Is Anyone Active in This Group?

thebatkat

I’ve spoken with my doctor about having surgery and gotten a referral to a bariatric surgeon. They require you to take a seminar about bariatric surgery. I will attend the seminar on 9/5.

At my heaviest I was 312 lbs. My doctor asked me to start tracking my calories (again) and at my appointment 6 weeks later I was 301. I have now attended the gym every day for a week and a half and consistently come in around 1500 calories a day and yet I am still 301 as of yesterday.

Hence my desire to have surgery. I’ve lost 50 lbs. and gained back 60. I try and try and get nowhere. My thyroid is normal. As far as they can tell I have no other underlying issues causing weight gain.

What can I expect with this seminar? What other hoops will I have to jump through? I joined this group to hopefully find out what I can expect in these coming months.

Chas7174

Hi... I'm not new to MFP but have recently gotten back on. I see that you posted this about 3 months ago. I was wondering if you ever went to your bariatric seminar? I started the process through Kaiser back in February but fell off the requirement wagon. I have also attended a seminar for my daughter (who's 21) which is a little different because she has different insurance.

My understanding is requirements vary between insurance and the bariatric doctor/facility.
For example with Kaiser:
I had to attend an introduction class. I then had to go to a 2 hour nutrition class, attend at least one support group, meet with the dietitian, had a consult with the surgeon to discuss which surgery was best... then my next step was I had to lose a small amount of weight (only 11 lbs) set by the surgeon. Then after meeting that weight goal I would have a psych evaluation (possibly more session if the psych feels necessary to clear you) and then a hospital class and a surgery date would have been scheduled. I never lost the 11 lbs because I put it off thinking its only 11 lbs I can do that anytime... and I ended up gaining weight. So now I'm trying to get down to my goal weight so I can start the process again.

With my daughter insurance its was pretty much the same except instead of attending a support group she had to join an online support group via facebook and she had to have a sleep study and has to have a cardiac clearance and at least 6 months of monthly weigh ins. (she's on month 4).

I hope some of this is helpful. I've never utilized the "community" tab on MFP so its nice to see there are others in the bariatric community or those considering it. Feel free to add me or reach out anytime!