Documenting weight loss attempts

Hi! I have a question regarding documenting previous weight loss attempts. What is deemed appropriate for this? Should I have saved my receipts for buying Slim Fast and doing Weigh****chers? Just want to make sure I do it right.

Thanks!

I cannot say for sure what the rules are for your insurance or your surgeon's office.  However, for my documentation, they accepted my estimates on all things I listed.

I think it is unlikely that insurance would expect you to have actual receipts from past years.  I mean, one thing I listed was for something I tried when I was 10 years old!  Of course, then I never imagined I would be seeking WLS and that I should save a receipt.  Nor did I expect that need when I was biking in my teens, or doing NutriSystem in my 20's, nor during any of the other things I tried during my 50 years of life.  :-)

I remember that "previous attempts" part of the form feeling daunting.  Finally I felt that what they were really looking for was a pattern of honest attempts.  Money spent is one statistic, like time, and even when we self report from memory, it paints a full picture of a person's efforts over their lifetime.

By the way, I had a huge emotional release after writing down all those attempts.  At first, I felt like a failure..how could I have tried so much and failed?  Finally, though, I felt so much self respect.  After looking at the completed list, I could see that I really had tried honestly and hard my entire life.  I felt respect for my efforts, and could see that any other attempt, no matter how focused, would probably not put me in any better place. It gave me greater resolve to seek the surgery to help me, and something to look back on now to remind me of my resolve, as I face surgery in just 4 days!

Good luck to you!

My PCP suggested WLS to me.  He has been my pcp for about four years.  During the past two years I saw him on a regular basis, the year before my surgery I was seeing him every month for pain management - so every month I was weighed.  So I got a letter from him which set forth my highest weight, the fact that he recommended WLS and my attempts at losing weight while seeing him, and my weight history thru the time he wrote the letter.  That satisfied my insurance company.

Check with your insurance company, because some require a formal supervised diet - check your policy and see if they have specific language.

Good luck!

My insurance pretty much took my word as to what weight loss attempts I've tried in the past. I think they just wanted to see that I tried something in the past, how long I tried, how much I lost/gained etc, how many different times I tried etc, they weren't looking for any receipts, who has that?

I still had to do the dr supervised weight loss diet for 4 months b4 my ins would pay for wls anyway & while I really didn't lose any weight, it was more important to not gain any, kinda like a last good try b4 surgery.

I had to do both have my doc send a letter verifying I had attempted weight loss with diets and exercise in the last 5 yrs and I had to also do a 6 mo. medically supervised weight loss attempt with a copy of the Dr's notes sent to the insurance co. So it totally depends on your insurance, call them and ask for a copy of their requirements.