6 mo. completed, now more requirements out of the blue

This may be long, but I appreciate any feedback/suggestions you have to offer.  I recently completed my 6 months required by BCBS for WLS.  I am going through Fairview Southdale WLS and met with Dr. Peirce last Friday.  My problem is that I have only lost about 2 pounds over the past 6 months.  No one has ever had a problem with it, they have just said, "you need to lose the weight before surgery."  I know this and I will.  My life has been incredibly stressful lately and I'm proud of myself for not gaining weight during this time! 

I met with Dr. Peirce last week, and he was understanding of how difficult it is to lose the weight with PCOS and even said he wouldn't cancel my surgery if I only had a few pounds to go.  Last Tuesday, I met with Sally, the dietician, and she acted so disturbed through my entire appointment.  She didn't care about the changes I have made, only focused on the ones I am still working on (diet coke, not drinking with meals, 10 pound weight loss).  She made me feel like an absolute failure.  I was pretty stressed out at the appt. b/c I was going out of town the next day.  She brought up the idea of seeing someone who deals with food issues.  I agreed to check into it.  I am already seeing a therapist who doesn't specialize in food/weight issues, but we discuss surgery and afterwards. 

Well, I returned from my trip to a message from the PA (Dvorak), whom sounded very nervous, and a letter outlining the additional requirements they have set for me.  When I left my appt. on Tuesday, Anna said they would submit it ASAP.  So, my new requirements are to lose the 10 pounds (they said I need to get down to 444, when really it's 244!!!), submit food logs, and see Andrea Zuellig a****er's Edge in Burnsville and receive a letter of support from her.  After all that, then I can have sugery, if approved. 

I'm so mad.  This doesn't seem right.  What can I do?  What should I say?  Sally would have had NO issues with me if I would have been down the 10 pounds.  I don't think it's fair for a dietician to be making my life decisions for me.  She obviously shared her concerns with the PA, who said in her message that she reviewed my chart and agreed with the recommendations.  Now those recommendations have become requriements.  What should I do?  Thanks for your help!  Have a good day!
Angela   

Hi - I am sorry you are having to go through this!  I doon't have any real answers - I can just tell you what my husband did.  He had started with another dr. group & after waiting for months to see the nurse and get ready for surgery, they changed all the requirements.  My husband - not being the patient one - said to forget it & he would stay fat.  Well, within a week a friend suggested the group at Methodist.  Said they wouldn't have him jump through hoops.  They were right.  He went to the initial seminar March 11th, and his surgery was May 6th.  He had no pre-surgery weight loss requirements (he was 483 lbs), and had the surgery - lap RNY.  That was almost 5 yrs ago & he has maintained 250 since a year or so out.  He is very happy with his decision.  Just a thought.....
Have a great day!
Laura

I have no experience with your surgeon's office, but all I can tell you is that what you go through pre-op is worth every hoop, every headache, and every battle! Once you are on the other side...the LOSING side...post-op, it will all be a distant memory. And, it will make you stronger and appreciate your surgery even more IMHO.

Call their office on Monday and talk to the person who submits to insurance and ask when your papers will be sumbitted. That's what I would do if it were me. Or, call the one's back that made these decisions and talk to them about why they feel the additional requirements are needed. They've dealt with more patients than we know of, so maybe there is something there that they feel would be beneficial for you to work on pre-op for the best post-op results.

Hi Angela,

I had to go through the 6 month supervised weight loss and I too had only lost 2-3 lbs of the 10 required at the time I met w/ Dr Pierce.  I had been seeing Andrea for emotional eating issues weekly for about 5-6 weeks on my own because I knew I had a problem with that.  She cleared me after that time and then they submitted. I actually had the letter from Andrea on the day of my meeting w/ Dr Pierce.  It may be possible for you to meet with Andrea and have her evaluate if you have issues or not. Perhaps she could clear you right away if she finds nothing.  For me, I had emotional eating issues, and I knew it.  She helped me figure out ways to deal with emotions other than eating.  For me, deep breathing and aromatherapy of sorts really helped. Does Sally think emotional eating is keeping you from losing weight? 

I got my approval from insurance 8 days after they submitted.  I know what you mean about the dieticians not making a big deal about you not losing weight during the 6 months, they did the same with me. I knew I'd have to buckle down and just do mainly protein shakes in order to get off the 10lbs, which is what I did.  I had lost the 10lbs within a 2 week period (after meeting w/ Dr Pierce) just in time for my pre op class.  My surgery date was 2 weeks after the pre op class. Then it was a matter of keeping it off.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more about it.