Question:
Does anyone have suggestions what to say in your pre-op
I have my initial consult Monday and my surgeon likes to have a written "bio" of reasons for surgery. Does anyone have suggestions for what to include to help with approval? — Kewpidoll (posted on November 6, 2002)
November 6, 2002
Whatever you do--do not say that it will change your entire life and things
will be much better. Be specific: for instance: I will be able to attend
outdoor functions where walking is required, it will reduce my
hypertension, or it may alleve me of my diabetes which I see as a profound
threat to my future, or cancer runs in my family and I know that obesity
has been linked to cancer, or it return my sex life to a greater degree of
satisfaction, etc. They like specifics! Hope this helps
— Debbie H.
November 7, 2002
Kara, I did mine in three sections: Co-morbidities, Prior Weight Loss
Attempts, Motive and Support. Under the co-morbidities section I described
EVERY physical and emotional problem I have because of my weight. I
described diagnosed and undiagnosed problems. My prior weight loss section
included every diet, supervised or otherwise that I have ever been on. I
made a chart of the weight loss and subsequent gain. I also gave an
estimate of how much money I have spent on the effort. The motive section
contained the reasons I want to loose weight and my expectations for the
surgery. Finally, I included some information about my support structure
including my plans to attend support groups and my use of this site. I
hope this helps. If you want to see my letter, just send me an email.
— Amber L.
November 7, 2002
I was pretty well rpepared and impressed my surgeon and his staff. I had a
list of all the co-morbidities and problems I have had that were associated
with my weight even if they were not officially diagnosed or not. I also
made a spreadsheet. Since I am young, I went through my entire medical
records from a very young age and wrote my weight and height and my BMI.
This showed how long I have been obese. (Lord knows it has been a long
time) I also went through and wrote down all of my family medical history.
Things my different family members had like hypertension, obesity, heart
disease, cancer, and such. Then I wrote down all of the diet attempts I
could remeber for at least the last 5 years. I wrote down how long I was on
it (estimated dates) and the amount of weight lost and regained. This was
all estimated because I never kept that close of record on any of it. Last,
but certainly not least, I brought all of my information I had with me and
i also made a list of all the questions that I had that were not yet
answered. Most of them he answered before I got a chance to ask them, but I
just crossed them off and asked the rest. I also had a letter already
written to my insurance company to send in with my pre-certification, but
they said they didn't need it and they would use it if they had to file and
appeal. none of that happened, so it was OK. I hope this gives you some
insight, if you have any more questions, please feel free to let me know!
— sammygirlwpc
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