I'm just getting started......

Hi everyone...Has anyone in here had RNY with Dr. Hugh Houston in Nashville, Tn?  I'm just getting started and have my first WLS seminar on Saturday and was wondering what type of pre-op diet he puts you on.  My insurance (Cigna) is requiring me to go on a 6 month supervised diet because I don't have any documented diets in the last 5 years for more than 6 months at a time.  I know this is going to be a long journey getting all the paperwork done, but hopefully if all goes well, I may be able to have the WLS sometime in February.  I'm already so anxious and excited.

So if anyone from Nashville has been through this, let me know what to expect.  Thank so much and good luck to you all!

Hi. I've not had WLS yet. But Dr. Houston is my doctor. My DS surgery is actually this coming Monday. He puts you on a 2 day clear liquid diet before the surgery. I'm not sure about the 6 month diet. My insurance didn't require it. I know others that have had Dr. Houston for their surgery and everyone has given me great feedback about him. I really enjoyed the seminar. It was very informative. Dr. Houston actually gave a portion of the seminar. It helped me make my decision as to the type of surgery I wanted to have. Good Luck on your journey!!

Hi!  I have not had surgery yet either, but I have picked Dr. Houston to be my surgeon as well.  I have Cigna too. This is my last month on the 6 month diet!  I am hoping to have my surgery in Dec. because of my school schedule! There are alot of people on here who are Dr. Houston's patients and I have read nothing but wonderful things about him, which helped me choose my surgeon.

Just wanted to say hello and welcome!

Hello, Cigna is pretty much a stickler for the six month weight loss attempt; however, the good news is once they receive documentation of that attempt and the other items they require, they usually approve pretty quickly.

This is the diet requirement taken directly from the Cigna policy:
Documentation of active participation within the last 2 years in one physician-directed weightmanagement program for a minimum of 6 months without significant gaps. The weight-management program must include monthly documentation of ALL of the following components: weight, current dietary program, physical activity (i.e., exercise program). Programs such as Weigh****chers, Jenny Craig, and Optifast are acceptable alternatives if done in conjunction with physician supervision and detailed documentation of participation is available for review. For individuals with longstanding morbid obesity, participation in a program within the last five years is sufficient if reasonable attendance in the weight-management program over an extended period of time of at least six months can be demonstrated. However, physician-supervised programs consisting exclusively of pharmacological management are not sufficient to meet this requirement.

You can go to your primary care physician for this attempt, you just have to make sure he/she is DOCUMENTING everything (you will recieve a cheat sheet in your book at the seminar) or we offer a medical weight loss program you do in conjunction with your primary care physician (information on it will be in the seminar book too).

Hope this helps!

Good morning...Thank you everyone for replying. 

Kyhickchic...Good luck on your surgery on Monday, you'll be in my prayers.  I know you are soooo excited to being this journey. 

Fancee....Congrats on making it to your last month on the diet.  Let me know when you are scheduled for surgery.  

Again, thank you for the info.  I'm so ready to being this part of my life.  I'm so tired of being miserable everyday....my back hurts, my knees hurt, I ache all over (but I also have fibromyalgia).  I just want to be normal again.  I've had a weight problem all my life and just like many of you, I've tried ever diet known to man, only to lose and then pack on extra pounds when I quit.  Of course I went on Phen-Fen several years ago and ended up getting mitral valve regurgitation out of that.  I recently went to another weight loss center and was put on Phentramine and within 6 days I started having severe palpitations and had to go see my PCP and she gave me an EKG which showed no further damage, but I had to get off that.  (I actually felt like I was having a heart attack!)  And, yes, the doctor was made aware that I had mitral valve regurgitation.  I've been trying to get in touch with him to tell him about this problem, only to have the receptionist keep telling me that he will call me back and he still hasn't...that's been about 3 months ago!  Oh well, that's okay, because that's when I decided to do some more research and found out about this WLS and I feel very blessed!  

I really appreciate your support!  Good luck to you all and God Bless!