WLS Center E-Newsletter

A FREE publication from
http://www.wlscenter.com

Hosted by Barbara Thompson
Author of:
Weight Loss Surgery:
Finding the Thin Person Hiding Inside You.

Hi everyone,
I have been doing a lot of reading on change lately and it makes me wonder what really made all of us change.  In the success story below, you will read what made Debbie change. With her, it was her doctor telling her that if she didn’t lose weight she would die in 3 years.  With me, it was the herniated disk in my back becoming unbearably painful. But it was also the look on my daughter’s face when I had to use a wheel chair when we were at Disney World.

Drop me a line so that I can share it with others.  I think that our reason to change needs to stay foremost in our minds so that we can reach back and remember that strong motivation and just how it felt when we reached that point when we couldn’t take it anymore. Share your thoughts with me at Barbara@WLScenter.com

Barbara

Dear Barbara,
I have begun the process to have gastric bypass surgery. I went to a required educational seminar put on by the surgeon. I made a follow up appointment that night.  At the appointment with him he said my insurance BCBS was very good and he has had no problems with them. He has gone ahead and scheduled more appointments with more doctors and I got a claim summary from my insurance company for the first office visit and it covered the correct portion of it. Does this mean that my insurance has agreed to cover the procedure? I do meet the criteria with a 55.4 BMI.  Should I ask the surgeon at my next appointment?  Ordered your book. Can't wait to read it. Thanks. Cindy T.

Hi Cindy,
No it doesn’t mean that your insurance will cover the entire procedure.  They are agreeing to just cover the one appointment - so far. But it does look good.  If your surgeon is experienced, he probably has office staff that will take care of all the paperwork for you. Just stay on top of the paperwork and don’t let things go more than 2 weeks at a time without checking where things are.  By this I mean, if your paperwork has been submitted and you haven’t heard anything for 2 weeks, call the insurance company and find out if they have an answer.  It is amazing how paperwork gets lost.

Good luck!

Barbara 

This revealing article appeared recently in a publication geared toward the health insurance industry.  It is a discussion of weight loss surgery and the cost of the surgery to the insurance industry. In the article, the author recognizes that weight loss surgery is effective, sometimes dangerous and definitely expensive. She looks at the $25,000 cost for the surgery and the 140,000 surgeries performed in 2004 and the cost to the insurance industry is $3.5 billion dollars. I had never done that math, so the figure made my jaw drop.

While we know that the cost of our care if we do not go through surgery is far higher, it takes the insurance industry 3.5 years to recover those costs.  They mention that during that time, an employee is likely to either change jobs or the company is likely to change insurance providers. So for the company to recoup the cost it paid is unlikely.

There are several things that the author points out to the insurance industry. If we are at all interested in the future of weight loss surgery either for ourselves or for those who come after us, we have to be aware of what the insurers’ concerns are:

1) The $25,000 cost goes up significantly if there are complications, so they are looking at the likelihood of complications.  They site studies that show doctors who have performed more surgeries have fewer complications.

2) They are also interested in the outcomes of the surgery.  Are we successful?  Has their $25,000 (or $3.5 billion) been a good investment or are we just regaining the weight and asking for either another surgery or a return of our health problems.

They mention the Centers of Excellence as a bright spot on the horizon.  They are a bright spot for the insurance industry and for us as patients. 

Hello Barbara,
I just finished reading your Feb 1st newsletter and read the questions you answered under the “blog” section.  I have a question pertaining to the one in particular where the woman had her surgery in September of last year and feels like she is eating too much. 

You stated that at four months out she should be eating around 900 calories. I am 10 months out and wanted to know what the “norm” is for someone that far along? I also know that I can eat a lot more. It’s very scary and I am so close to reaching that 199 mark but I keep fluctuating between 207 & 211. I’m scared that I won’t “make” it and I know that some of the food choices I make are not good. I do tend to “graze” and/or overeat more on the weekends.

