Question:
HELP!!!!!!!! My first consult is tomorrow... WHAT SHOULD I REALLY EXPECT?

I'm so freaking nervous....I've lost 10lbs since finding out I had a date for the consult, That caused my BMI to go from 41 to 39.9 What should I do????? Does the Surgeon do a physical, if so what does that consist of? really? I'm to nervous! I'm so afraid he will not accept me as a candidate!!!! Help please!!!!!    — ItsThenewKelley (posted on April 24, 2003)

April 24, 2003
All docs are different, so it's hard to say what to expect with yours. Mine weighed me without shoes (but with clothes on), and measured my height himself, rather than taking my word for it. Some have suggested eating a heavy meal or two before your weight-in, or even water-loading, too. If you come in a little light, you can always try again later, if 40 is the BMI cutoff for you; it may be lower if you have comorbidities such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. I also think I read somewhere about an AMOS member in your situation who made sure her her approval materials talked about past yo-yo diets she'd been on, so the insurance company would know how likely she was to bounce back up above that 40 BMI mark without surgery. I don't know whether *every* insurance company would be that flexible and willing to consider that, though.<P>For what it's worth, you have my sympathies. My BMI was 42 at my consult, and then I got all pumped up about the surgery and started losing weight (as I'd done *many* times before as a pre-op), so when I showed up at my pre-op meeting 12 pounds down, and at 40 BMI *on the nose*, my doc warned me not to lose any more weight before surgery, or I might lose insurance coverage for the WLS. That was frustrating, but I kept exercising -- just ate junk to keep the weight stable for a couple more weeks. Ugh, that was hard to do when my head wanted "healthy" already. Ironically, nobody even weighed me on day of surgery anyway, so I could've stuck with "healthy" in the end. My last meal, pre-op, was a furtive "binge" in the Wendy's parking lot the afternoon before surgery (my doc had no fasting or colon-cleansing protocol, thank goodness) ... not because I wanted the food, but just out of worry over being too light the next day. I sure wish there'd been a better way to handle it!
   — Suzy C.