Need Personal Trainer and Eating Disorder Clearance for Insurance/Doctor Help

I went for my first of six consecutive monthly appointments with the dietician at my surgeons office today and also spoke again to my "advocate" (the person from the office that navigates me through insurance requirements).  In addition to my medically supervised 6 month diet, I have to have exercise documented by a personal trainer or the like for 6 months.  Personal trainers are really expensive.  Has anybody found an affordable way to achieve this?  Anybody in the downtown Miami area?? 

Next, after my assessment with the dietician, he met with the surgeon.  My surgeon is requiring that I get psychiatric treatment to resolve my history of eating disorders (lifetime of all sorts) and I must be cleared prior to him doing my surgery.  Has anybody else had to do this?  I welcome the help and know that it can only work for me in succeeding after surgery, however, I do not know how to find a "bariatric surgery open-minded" psychiatrist/psychologist that specializes in eating disorders.  I have to rely on them treating and clearing for the surgery.

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks

So I haven't heard of the personal trainer requirement but I had to have  psychiatric evaluation.  Since you mentioned an eating disorder, they may just want to make sure you are ready to manage the tool that is WLS.  If not, it won't be successful.  I would ask your surgeon to recommend someone, mine gave me a whole list of them.  I would ask them.  If they don't have any recommendations, I would reach out to my primary care physician for the psychiatrist and perhaps for his recommendations on a surgeon that has a complete offering including the counseling.

As for the personal trainer, I have a suggestion that I would run by your doctor, most gyms require you sign in electronically upon entering and the YMCA near my house also have some kind of hookup to a tool that logs your cardio to a website that tracks your activity.  I'm wondering if your doctor would accept a print out of your attendance at the gym and/ or the YMCA tracking tool if available in your area.  I would check with the gyms / YMCA and see what is offered and if they could do these print outs.   

Good luck!

Hi,

I have a wonderful idea for you. Curves has a six month program whi*****ludes your cardio, strength training and meal planning and management and a certified one on one weekly coaching.  It's all in one place and yes it is documented.  I think having everything in one place and at a reasonable price is a huge thing.  Check it out.

You could ask your surgeon for a referral to a "surgery friendly" psychiatrist.  Or you could look for an Eating Disorders Center. I have one here locally that I have been using for therapy for 3 years and they have a psychologist, nut, therapists, support groups etc.  and they are VERY surgery friendly. They have been a huge help to me in this process and I learned a lot in my six month program. Good Luck!

Is it your surgeon *****quires this, or your insurance company? If it's the surgeon, I'd be looking for a different one. Not everyone can afford a personal trainer, and insurance certainly won't cover one.

Thanks everyone.  I passed the psych evaluation from the psychiatric evaluation with the psychiatrist my surgeon's office uses, however, after my nutritional evaluation with my surgeon's dietician, they met and decided I need psychiatric treatment and clearance from a psychiatrist or psychologist that specializes in eating disorders and they didn't really have anybody to refer me to other than a nationwide center that treats eating disorders and I looked into the facility and it is not something I can do because of my work schedule.  I have a call into a psychiatrist I found online from psychology today so hopefully she can help me. 

The girl assigned to me at my surgeon's office that helps me with insurance requirements said that I have to have documented six months of exercise program and her only recommendation to achieve this is to hire a personal trainer.  I love the YMCA and Curves ideas so I googled locations nearest me and Curves is way to far away and the YMCA that is close to me is on the border of Overtown which is a pretty dangerous area.  Too dangerous for me.  The next nearest one is too far.  The problem with a place that is 10 miles away from me in downtown Miami translates to a hefty time commute because of the traffic. There is a local gym called the Downtown Athletic Club close by that I am going to go in and check out to see if they could have their class instructors somehow document my attendance.  Do you think that would work?  I don't understand how to get solid documented proof of me working out for this six month period.  This sucks pretty bad because I have gym equipment in my apartment, a gym in my apartment building and a gym in my office building that I have free access too as well, but none of these are manned with anybody that can document that I worked out.  grrrrr

Any other suggestions on how to get my exercise documented?

Thanks again,

Ashley