For those of you that did not have to meet any insurance criteria, do you feel like you missed anything by not meeting with a nutritionist prior to surgery ??

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I was self pay, and I did meet with a nutritionist as they were a part of the practice's pre-op checks they make everyone do.

I feel I got very little from them even through my post-op visits. But that is not because they don't have important skills and advice or are unhelpful.

I read and research things to death, and understand caloric and nutritional needs VERY well now. I know all about how the body works with what is there, what comes in and what goes out and stalls and low carbing and all that stuff. I am confident that I can (and have) done a great job of managing my nutrition on my own.

If you don't do your homework or have difficulties understanding your relationship with food and just need food help in general, a good nutritionist can be very beneficial.

Edited April 15, 201610 yr by FrankiesGirl

For those of you that did not have to meet any insurance criteria, do you feel like you missed anything by not meeting with a nutritionist prior to surgery ??

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I got sleeved in Mexico and we met with a nutritionist after surgery

I was self pay, and I did meet with a nutritionist as they were a part of the practice's pre-op checks they make everyone do.

I feel I got very little from them even through my post-op visits. But that is not because they don't have important skills and advice or are unhelpful.

I read and research things to death, and understand caloric and nutritional needs VERY well now. I know all about how the body works with what is there, what comes in and what goes out and stalls and low carbing and all that stuff. I am confident that I can (and have) done a great job of managing my nutrition on my own.

If you don't do your homework or have difficulties understanding your relationship with food and just need food help in general, a good nutritionist can be very beneficial.

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I was self paid and like frankiegirl researched everything. I had a nutritionist to use as needed but research and identify my relationship with food. I've done very well on my own. However everyone is different and someone might do better with a nutritionist to be held accountable but I rather research my food and figure thing out on my own. I've lost 103 lb in nine months and feel great. Good luck!!!

Honestly, I have gotten very, very little assistance from the nutritionists in my program.

They are certainly available, of course, available on FB, even. Just a click away.

It's simply what they can offer.......that is of little help. Don't get me wrong.....their info and data is crucial.....extremely crucial to my success. It is simply that this data was attainable to me from other sources and well prior to my wls. There is no other refinement that they are likely to offer.

It is what it is.......very straightforward as far as the amounts and types of foods I need to be eating now.

Of much greater value......tremendous even.....were the classes my psychiatrist offered. Huge, huge, freaking huge value there. Her presentations have been highly thought provoking and have helped in a number of ways.

I went through my insurance, and I only got one meeting with the nutritionist, about a month before my surgery. Maybe longer than that. Afterwards, for all intents and purposes, they left me on my own. I found this very upsetting right after surgery when I was feeling lost. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise because now I am learning what works for my body, instead of following some set of general rules based on other bodies. You can always hire your own. Good luck!

I'm also self-pay and only did a "nutrition workshop" with a bunch of other WLS-scheduled patients that really didn't offer me any new information. As a nurse, I've already taken extensive nutrition classes, so I didn't get anything out of it. But while I'm lucky to have a strong medical background, I do worry for those who are left to the whims of internet information and forum advice; it can be hard to tell what is accurate and what is dead wrong (albeit offered with good intentions).

I admit, I've been guilty of scrapping with others verbally on this forum when I think they're giving downright bad health information. I always recommend people go to established, reliable sources and use their doctors/nutritionists post-op to ask questions and get straight answers. Doctors aren't perfect (I've wanted to throttle more than one when I hear them tell patients stupid things), but it's always important to use the surgeon as a source of info BEFORE asking strangers on the internet.

For those of you that did not have to meet any insurance criteria, do you feel like you missed anything by not meeting with a nutritionist prior to surgery ??

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I was self-pay but the program I went through required nutrition counseling. It is part of my fee.

I personally did not find that any of the three nutritionists I consulted with offered anything I didn't already know. They were mostly coming at the consultations from a background of consulting with diabetic patients. Although one was more intelligent than the other two, I didn't think they were very well prepared to work with bariatric patients.

The best nutritional advice I've received has been from my surgeon's physician's assistant who is extremely well educated about all things bariatric. Her best advice was not to eat so little during the weight-losing phases that I wound up having to eat very little to maintain my weight long-term. She was right -- I now average 1,800 calories/day to maintain my weight of 135 pounds.

Ultimately, you have to learn a LOT about nutrition (macronutrients, calories, Vitamins and minerals, trace elements, etc. to learn how to feed yourself. For me, this has been one of the best things I've done to sustain my health long-term.

My surgeon has nutritionists on staff but I felt that they had a program for everyone and were unwilling to change things at all. I had bad reactions to several foods they suggested and their advice was keep on trying until you can tolerate the food. I found that I was able to research different types of food and developed a diet that allowed me to have the necessary macronutrients while tolerable to my sleeve.

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My surgeon has nutritionists on staff but I felt that they had a program for everyone and were unwilling to change things at all. I had bad reactions to several foods they suggested and their advice was keep on trying until you can tolerate the food. I found that I was able to research different types of food and developed a diet that allowed me to have the necessary macronutrients while tolerable to my sleeve.

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It's great though that you genuinely tried to follow their advice and still utilized them as a resource before striking out on your own. That's one thing I dislike about many WLS nutritionists -- they have a "one size fits all" policy that doesn't always accommodate the needs of patients.

I was self pay, and did not have access to a nutritionist. I've dieted so much over the years though, and have done lots and lots of research, so I actually feel like I know quite a lot about nutrition in general. I was confident I could go at it alone, and as of today I'm down 100 pounds with 20 to go!