So confused tad bit long

Ok I went to my first pcp visit January 5th. He seems to be onboard but now I am not so sure. My insurance requires a six month supervised diet, so I am doing weigh watchers and figured I could just go in and get him to weigh me and write down what we need for approval. I have had sucess with WW and was hoping to stick with that. Well I get a call from a nutrionist today saying that my pcp has referred me to their office. I am on a very limited income and insurance will not pay for nutrionist so I asked them how much it is and they said 75 bucks an hour. OMG whatever lol....also in my referral to her there was no mention of wls but just weight loss diet. So I called and left a message for my pcp and of course the only person that ever calls you back is his nurse And she said I have to go to this nutrionist and they tell me exactly what my diet must consist of!!! grrrrrrr I have been on WW for a week and lost 3 pounds and I thought that was good...why do I have to change a good thing?? and pay for it now I am not sure if I should switch pcps...I really like him just seems he wants to do things long and drawn out...I also contacted the surgeon's office and she stated that I should see a nut and psych after my first consult with surgeon...sooooo confused and frustrated...thanks for lettin me rant.

Hi Karen, Well many insurances - when they say a doctor's supervised visit actually mean a nutritionist supervised diet - they will not usually accept a Weigh****chers diet because it is not considered a medically supervised diet - now some insurances WILL accept WW and doctor weigh ins but many do not accept it as the complete adherence to their terms.... So changing pcps may not be your answer either...although I would be tempted... What my surgeon did insist on was us paying $200 to his nutritionist for two sessions - one pre surgery which was an all afternoon one and you could not have the surgery if you did not go to this and one session afterwards whixh was about an hour or so. I actually thought it was money well spent as what I learned there was invaluable... but at the time I was not sure what I was paying for..... You may need to suck it up if you want the surgery..... Jackie

Tell your PCP that you cannot afford the nutritionist and see if they can work something out. But I will say, I went through the 6 month diet Twice and had to pay for weigh****chers the first time (they lost my paperwork) and then the second time I had to pay out of pocket to see a NUT. I wasn't exactly rich but I worked it out and cut back on expenses. She $100 an hour so $75 is cheap compared to what I paid. Had to see her every month too. It adds up. So make an appointment to see your PCP. Tell them that you are feeling sick, whatever, to get in to see him. Then ambush him. Sometimes we have to take an assertive role in this. If he still says see the nutritionist, then get another PCP. Times a wasting!

Karen, before you do anything drastic call your insurance and see exactly what their guidlines are and ask point blank if they will accept pvp weigh ins on WW. You will have a better idea once you have done this. Hope this helps. Anna