Newbie here with a question
Hello everyone my name is Kiasha I am 25, happily married 3 years next month, and planning to have an RNY done as soon as possible. Its a decision I have thought long and hard about for 3 years. I tried losing weight on my own and it just isn't working. I have PCOS, Papilledema, and Pseudotumor cerebri all which I have been repeatedly told would get better with weight loss. I am ready to make a permanent change in my life. I am hoping the surgery will make it possible for me to have a baby and most of all just be healthy.
I do have a question my insurance requires a 6 month medically supervised weight loss program. The hospital I want to have surgery at has one but its expensive. Could I just see my doctor once a month to meet this requirement? What did you do for those who had to meet this requirement as well?
I look forward to getting to know everyone and providing/receiving as much support as possible.
GM Kiki:
I have Kaiser and they requested a 6 month weight loss program. They authorized me to see a Kaiser nutritionist. I visited her once a month for 6 months. She provided me with a diet plan, that I tried to follow, and my weight was logged in monthly. I started light exercises like walk away the pounds and that helped me to lose enough weight to meet their criteria. Hope this info helps. Good luck to you.
Hi There!
I actually work for Kaiser Permanente in Southern California. I had the surgery through them. They required a 90 day program including counseling and losing 10% of your starting weight before they would even schedule the surgery. I had to also have a number of labs done as well.
There are no standard rules as to what is required for WLS; it varies wildly from facility to facility, and from insurance carrier to insurance carrier. There is a reason the insurance company wants you to have a medically supervised weight loss program, as they want to see you are serious about losing weight, and that you will be committed to keeping it off once you have the surgery. I would make sure that the weight loss program might include an counseling element as well. Most of our weight problems have mental issues behind them; if those aren't addressed, weight loss surgery might not be of any use at all.
Kudos to you for taking charge of your health! Having WLS was the best decision I have ever made. It saved my life!
Good luck to you!
