Hey everyone,

So, even though I have been approved from the insurance, the hospital where I'm having the surgery at has not cleared me for surgery. They have this Patient Selection Group for Bariatric Patients that my Surgeon had to stand before and plead my case since my a1c was high in February.

so, they want me to do the following before they clear me.

- meet with the Diabetes Treatment Center again

- my a1c has to be under 8 (no problem, it's already under due to being on Victoza now)

- meet with the Bariatric Nutritionist

- attend 2 support groups

- continue psych therapy (I go every 3 months anyway, so no problem. attend support groups post op.

So that is my homework assignment until I get a surgery date. So, I"m estimating now for it to be mid-late Summer.

I"m optimistic, my mom is frustrated, and my sister and everyone else who was apprehensive is relieved.

Sometimes it is just a challenge to qualify for the surgery. Most of my battles were with my insurance company. But I just put blinders on and perservered.

Hey I'm having the same problem ... I can't get my alc level down which stopped everything. I completed all the classes, attended support group, diabetes classes, and a nutrition class, I did all the test, even dropped a couple of pounds. This is really frustrating, my last step was the psych evaluation and to get a surgery date.

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I am glad I didn't have to go through all this, so everyone has my sympathies. I guess it is supposed to be in your best interest, and honestly I do all those things: see my nutritionist, attend support groups, therapy, etc. Personally, it sounds like a lot of BS as surgery is supposed to help diabetes, but I don't know how much an a1c level correlates with personal responsibility and choices, but I am not diabetic and was not pre-diabetic. I think I had it pretty easy with the whole process, but I already had a lap band removed a few years ago so maybe that helped. I definitely pushed for surgery while I was under my current plan, which is pretty good, but runs out soon. It is so weird, because I thought a high a1c would be better for the insurance qualifications.

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Hi. I'm diabetic and have been so for a year now. Although I have yet to have weight loss surgery, I have had other surgeries that have required me to be knocked out completely with anesthesia. None of my doctors would operate if my numbers were too high. Basically it's too dangerous. My a1c when I was first diagnosed was over 12. Now with pills and insulin I'm at 7.3. My bariatric surgeon told me that having gastric bypass would eliminate the diabetes.... Oh and the higher your a1c is, the higher your blood sugar (glucose) numbers typically are, which is dangerous. When my a1c was over 12, my daily blood readings were in the 300s and 400s. Normal numbers are from about 90 to low 100s.

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