[KateB]

Hey all! I have been sort of MIA for a couple weeks. Still persuing WLS. Had an appt with my bariatric doctor and the dietician last week. I have lost 17 pounds in one month. I have been cleared to exercise by the orthopedic surgeon that did my knee surgery. It feels great to be back at the gym. Tonight...WATER AEROBICS!!!

So with all that said, I have a question. If I lose weight while waiting for the surgery is there a chance the insurance company will say I "don't need" WLS?

I have lost weight in the past on a medically supervised WL Plan, a few times even large amounts of weight. Once in my adult life I was even at the high end of "Normal". But I just can't seem to keep it off. And each time I lose weight, when I regain I end up higher than before the weight loss attempt. I need another tool, a little help, to get me to where I need to be and I really feel WLS is that tool.

I uizzed my doc a little when I was in last week about the possibility of losing "too much" before surgery. her answer was, "Studies show that people with successful pre-op weight loss have better post-op success." And went into some details about the body already being in weight loss mode. So she made it sound like it wouldn't be an issue, but she didn't banish my fears either.

[jiffypop]

<OMG the men's basketball coach for Australia is ADORABLE> sorry - i'm watching the start of the olympics semi-final while writing this. I may be old but i'm not DEAD!!!

Anyway - back to you Q, Kate. many surgeons want us to lose weight before surgery because it DOES make us better surgical candidates, reducing the risk of complications. And, you'll be that much closer to your desired weight. Remember, success at WLS is defined as losing half of your excess body weight, so getting as close as you can to your desired weight isn't a bad idea.

having said that, though, it's unlikely that you'll lose enough within the next 4 to 5 months to disqualify you from surgery. BTW, the biggest reasons that insurers want to see medically supervised weight management before is to see if you can follow directions and can stick to a program.

and it's ALWAYS good to establish healthy habits whenever and however you can.

so, it's all ok. honest!

[KateB]

I think I was having a moment of panic when I posted it that. I think I was reacting to my mother and best friend's (neither of whom favor WLS) comments in the nature of, "Keep it up, maybe you won't need surgery."

When I crunched numbers, I realized that there is no way I could lose enough to have a BMI that would indicate I didn't need surgery with in the next 5-6 months. No matter how much I exercised and how little I ate.

[jiffypop]

crunching numbers - what a great idea! most of us just sort of guess what we could do with yet another diet before surgery.

that line in your original post - about not keeping it off - that's really important to think about. in fact, that's the main reason i had surgery - to lose the weight and give msyelf the best chance to keep it off.

what did your mom say about your realization?

[KateB]

Ohhhh my Mother <insert eye roll> I love the woman dearly, but she is the most stubborn person I know.

I told her there is no way I could eat so little and exercise so much that I could lose enough weight with in 6 months to be in the healthy weight range. I also need something to help KEEP the weight off.

Which OF COURSE she turned around and threw back in my face. She said, "As long as you keep losing, it doesn't matter that you aren't to goal in 6 months, just stick with until you reach goal...then maintain. With or without surgery you have to change the way you eat forever, so JUSY MAKE THE CHANGE and don't have the surgery. If you have surgery you have to follow up with your doc/dietician regularly. You always do well when you keep regular appointments with them, it's when you quit going that you gain the weight. So just keep seeing the doc/dietician once a month and don't have the surgery. If you have the surgery you have to eat very small portions, very slowly, avoid sugars and carbs. So just start doing that without surgery if you think that is the way you want to live the rest of your life. If you can't follow those guidelines without surgery, you better not have surgery or you will have problems and be sick the rest of your life."

"Oh and you better find out what happens if you get sick and require medication. Will your stomach be big enough to take a bunch of pills. Look at what Gramma takes, that would fill up a tiny little pouch. And what happens if you get cancer, then what? Will you be able to have chemo if you have 'that surgery' (spoken like it was an STD or something)? You better be asking all those questions Katie (GAWD I HATE when she calls me Katie)before you get all gung-ho on mutilating your body!"

I think her new mission in life is to find all the negative things she can about WLS and share them with me. Which quite honestly is makingme almost as stubborn as her. If she were finding both pros and cons and sharing them both with me.

[annie175]

Kate....

I found prior to having WLS that I had to disconnect from those who were negative and did not support my decision. Yes, some were very close relatives. (my daughter for a few months, she finally came around). I did not even tell my mom or dad at all because they are/were so negative at all times. It has been 5 1/2 years since my surgery. My momma passed on without ever knowing. My dad still does not know. Only one of my 3 brothers is aware as he and his wife were part of my positive support team. Hope this helps in some way.