I am making a conscious effort to change that, but some habits die hard (like I have a Starbucks Grande Mocha Frappuccino Lite with my protein powder every morning – I know I shouldn’t have one every day but it’s a treat I enjoy and they put the protein in for me, which is cool.  It keeps me full until lunchtime. But I know that even though it’s lite – sweetened with Splenda – it is still high in carbs & sugar – I am really addicted to them, though, and have a hard time NOT having one every morning when I get in to work…) and it’s a struggle at times to just say no. 

I am a much better person today in all ways than before my surgery – I have lost around 122 pounds but I feel that it should be more (in 10 months)…I want to succeed so bad and lose at least another 25 pounds…then, I can have the plastic surgery and all that to deal with – one step at a time, I know! 

Anyway, I guess the main question is HOW MUCH SHOULD I BE EATING?  Thank you so much for your help!  I really enjoy your monthly newsletters and look forward to hearing from you!

Sincerely,
Sharon L. Tupper

Dear Sharon,
First let me congratulate you on losing 122 pounds.  That is absolutely fantastic! With that said, let’s look at what you are doing to yourself.

It’s all about choices and the ability to truly change.  You are at your most critical time right now when it is the easiest to lose weight. If you want to lose those last 25 pounds, then you have got to get with it.

You are having a Starbuck’s Grande Mocha Frappucino Lite with protein powder every morning because you are addicted to them.  That’s OK as long as you realize that a Grande is 180 calories and if you have it with whipped cream it is 310 calories. So let’s assume that you are not having the whipped cream.  You are also adding protein powder to it.  I don’t know how many calories are in the protein powder, but that probably at least 200 calories.  So that’s almost 400 calories in the morning. Plus you are getting in a lot of caffeine. Not good. The grazing on the weekends is also not good.

If you truly want to lose additional weight, you should eat between 1,000 and 1,200 calories per day and you should be exercising.  Use a food journal. Add up those calories and see if all of those calories for the Starbuck’s are worth it.  It may be and you may want to cut elsewhere. 

Just remember that most patients regain weight starting about the 2nd year.  So you may be at the 207 to 211 point right now, but think a year from now being at the 227 to 231 point.  Will you be happy?

You are at a critical point right now.  You look good and it is very hard to keep that motivation up. You have some choices to make in what direction you will take and these are all choices that only you can make. Take care.

Barbara

At the end of January we had the telephone seminar on plastic surgery and it was terrific. 

We are taking orders for the $19.95 CD and will be shipping them next week.

We have also added the plastic surgery CD to the Super Package Deal but kept the same $59.95 price.  This is a package savings of $38.80 over the original individual item cost.

Here is what the participants said about the seminar:

I thought it was very informative. It was great talking with a professional without the pressure of having to go for an appointment just to get some questions answered.  It was relaxing and it helped to have information that will further me when it is time to go to the next step.  Just like your book Barbara, any and everyone who is going to have a procedure done should be well informed before making the decision.   It is great to hear from a professional in the privacy of your own home first so you can make an informed decision before contacting the doctor of your choice.  But it was also great to learn what to look for in a Doctor as well.  I am glad I know now what to look for and what questions to ask.  Having that information going in is a great relief.  Thank you so much for the opportunity to have spoken with a well renowned Dr. to relieve the fears of the next surgery.

Linda from California

I found the Plastic Surgery telephone seminar very informative and useful.  You did a great job of asking questions that covered the topic very well.  Dr Rubin was a real expert and could answer the questions using his vast experience in this area.  Thanks for asking the question that I sent to you via e-mail.  I would definitely listen in on future telephone seminars. Maureen in New York

This teleseminar was very informative and helpful!  I am 13 months post-surgery and am now at the point of needing to interview plastic surgeons, so this was very timely for me.  Barbara's questions were excellent and hit a wide variety of topics.  Dr. Rubin was extremely well-spoken and explained everything in layman's terms.  Taking breaks in the middle and at the end for Q&A was also very good because we learn just as much from interacting with other patients as we do from doctors!  Thank you for an excellent teleseminar!

Jill from Maryland

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