Anyone had their surgery at Ohio State Hospital?

Was wondering if anyone has had surgery at Ohio State Hospital? I was told that they made you lose weight before the surgery? Is this true?

i had surgery at OSU on 5-4. They do not make you lose weight prior to surgery but you do have to attend 4 dietary classes before surgery. These classes are very important and help you learn how and what to eat after surgery. They do weigh you but this is not "counted" for or against you. Before the classes you have already been accepted into the program and insurance papers have been filed. Some peop;e are required to take a 12 week supervised diet class prior to this. But even if you do lose, it is the weight you are at the first dietary evaulation that is on all the paperwork.

They strongly encourage you to be losing weight during your 4 week classes. This will not prohibit you from surgery if you gain. I actually gained a couple of pounds although I think it was mostly water. I did do some panic eating too, not good. Are you accepted in the program? I think it is very good and very thorough. I don't know what I would have done without the education classes. Mel

No, I haven't even applied there yet. I have the app. all filled out though but my husband works for Walmart Distribution Center and they denied my surgery so I applied for disability with Social Security last year and found out yesterday that I was approved for disability. I should start receiving Medicare this fall. As soon as I start Medicare I'm going to go ahead and send my application to Ohio State. My cousin was telling me about her friend who had the surgery at OSU and she said her doc told her she had to lose 50 pounds before he would do surgery. I understand having to get use to a diet and eating a certain way but in my personal opinion, if I could lose 50 pounds on my own then I wouldn't need the surgery in the first place.

Melissa: There are alot of misconceptions about OSU. I didn't even see the surgeon until a couple of months before my surgery. The program will want you to complete a 12 week diet program with a Dietician. OSU has a program you can enroll in, I had a Dietician I worked with and I felt more comfortable 1-1. She is with The Rite Bite in westerville. You must complete daily food diaries and the Dietician must send in reports to OSU. I was not expected to lose any certain number only that I needed to demonstrate I could follow a healthy calorie counted diet and lose weight, I lost about 7 pounds in the 12 weeks. It may depend on the type of suregery, LAProscopic, LAP Band or open that you want. I believe you cannot be too far over 300 to have the laroscopic, they will have to do open. I would go ahead and send in your application and get started on the diet part... Insurance approval can always come later, this way you won't be delayed. I had Dr. Needleman and I was very happy with him. All the Nurses, dieticians, interns are all very respectful. I was in the hospital from Wed to Sat and I only had one personal care asst. I didn't care for very much. Since we all have body image issues, I was worried about this. I was also in a room to myself. I really do not know anything about the other programs and the education process. Mel

I had surgery at OSU (I used to live in Ohio). I had lost weight on my own before even applying. But during the classes I lost 13lbs and then within the month before I saw the surgeon I had gained back the 13lbs and they said nothing. But like I said I had already lost 40lbs on my own from my highest before even applying. But I went through most of their process on my own from my hometown before even seeing the surgeon, then I got my date for 2 weeks later.

Hi Melissa, I am about 9.5 months out and had my surgery at OSU. The 4 week class that you take before surgery isn't where I felt I had to loose weight. However, my insurance required that I take a 3 month weight management class. It was offered at OSU through the Living Well program. I could not get insurance approval without taking this class. I strongly suggest taking this class. I wish I had put more effort into it. I was right on the borderline of being able to qualifiy with my pre-surgery BMI so I was worried about loosing too much weight and being denied by insurance. The Living Well class is really fabulous. They incorporate healthy eating, exercise and behavior modification. I believe these things are helpful in the long term after surgery. I have lost 94 pounds and am now able to eat more at a time and a much wider variety than the first few months after surgery. I now am at a point where I feel that it is important to "watch" what I eat. I find that it is still important to make healthy choices. The surgery truely is a tool. I believe that if I had put more effort into the classes I would struggle a little less now. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Good luck, Shellie

Melissa I have Medicare and my surgery is May 24th at St. Vincents in Cleveland and I know Medicare does not require any Diet info or attempts as long as you have at least 2 Co-Morbities such as Hypertension, Diabetes, Sleep Apnea. and so on. Also with Medicare there is no Pre-Approval needed they do the surgery and then submit for payment. Jim

I have alot of Co-Morbities..Hypertension, Diabetes, Anxiety/Panic Attacks, Chronic Fatigue, Joint pain, Depression, High Cholesterol, Sleep Apnea..like I said I just got approved for SSDI and I haven't got Medicare yet but should receive it this fall, hopefully it will be easy to get approved. Melissa

Just had to throw my 2 cents in. My insurance, like others, required me to lose the weight. OSU just helped with that. I had 3 mo's of supervised diet, excerise and classes then a 4 wk class on just surgery alone. Then my date was set. The classes, I feel, are the best thing I've ever done in support for this surgery. You learn how to eat, why you eat and how to may good choices( I sound like my nut now lol) I've lost 118lbs since 10/10/06 with the help of the surgery and the info I've learned. Too many people take the classes as a negitive thing when it should be looked at as a learning time. The surgery isn't a cure, it's a tool that we have to decide to use or we don't get the full benifit from it. My stay at OSU was great surgery on monday out on wed. Denise W 398/280