No Documentation of Weight Loss

Hi!
Has anyone heard what happens if you don't have any (or little) documentation of attempts of weight loss?    Recently, since I've moved to NC I've always tried to lose weight on my.

Judy

Hi Judy, I'm not sure if your insurance is requiring this of you or if it's your doctor, but I didn't have to have any documentation of attempts at weight loss for either.  The only  thing I had to do for my surgeon's office was to fill out a form indicating what diet programs and/or regimens I had tried for the past several years.  Don't know if that helps you any or not, but I'm not sure what kind of documentation you are needing.  Good luck! Hugs, Donna

Donna, I just went through my Lap Band procedure last month w/ Duke.  There is a special form that you need to fill out that describes your weight loss history to your doctor, but no documentation is required. Hope this helps. Best of luck Elena

Elena,  Thanks so much for the information.    Do you know who I contact to get the form? Judy

Have you officially applied to the center and paid the application fee?  When you do that, they are suppose to give you a thick binded booklet. At the very end of it you would find an example of what they want you to include in the form.  I suggest typing it yourself with your own information/history/etc. and sending it to your physician.  Your physician then will add couple (hopefully) minor changes, sign it and you would be done. Let me know if you have any questions.  Good luck, Elena

For my surgeon the 'documented weight loss attempts' was me filling out a form saying what I tried, when I tried it and how it worked. My insurance company required no weight loss documentation. If your insurance company is requiring it I would call and ask them what exactly they are looking for, what if you dont have it and can something else substitute - some insurance companies do require a 6 month supervised diet so its good to find that out now and get started if necessary!

I just had to fill out a paper that listed what I had done in the past.  I did not have to have STRICT documentation like I did with weight history.  I think the doctors office needs them, and not necessarily the insurance.   Good luck!

Hi Judy,

As you know, I had my surgery through Duke last year. I had the same experience that Jennifer K had. I filled out a form that Duke provided. I also submitted a letter that listed all the 'attempts' that I could recall. Many had been, as you said, 'on my own,' but as I thought of the things I tried over the years I also found that I had tried some supervised programs such as Weigh****cher's I just gave them the approximate month and year of the weight loss attempt and loss and subsequent gain I experienced. I just let my mind wander through the various events in my life where I had tried to lose ... sometimes for a special event, like a wedding ... sometimes, I had a particular success; followed by a disappointing regain. I originally saw the weight loss history as insurmountable, but it's amazing how many attempts you will remember. I don't know if your insurance requires a medically supervised attempt or not. You can contact them and they can and will tell you if they do require a medically supervised attempt. If they do, you want the details of what they require because it can vary widely. You will want to know how long the attempt needs to be, if they have a requirement for guidelines of the attempt and how old it can be. Does it have to be 6 consecutive months, documented by a physcian within the past year or could it be a 'supervised' weight loss attempt with JennyCraig or WW's and say 3 months that occured within the past 18 months ... as you can see, the requirements can go from nothing to more strict. My insurance required a 6 month medically supervised weight loss attempt that had to occur within 12 months of applying for the procedure. If your insurance does require a supervised attempt, they usually want it to be consective months. If so, you can start seeing your PCP and let them know that you need to be on a medically supervised program. IF you have to do that, don't let it intimidate you ... you can do it.

Barb