Bad News....

 I've been in my program for 7 months now and I feel like I will never be "good enough" to get "approved" by the bariatric team. I feel like they want me to live and eat EXACLTY like I will after surgery... but in reality if I could do all those things WHY would I be in this situation and having surgery?!?!? I have been logging food and exercise for months... now they are suggesting counseling... which is great... I WANT to do that on my own... I am starting to go to OA also... but doesn't EVERYONE who is having the surgery have some type of eating disorder? How did we get here?? I have been trying to be positive... Talked to a good friend and advised that I pray... I will continue to pray and know that he has a plan and I have to know that I will have the surgery when "he" knows I'm ready and my time... It's just harder the longer it drags on... Thanks for listening...

 Is this program so restrictive because of your insurance company, or is it the surgeon? Have you talked to anyone else getting WLS from your surgeon?  

I am currently in my second year of this merry-go- round. I am a 58 year old single woman and have problems with very high cholesteral, high blood pressure and severe sleep apnea.  

I have had and used a CPAP for 3 years now, and was STILL required to have an additional sleep study,(which makes a total of FIVE at $5000 each+$500 to have it READ) I've had the upper GI, Chest X-ray (twice)two sets of breathing tests, and four additional visits with a pulmonologist, a calcium score, a nuclear stress test, venus dopplar ultrasound, bone density test, my gen practitioner has written TWO letters of reccomendation and I have completed the 6 months of a medically supervised diet with the GP filling out paperwork for each month. I also attended the ONE mandantory in house support group meeting. I had an additional one on one meeting with the in house nutritionist, and three visits to a cardiologist for clearance from HIM.

The psyche evaluation is also required to be in-house (University of Pennsylvania) and required a LIFETIME diet history. I was a fat kid with fat parents and 8 younger fat siblings.... as you can imagine...the 45 minute questioniare took me about 4 hours to complete.  I mean for GAWD'S sake.... I"M 58!!!!!

Now they have decided that I will need AT LEAST six sessions of Psychotherapy because the 30 year old who evaluated me feels I need to learn additional coping skills(i guess because I neither drink or smoke and have never experimented with drugs). They would also like me to attend their in-house medically supervised diet program and volunteer to report to them for the next 5 years after all is done.

Honestly.... I feel like I am about to explode. each one of these visits requires a full day of my time and several train and bus rides into thecity. I will admit that I DO have problems with young girls in $2000 pumps twirling their hair and telling me that they "just want what's best " for me. Like Um, you know .... taking a hot bubble bath with scented candles? 

The problem is that while I have very little income, I have VERY good health insurance, and I really feel that HUP is milking it to death round out their budget deficit.

What I wonder is how many of the folks who are treated in this way are single women? I don't recall any of the guys being required to undergo all this additional bulls**t. Both of my friendswho have had the surgery started the process long after I did, and are both now 3-4 months out and doing well.  Both of them however, are married.

 WoW! My husband and his single male friend just had surgery and they were both done in 2-3 months. I have now decided to put my "surgery dream" on hold. It was no longer a positve experience and I was more stressed out than ever. If I do decide to have it done it will def be with a different program/hospital. I hope and pray that you don't have to jump through any more hoops and can get the surgery done so you can move on to a healthy and happy life. My issue was not my insurance company but the program/hoptial I choose. My husband and his friend went through a different program.