6 month diet questions

i am on medicare and I am on a doctors supervised diet with one flaw...the office doesn't weigh me. They have never offered to weigh me. I am on weigh****chers online (the doctor suggested) and I cannot make the meetings so will me weighing and recording it and taking it to the doctor work?? I really need help with this..the only other thing I can think of is buying scales that will weigh me and then taking them with me when I go. Any advice??  I would appreciate it... Tina

Hey Tina!  Have you mentioned to the Dr. what the office visits are for.  Mine was only weighing me.  I turned around and gave him the list that Cigna required be done.  And each visit made sure he documented each and every fact!  Anyway, don't give up!  Keep figting the fight, and pray!    

I assumed since I told him why I was coming in was to re-start my medications that I had not been able to purchase when my husband left me last year and that I wanted to get the six month diet behind me for medicare to approve my surgery.  He is pro surgery and has sent other for it, so I assumed he knew what I would need for notations. I guess I will need to speak to his nurse about it when I talk to her about my therapy questions. I dont have a list to what medicare requires...I wish I did... but thanks a bunch for helping me out... :) I have never stopped praying because I am way closer to my goal than I was two years ago!! God bless you so much!!!!

Hi Tina. Why does he not weight you? I would make sure he is noting that your visits are weight management visits. That is very important. Also, if he doesn't weigh you, then make sure you weigh yourself like you have been doing and take with you to the Dr and make him note that in your file. I am not sure if the monthly weights are as important as the fact that you are there for weight managment/nutrition but I would make sure he does put in your weight on every visit weather it be by him or you. Good luck.

What is you doctor putting down as your monthly weight?.... Part of the visit should include you weight and blood pressure... I have Medicare... and  if your weight isn't on that form they might reject your supervised diet...all together!...... When you go to see your doctor...ASK to be weighed. ASk them to document in great detail what you are doing to try to lose weight... MY surgeon gave me specific forms to take to my doctor and have them filled out...... They have to know in detail if you are doing any kind of exercises...even sitting in a chair using  3 lb arm weights.....Walking.... and then they want to know on each sheet if the doctor prescribed you any medication to help lose weight...FLUID Pills count!.......  At the bottom of the sheet it has a place for your doctor to  write his recommendations for you...such as NO carbonated drinks.... Low fat diet.... Increase water... They want it very detailed..... I hope that helps...... you can PM me if you want more information. Best Wishes to you!

I guess I have a lot of stuff to talk to my doctor about when I go back....  I just don't want to not get my shot at getting the surgery ...after waiting for over 5 years...

My doc never weighs me so I have to... this is kind of embarassing to most people but I'm so different than other people with being overweight and confidence... ANYWAYZ... I go to the local small time aluminum recycling place and weigh myself because there are no docs in tn that have a scale to weigh over 400 lbs unless you go to a weight loss center and I live well... far away from weight loss centers just to go and weigh. I started my diet last month and I document my weight every month at the alumnium recycling place.

well this is what I am going to do ... I am going to order a pair of scales from this link http://www.livingxl.com/store/en_US/index.jsp. It really isn't a bad deal for larger sized weighing scales. I thank you all for your help. I talked to the doctors office today and got it all squared away... we are on the same page. They are well aware of the processes that medicare ask for and said that everything will be fine...  I am just hanging in there so that I can join so many of you on the loosing side!!! God bless you all for helping me out!!! Tina

Hi Tina, is Medicare requiring the 6 month diet and weigh-in?  What is your BMI? How much do you weigh currently?  What are your comorbilities?  My reason for the questions is my BMI was over 50, I was 299 lbs, and I had sever comorbilities.  I only had to lose 10% of my body weight for me to have surgery and I'm on Medicare.  I had sever comorbilities including the fact I have leukemia.  That 299 lbs was in November 04, I found out I had leukemia in July 05, and Dr. Colquitt agreed to do my surgery when my blood work was in normal range meaning my white blood cells as it fights infections.  Mine at the time was 50,500.  Normal white cell count is 4000-10,000, a month later I was at 8000.  My surgery date I weighed in at 277 in January 06.  That's when I had my surgery.   I didn't have to do the 6 month weight-in Dr. supervised diet.  But yes you need to have your weight checked each month and documented if Medicare is requiring it, or if the surgeon is requiring it.  If it isn't documented, you will not be approved, and Medicare doesn't give prior authorization, until the medical bills from surgery are sent to them.  I have never received a report from Medicare that the bills were paid, where I receive everything else that Medicare pays on.  Last I spoke to Medicare they said they are still processing the bills, it will be 2 years come January.  I am curious what it costed as I had to stay in the hospital 5 days.  They didn't know at the time what was causing my potassium levels to drop so much, it was from the chemo pill I had to take while in the hospital and I needed a pint of blood as my red blood counts dropped too low.  I am anemic because of the leukemia.  So I am imaging that my bill was probably close to $100,000.   Let me know regarding the top questions regarding the requirements for Medicare.  Because that is all new to me.  I've never heard of them requiring a 6 month Dr. supervised diet with monthly weigh-ins.  

Kathy, It was my understanding that medicare would require a six month doctor supervised diet. I weigh 465(or there abouts) and have type II diabetes, borderline high cholesterol, asthma, and depression. I thought I met the requirements by weight and with type II diabetes and asthma...but then I don't know exactly what they require. I am not too worried about the weigh in's. I will just have to make up the two visits I didn't get weighed so that will put me 8 months out instead of six... :( but I have waited 6 years...I can wait another I guess. thanks so much everyone for helping me out... I really do appreciate it. Tina