Question:
Optifast for 6 weeks before surgery?

I just spoke with the PHP insurance case manager today. The surgeon they use here in Lansing MI is Dr. Kam. He requires all patients to go on Optifast for the 6 weeks prior to surgery. That means a liquid diet of 800 calories. Is that unusual? I can understand a few days to even a week prior to surgery to "clean things out", but 6 weeks? He thinks this makes you an ideal surgery candidate, helps you lose weight before surgery, and helps you to learn how to deal with head hunger (optifast has a therapy/support component now with a nutritionist, therapist and exercise physiologist.) What do you think?    — [Deactivated Member] (posted on September 12, 2002)

September 12, 2002
Was on Opti in May for three weeks went down 21lbs, first four days the hardest, hair loss five weeks later. This is a wonderful wonderful plan for being an ideal surgical candidate. Wish I would, could want to do it. Baby Betty is whispering in my ear... you'll never have ice cream, cheese cake, soda again, you better eat some now, last night I had to have raw clams, I know I will be unable to eat normally for a long long time and I want to taste everything (last supper syndrom). If you can give yourself this gift then go, girl. I lost 98lbs on Opti 20 years ago in five months, and kept it off for 4 yrs, however... here I am back up the scale. I want to exercise too, but Baby Betty won't get her big silly bottom out of bed at 5am to walk before work, after work is out of the question , too much aches by that time. What is best is definitely to cut back, and/or opti and exercise before surgery, simple, but I can't make me listen. Betty Van
   — Betty V.

September 12, 2002
If I'm not mistaken your Doctor trained with Dr. Scholten in Grand Rapids. Dr. Scholten is my doctor. Dr. Scholten requires all patients do loose weight before the surgery. I apparently got into the program just before PHP started making all patients go on Optifast, but I will have to loose weight anyway, and then be on a diet the doctors office prescribes closer to the surgery date. We can do it!! Good Luck!
   — sherry H.

September 12, 2002
Optifast is one of the most expensive weight loss programs around, if not THE most expensive (short of WLS!). Is the surgeon who requires his patients to achieve pre-op weight loss by using Optifast, and ONLY Optifast, the very same guy who's selling the Optifast and doing all the monitoring of that profitable little program? If not, does he have a business relationship with whoever is selling/monitoring it? I can understand why he might require pre-op weight loss, but I can't understand why, MEDICALLY, he'd push this particular weight loss program to the exclusion of everything else. This falls under the category of "things that make you go 'hmmmmmm.'" (I sure hope I'm wayyy wrong in being such a cynic!)
   — Suzy C.

September 12, 2002
Suzy: My insurance company, PHP, is affiliated with Sparrow Health systems here in mid-Michigan. Dr. Kam is one of Sparrow's surgeons. The Sparrow Weight Management Center is the one who does Optifast. Kind of incestuous, huh? While PHP will pay the medical part of the 6 weeks, I will have to pay for the "food", which I think will be at least 10 bucks a day. I did kind of wonder if Dr. Kam owns major stock in optifast or something...
   — [Deactivated Member]

September 12, 2002
I spoke with my surgeons staff about such diets. They didnt believe it was a good or desireable idea to require them. I think some surgeons are putting patients thru unnecessary hardships and perhaps this one has a fiancial interest in optifast as well.<P> I encourage anyone running into such rules to shop around for a different surgeon. WE MOs have been thru enough and dont need to jump thru hoops like this. WLS is a BUSINESS! If the surgeon suddenly found his new patient volume down over such a issue he or she would change the rule. We are CUSTOMERS and shouldnt let ourselves be pushed around.<P> Sorry to be so DIRECT but WLS is hard enough without examplews like this.<P> As to head hunger! 6 weeks will be REAL HUNGER unaffected by the WLS you need. Head hunger is bad but REAL HUNGER pre op is a killer and why were all MO. <P>A ideal surgery candidate? Its someone working with their surgeon. I admit you will loose weight and make the surgeons job a bit easier. 6 weeks of this torture, find a new surgeon yours doesnt care aboiut thoise he is supposedly trying to help.
   — bob-haller

September 12, 2002
My sister is also having to do the Optifast. She is having her sugery through McLarren Weight Management in Flint MI. She just told me last week that it will cost her $1650.00 for the Optifast alone. I believe this is an outrage. I had my surgery without using it and have had wonderful success. What it all boils down to is .....MONEY! The will get it because people will do anything and pay anything to be rid of the horrible consequences of obesity. I would suggest that you check with BTC in Ypsilanti. They are great there and they don't make you pay for things you don't need. Good Luck!!
   — DRutherford

September 13, 2002
After getting the run around for 9 months from my surgeon's office (insurance processing people) and my insurance company, I finally gave up any real hope of getting surgery. But I HAD to lose weight no matter what because I just couldn't stand being this way anymore. So I went to a local diet doctor who put me on a 500 calorie/day liquid diet. It's similar to Optifast but used whey protein instead of collagen. I lost 20 lbs. in 2 weeks and then halfway through the 3rd week I got a call from the surgeon's office. I was FINALLY approved for surgery and my surgery date is 2 weeks away! September 26th! :) Between my own regular dieting and this liquid diet, I am down 36 lbs. since I last met with the surgeon. I am tempted now to eat real food and "taste" all this stuff one last time, but I'm not doing it. I'm staying on the liquid diet until I have to go on clear liquids right before surgery. I've already gotten the real cravings and hunger out of the way. I'm used to not eating and I don't really think I need to start in on the pizza now! And I am hoping that I've reduced the size of my liver by not eating fatty stuff right before surgery. From what I've read, an enlarged fatty liver is one of the major reasons surgeons have to switch from laproscopic to open during surgery and I want laproscopic!! I don't know about requiring you to go on a liquid diet before surgery, but from someone who did it kind of by accident, I honestly think I made things easier on myself.
   — Tired P.