Wind taken out of my sails.....

Hello folks,
Like everyone here, I have battled with my weight for most of my adult life. I gave the idea of WLS a great deal of thought and research and finally applied. I have a BMI of 40.5. I have mild sleep apnea and have been fighting with my sarcoidosis and prednisone for the last 2 years. I have been off the prednisone for 4 months now. 
I saw the dietitian last month and since then have been working hard to improve my diet and have begun exercising. For obvious reasons I want to go into this surgery as healthy as possible and I want to develop good habits to continue after my surgery.
I saw my surgeon yesterday (my 59th birthday) and he asked whether I had lost weight. I told him yes, about 15 lbs. He said that perhaps I don't qualify for the surgery now and that I need to consider the risks of having the surgery. I told him that I really want to continue with my plans. He reluctantly had me sign my consent before I left.
My surgery is supposed to be on August 21st and I am now worried that he may cancel the surgery on that day if I lose more weight while on the Optifast, which is inevitable. I know he could cancel right up to time they begin surgery.
Instead of enjoying my birthday, I felt defeated and will now worry until I get into the OR.
Would appreciate anyone's thoughts............
Carol

Yikes.  I started the process at 251 and had lost 20 lbs prior to surgery.  My surgeon told me decision on surgery or not was based on my STARTING weight not day of surgery weight.

I guess I would ask the doctor to clarify.

That too is what the dietitian told me.

Start looking for another doctor now so that if he choses to cancel you will already have another surgeon lined up. My BMI wasn't quite that high and my surgeon had no problem with the surgery.

That is interesting,  my doctor wouldn't do the surgery if you didn't loose 10% of your body weight.  The office said was to prepare you and shrink your liver ( I always thought to see if you were committed also).    Have you done your research on your doctor?

With my insurance, having sleep apnea meant I could have a BMI of 35 and still qualify for surgery.  That may be something to check into.  I believe it's insurance (sometimes unfortunately) that decides if you qualify, and your choice, not your surgeon, though he may have good reasons for not wanting to, so I would ask him his concerns, that would ultimately decide if the surgery is the best choice for you.   

I know for me, the weight loss aspect is only a portion of the reason I made this choice.  I wanted to be able to better control my co-morbidities (PCOS, sleep apnea, high blood pressure) and wanted the best chance of keeping the weight off long term.  

Good luck!

 The question was brought up yesterday at the weight surgery seminar I had to go to where a gal was asking if they would decide not to do surgery if the patient lost [too much] weight before surgery. 

The surgeon that did our seminar said their stance is that they are not going to punish someone for doing well and following guidelines and like the post said above, they go off of start weight. 

I'm sorry your doctor made you feel like you should worry they won't do the surgery. I can tell you from the little I have learned that WLS is a self driven process even for the super obese folks trying to better their lives. So, though one doctor might not be there for you, it's not about that doctor, it's about you and your life. Be encouraged that most people lose weight before sugery! Some are required! Don't let it get you down. 

 This surgeon doesn't sound like someone I would want doing my surgery.  You need to find a Center of Excellence clinic and doctors who are looking to help people improve their quality of life.  Was this your first consult with the surgeon?  Are you doing nutrition classes? The reason we need to lose weight before surgery is twofold.  One, most insurances require it to show your commitment to the process and, two, it reduces the amount of fat in the liver so that there is less risk to rupturing your liver during surgery.  A doctor that thinks a 15 lb loss with a BMI of 40+ with disqualify you from surgery needs a second look.

 Typically it is your starting weight they look at not your presurgery weight or last weight when they submit for approval.  Having shown you lost weight makes a stronger case for you being compliant post-op.

 I'd hate to say this but seems to me like you need a new doctor.