diet with emphasis on lean meat and Protein might be best. If she is not losing weight then the only answer is that she is consuming far too many calories and is not exercising enough. Unfortunately, there are no excuses or ways around that. Make her keep a record of what she is eating and I'm sure you will find that she is consuming far more than 1200 calories a day.

[BLERDgirl 6,417]

There's no easy answer here. Protocols vary from program to program. However the general school of thought is that most programs want to see at least an attempt to lose. My advice would be 2 fold. 1. Have a serious meeting with the nutritionist where they review her eating habits and also take into consideration her current activity level and any medical conditions.

2. If you have one of those nutritionist who only offer cookie cutter recommendations, skip the fad diets and just go back to basics. No diet food, just clean, basic, made from scratch food. No sodas and no more than one cup of coffee a day. Avoid processed foods and limits fruits to no more than one a day. Focus on dark green veg, and lean Protein. Walk for at least 30 minutes a day. If you can incorporate more physical activity do so. Drink Water until you can't stand it.