ATTENTION: BCBS IL (and others) have eliminated their 6 month pre-op program!!!!!!!!!

I had a 4 month program with dietician, physician, counselor. We talked about food, weighed in and things that were going to happen after surgery. I have a full binder full of stuff on what to expect and food stages. I felt confident going into surgery that I would be fantastically prepared and recovery would be easy. I would know just what to eat. Ideally the program is to prep you. I can say for me after surgery..that booklet was not so important because while we all had similar experiences, each one of us is different. No book or prep can truly prepare you for this lifestyle change. 3 months should be enough.

6 month was a waste of time. I gained 37 pounds waiting for my stinking approval. If you obese what the heck is a stinking 6 month wait going to do. Your so lucky.

 I have mixed emotions about it.  I used m 6 months and lost 40 lbs pre-op and got myself in pretty good shape too.  I also used the 6 months to learn as much as I could, practice what i could practice and generally get my head on straight.  Give the number of topic posted by some that seem oblivious to the procedure requirements, both pre and post op...?

I am certain that there are clear cases of folks being ready and why wait but I just have to think that too many will make a rash decision without time to work on it both physically and mentally.

Exactly. And then it is SO difficult after surgery to deal with your relationship with food. In my program we started working on our food relationship beforehand and actually learning about WHY we had the behaviors we had. In my short time I've seen so many people dealing with extreme head hunger right after surgery and I was thinking "you didn't learn coping mechanisms or anything from your program?" From my understanding the OP said there was a 6 mo program and now there is no program at all so people get to walk in and have surgery like nothing. I think that's pretty crazy. People NEED info and need time to reflect. Just because you've been obese forever doesn't mean you're mentally ready for surgery. That's probably more of a reason why it's going to be more difficult to make the changes. This is such a huge decision.

I have BCBS of Texas (through TAMU) and they required the 6 months of diet/nutrition counceling.  I didn't balk though b/c my surgery center (and my surgeon's office) are both Bariatric Centers of Excellence, and they provided me with a nutritionist that works exclusively with their offices.  I paid a $100 copay which was then credited back to my hospital charges.  That copay covered 6 "visits" with the NUT.  The first was roughly 2 hours - one on one and we went over EVERYTHING regarding my diet.  Then, for the following 5 months, I would submit to her via email my weight on that day, a 3 day food log (although for the INS I had to keep 5 of every 7 days) and notes on what I had been doing to make changes in my lifestyle, i.e. less fatty foods, more walking, etc.  She completed a report to the surgeon each month and those were submitted to BCBS along with the rest of my paperwork.

During this 6 months I also hung out here and attended local biweekly support group meetings.  I learned alot during that 6 months and I don't think I would be as successful as I am now had I not had to wait!

I have bcbs of Texas and because of your post I decided to check again on the website and they also have an update that says exactly what you posted about the HCSC and how I read it they have  done away with the 6 month supervised weight loss requirement.  I called my insurance and someone is going to call me back to make sure but thank you so much for this post otherwise I would not have checked the site again.  I have already done 4 of the 6 months but I might not have to do the last 2 months with my pcp.

Yayyy! I'm so excited for you! I'm glad that I could help someone :)

I have to agree with the majority. All I was doing was wasting my time, money, and energy. The weight specialist only took notes, while the nutritionist made some good points, but still not worth the time. Majority of it was things I've already known.

I do agree that a person should have to spend at least a month meeting up with doctors and a psych (which is still required.) People who may just jump into it without research, a consultation, and a psych visit....may be disasterous.

Thanks for the post everyone!

I have Blue cross through my moms work. I received a call Monday letting me know that i had to participate in a 6 month nutrition program. I was upset because i wanted to start losing weight now. Ive done research for the past year and after reading all these comments i feel like it'll be a waste of my time as well... How can i tell if my insurance only requires 3 months instead of 6? Will the insurance let the Lapband Center know or do i have to find out myself??

thanks
Brittany :)

You can call the insurance company directly and they will be able to tell you.