I'm baaaaack.

I say it like that because I've been here before. Roughly 10 years ago, I opened a profile on this forum, and immediately forgot about it, hadn't posted since, and here we are. I'm actually surprised my profile is still active. Pleasantly, mind you. Anyway, here's my story. I'd be willing to bet that most of us are more or less in the same boat. Unhealthy relationship with food, we eat our emotions, hate our physical selves, eat, and the cycle continues until we see 300 on the scale. Same here. Well, 270 to be precise. I started down the RNY path almost 20 years ago. I lived in Virginia, and had a cushy county government job, and good insurance that paid for bariatric stuff. A requirement of my procedure was completing some counseling, some personal and some group. I had finished the personal and was in session 3 out of 5 in the group. I didn't have a surgery date yet, but I was close enough to taste it. The counseling was the last hurdle, if I recall. Even in my late 20s I was not scared of the surgery. I didn't want to be fat anymore, that's all I knew. As it turns out, my family talked me out if it, so I bailed on the whole thing. Within a year or so, I got divorced, moved across the country, I had a new job, new insurance (that didn't pay for this), so I just kind of put it out of my mind. My family was only thinking of my health, and wanted me to be safe. Note that they were all thin - I was the only fat kid in my family. They didn't talk me out of the procedure out of anything but love for me. So, I went with it. For 20 years. Now, I find myself scaring 50, but starting 1/1/22, I will have insurance that says they pay. Blue Cross Gold Options PPO something or other. I don't know all the details, but I made an initial appointment at The Bariatric and Metabolic Center of Colorado on 1/20/22. Dr Long is the guy. He has good reviews, here and other places. Not one bad review that I could find.

So, here we go again. Has the "onboarding" process changed? Is the counseling still a requirement? I'm all for it, just a little eager to get past it, since I've done it before. Most of it. If anyone has any input about that insurance, the location, the doc, any of it, I would certainly listen.

For what it's worth, I remarried 12 years ago to a wonderful beautiful awesome woman, I have a joyous, bright, shiney 10 year old daughter, who is my sunrise and sunset, and not to sound cliche, but I do have a wonderful life, and I am so grateful for it. My wife and I actually haven't discussed this, yet. My previous exposure to this was before we met. I had done all my homework, and all that long ago. She is new to this idea, so it's going to take a little time to let her absorb all that this is, and all it means. If anyone has any pointers on bringing the spouses around to our way of thinking on this, I'd be all ears for that too.

My first appointment is almost a month away, so I don't think I'll be updating with much until then. I'll just have to wait. Hopefully I'll have good news.

Cheers!

It seems like every program has their own pre op requirements so you should take any one's feedback with a grain of salt, unless they went through your exact program.

mine required a full day evaluation with the surgeon, bari nurse, shrink and dietician to determine if I should be in the program. Once accepted it was 10 weeks of behavioral change classes; monthly appts with the dietician and psychologist with deliverables each month, a minimal weight loss goal pre surgery as well. Then they had to all review and determine if I was a good candidate (plus insurance had it's own hoops too). It was all worth it!

my surgery was in AZ but I'm here in Colorado. If you do come back to be active, the RNY thread is good for support, regardless of type of surgery.

good luck with your process

I had my surgery ten years ago when pre-op requirements were often stricter. You had to truly prove you were committed to a total lifestyle change before theyd ever consider approving you ( insurance requirements which have since been relaxed had a lot to do with this too )

I had to lose so much ( mostly through a largely liquid diet and a LOT of daily exercise ) that going into surgery I was smaller than many of my nurses ( who all questioned my choice to get bariatric surgery when I could clearly diet ) My answer was I cant KEEP it off ! which they Totally understood lol!

I didnt tell anyone in my family because I knew theyd never understand.. ( they, like your family are naturally slim) but I did have a good friend who visited me and drove me home and was a great support in the hardest first eight weeks of post op recovery . Good luck ! Hugs

Wow. So they put you on a diet beforehand? I don't remember that, as part of my deal. That's interesting. Well, it obviously was a success for you. Very cool!

I just met the weight requirements to have the surgery. My preparation was meeting with the nutritionist, attending group meetings, going through some medical tests, and a few sessions with a psychologist. Also, to be sure I did not lose any weight during the six month period, which might have disqualified me,

I told my family and took my mom to meet with some successful patients. That eased her mind. My surgery was scheduled for the first of December and my family was planning this huge Thanksgiving "last supper" for me. I ended up getting the surgery in October and could not eat more than a few ounces on Thanksgiving. That was in 2007. Surgery was the best decision I ever made. I have put it off for years and years.

This board is mostly dead. Join the RNY menu thread and I suggest just copying this post to the RNY. There are people there who will help and support you.

So your process was being on a diet and make sure you didn't lose any? This is fascinating. It seems everyone's process is a little different. When did you have your procedure?

I'm not exactly sure what the rationale is behind that - at first I was afraid if I lost too much I might be disqualified because the insurance company would think I could lose weight on my own, but then I was assumed it was to see I was able to follow a program long-term (well, for at least six months anyway, since that's how long most insurance companies seem to require). Of course, if your weight drops below the minimum BMI requirement for surgery, then that could pose a problem -unless your insurance company only goes by your initial BMI. At any rate, I lost 57 lbs before surgery, and it certainly didn't disqualify me (I still had a 40+ BMI even after losing the 57 lbs). So I do think that for most people, it's to see if you're able to commit to a program and stick with it long-term.

I was not on a calorie restricted diet. I was advised not to eat white foods like potatoes, bread, cake. I ate lean meat and vegetables and gave up the Diet Coke. My surgeon was afraid that the insurance company would withdraw approval if I lost on my own. I think I was something like one pound over 40 BMI.

That's about where I'm at, I'm real close to 40. If they put me on a diet for 6 months, I bet Ill get below 40. I guess time will tell!

Every insurance company has a board that reviews the request for weight loss surgery. They may decide that you still need surgery or that you can proved you can do it without surgery. Why take a chance? The doctor told me unofficially not to lose any weight. He could not put that in writing. You have to take care of yourself and do what is right for you.