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My Gastric Sleeve Pre-OP Requirements
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So I had my first appointment with my doctor yesterday. I absolutely love him! He's very blunt and to the point, which I found hilarious. I brought my mom with me because she was not supportive of this surgery at all. She thinks I can just diet and lose it on my own, but I have tried dieting for 3 years now, and I always fall back into gaining weight. I am 24 (25 in a few weeks) and I'm sick of wasting my young life being overweight.
My surgeon got straight to the point and said, "This surgery has a 90% success rate of keeping the weight off for the next 10 years. Without this surgery, you will most likely gain the weight back." My mom asked him questions about my Pseudotumor cerebri and he said, "This surgery will absolutely help." He also said it will probably cure my PCOS. That conversation convinced my mom that this surgery is probably my last hope. I am so pleased because now she is no longer rolling her eyes at me every time I bring it up. She's actually saying that my sister probably needs it, too.
Now about the requirements that BCBS has given me... They are pretty stupid. Even my surgeon agrees. He said that BCBS gives us these requirements because they think we will give up trying to get everything together, because they don't want to pay. That is believable.
1. I have to get records together proving that I have had a BMI over 40 for the last 3 years. (This one isn't so bad. Since I have been overweight for the last 7-8 years, this should be fairly easy to obtain.)
2. I have to be put on a diet by a DOCTOR for 4 months. (That means, the 4 months that I have been put on a diet by a Nutritionist are worthless in this situation.)
3. I have to have a Cardiac Evaluation. (This is understandable. They have to make sure my heart is strong enough to handle the operation.)
4. I have to have a sleep Disorder Test. (Also understandable. I'm having one July 29th. They said there's a possibility that I may have Narcolepsy. Let's hope it's just sleep apnea.)
5. I have to have a clearance letter written by a doctor. (This one is kinda stupid. I'm pretty sure my surgeon is more than able to know I need the surgery. I'm worried my doctor may charge me to write this letter.)
6. Psychological Evaluation (This is bogus, too. But I guess it's also understandable. They must want to make sure I'm not an emotional eater. I can already tell that's not the case. I'm just hungry, dang it! Lol. The oral steroids they put me on years ago started this.)
7. I have to see a Nutritionist. (I hope the one I'm seeing is good enough. They are so against me getting this surgery, though. I know it's because they're worried about losing me as a customer. Those scumbags...)
8. I have to schedule a 4 hour nutrition class. (I guess this won't be so bad.)
I have 7 months to do all of this. I really wanted to have the surgery before next year, but I guess it's worth the wait.