New and scared

[duckie75]

Hi everyone =) I am 4 months into this whole process and have 2 more lifestyle classes to go to and then everything will be submitted to insurance for an approval (I HOPE)!! I am scared because I have not been weight stable through my lifestyle classes. Here's the breakdown:

Month 1 246
Month 2 244
Month 3 249
Month 4 245

I am afraid I will be denied by insurance. I went to my pcp this past Thursday and was 253. I swaer I am exercising more now than I ever have in my entire life!!! Has this happened to anyone else out there??

 

[Pat99]

Before surgery my weight would fluctuate up to 11 pounds. I have a history of water retention. The telltale sign for me was swollen legs and feet along with discomfort in the swollen areas. Don't concern yourself about being rejected by insurance. The reason you are having the surgery is because you can't lose weight on your own and none of us would be in the situation we are in if we didn't gain weight. I have heard several times that the only weight disclosed to the insurance companies is your weight from the initial consult. There are some surgeon's that require you to lose a percentage of your weight or a minumum amount of weight before they will do the surgery. This is mostly because they want the surgery to be as safe as possible for you.

 

[Ladybicknase]

Your weight changes are not that significant, and as Pat mentioned, your initial weight is what is usually submitted to surgery. The insurance is also taking into consideration your medical conditions because of the weight. Don't worry to much, and good luck to you!

 

[robergnm]

Hey Ducky,

I think we all have little bit different situations and programs.
Are you keeping a food journal?
Have you met with a dietician that works especially with bariatric patients?
I met w/ours a little earlier in the process & found the consultation very helpful and encouraging.

You can do this ... stick to the fight when your hardest hit ... when things seem worse, you musn't quit.

All your questions are great and valid. Ask someone on the team where you're having your surgery.

I'm 46 and having my surgery this coming Wed at Froedert & Medical College of WI. There is a good sized team that makes up the Bariatric Center of Excellence.
Make a list of your questions and call, e-mail whatever and find out who you can speak with about them.
I've found that asking questions has worked well & in certain situations I've gone back to my PCP for assistance & she's always helped & been supportive.

I didn't think I would get insurance approval either. It's long process and there's a lot of paperwork submitted. I found out after the fact that our insurance actually outsources the screening process to yet another company. When I finally got approval I still had questions & called back to the insurance submission contact in our program to help me understand all the language about things being covered and then procedures before the surg not being covered, etc. Then the 1st letter from our provider's tpa said I was approved for 2 days of confinement - seriously, that's the word they used. But the dates were 01/01/12 to 01/03/12 with a letter dated May 24, 2012?

Anyone see a problem here? I called the date after I received the letter & they said they had the procedure as 06/06/12.
They sent another letter with the correct dates on them; I'm not taking any chances with this insurance approval stuff.

I honestly think that the program wouldn't be working with you if there wasn't a serious possbility of your insurance covering your procedure. Additionally they have probably worked with providers with initial denials to get the surgery coverage.

Now to figure out what works for you -- great to hear your exercising --- find out what you really should be eating in prep; write down the questions as you think of them.
You can do this; it's not like you've gained 25 lbs after an initial weigh in.
The weight will come off and you will feel better soon.

Best of everything - Mary

 

[TwoMas]

Hi Duckie, Welcome. I wouldn't worry too much of you about your weght fluxuation, like everyone else has said, it isn't that much. I do have one thought on it though and post surgery you may notice it. You said you have been exersicing now more than ever, so you are probably gaining muscle which is leaner that fat but as you burn some fat you replace it with muscle, after the WLS you will lose weight much faster with exersice but hit plateaus now and then as your body gets used to what you are doing. So keep working out and do what the doctors tell you and you will do fine. Your doing great. Tom

 

[duckie75]

Thank you so much everyone for all of your input and support!!! It made me feel so much better =) I have my 5 month weigh in coming up on June 13 then only one more to go.... Sometimes these 6 months pre-op seem to be dragging on and other days it seems to be flying by!!

 

[Karenina]

Dear Duckie75. are you using the same scales? I found my weight fluctuates about 9 lbs between different doctors offices. Also, I have 2 scales at home, 1 digital and 1 regular, that I don't even use because they are so inaccurate.