I have been going through the process of the bariatric program since January so it's about to be a full year. My surgery was originally supposed to be in July but the doctor's office screwed up my paperwork so insurance denied it. They were very dismissive and acted like it wasn't there fault but it was. They left out my psych evaluation so it was denied.

I was so turned off that I went to another surgeon but couldn't schedule mine until December 28th. Now I'm a little more than a week away from surgery and on Day 5 of liquid diet but they do not communicate with me at all. No one even scheduled my pre-op testing.

I have been emailing and calling my surgeon's office since last week to ask a question about if I had to stop certain medications and about certain protein shakes I'm allowed to drink. They never respond to me. Today I was told that the Physician Assistant is on vacation and the coordinator is out sick so I feel like I'm just left out here alone with no help.

It makes me concerned about post-op care as well if they can just dismiss me because someone is out sick or on vacation.

I can't help but feel like these are signs from the universe not to do the surgery. Am I crazy for giving up on this and just trying to take Wegovy instead to help me lose weight?

Do not give up hope! My surgeon told me to get all my info from the internet! I even put myself on a 2 week pre-surgery liver shrinking diet. I got no help from him whatsoever. I worked with a nutritionist from my insurance company to figure out what I should be eating.
My daughter had an amazing surgeon.
we have both done amazing and kept the weight off for over five years

Do not turn to drugs. The weight will come back on as soon as you stop.

Wegovy can help, but a lot of people, like celebs are using it for 10-20 lbs. I had lot more than that to lose, so I dumped ozempix and got surgery. Big change, but happy with it.

As far as your program, you could cancel and look for more support if you don't trust this Dr and his office. But there are good programs out there.

Good luck!

I wouldn’t give up yet. You can always delay your surgery until you’re certain about your decision.

Have a look at some of Dr Matthew Weiner’s you tube videos & his podcasts (available via his pound of cure website). He’s has a few about using glp-1 meds or only going down the surgery path or taking the meds in tandem with surgery. At the least it may help you with some questions to ask your team & surgeon about your way forward.

The surgery requires life long changes & as does the medication. The surgery is expensive unless you’re covered by insurance. The medication is also expensive & you’ll be paying it for the rest of your life (after your insurance period ends if you’re eligible). Both have some side effects you may or may not experience or have to manage (but most things do).

I've personally been on both Saxenda and Wegovy. With Saxenda, I lost 20 pounds and my blood sugar and cholesterol improved, but high blood pressure was unchanged. I stopped because the insurance price went from $50 a month to over $200, and my weight loss plateaued so $2400 a year to keep off 20 lbs seemed a bit steep. As soon as I stopped, the weight came back, the A1Cs went up, and the cholesterol went higher than before I started. With Wegovy, I was only ever able to get the first two months of doses before shortages made it impossible. After that, I switched insurance and lost coverage of Wegovy completely, meaning over $1k per month out of pocket if I wanted to continue. I wasn't on it long enough to see how my labs would have been. From everything I've seen, surgery is the only durable option. In my case, the copay is less than a single month of Wegovy, with the possibility of it lasting a lifetime, and the ability to add the GLP-1 drugs down the road if needed. Only you can decide what is right for you, but I think for most people who are at the point of qualifying for surgery, the drugs alone will not be enough, and if you lose access to them, you will most likely go back to square one with weight. Or in my case, square one plus 10 pounds.

3 hours ago, BrooklynHearted said:

I can't help but feel like these are signs from the universe not to do the surgery. Am I crazy for giving up on this and just trying to take Wegovy instead to help me lose weight?

Personally I would NOT cancel surgery unless I had a 6 month supply already on hand and even then I would still go through with WLS because I strongly believe it is currently still superior to the GLP-1 meds for a few reasons (nothing to do with efficacy)

Please try to be patient and let the surgery schedule work itself out, one way or another. And please note that Wegovy has and will continue to experienced supply interruption issues:

https://www.novonordisk-us.com/supply-update.html

I had the same experience as NickelChip on the GLP-1 meds. Saxenda I lost about 15 lbs on, when insurance decided I didn't lose that fast enough they stopped covering it. I gained the 15 back plus another 10 almost immediately. I then went on Victoza, no weight loss. I did Ozempic for two years, also no weight loss. And on both of them I actually gained weight until my highest weight of 320lbs. They did help my A1C levels but that was it. They all had unpleasant side effects and cost a ton.

I'm 7 weeks out from a duodenal switch. I've lost 26 lbs since the surgery and while there have been tough moments I'm so glad I decided to go with surgery instead of trying more medication... I've lost 40 lbs since my highest weight! I've never lost that much weight with anything, ever, not even with keto plus the meds.

Usually if I have issues with a doctor's office not returning my calls or responding to my messages, I eventually go in there and talk to the office staff in person and wait until they send a nurse out to deal with my issue. ? It is quite effective! I'm super nice about it, but still... I had a LOT of scheduling issues with my surgery and in the middle of it they lost their scheduler and I had to deal with some really rude staff on the phone. But it all got sorted out in the end! Hang in there!!