Question:
Has anyone been told before they can be considered for RNY, they have to lose weight?
I am wondering if i'm one of the few? — Linda F. (posted on December 27, 2007)
December 26, 2007
I have heard of people having to do this and although I did not have to, I
never figured out WHY the surgeons wanted a person to lose weight on thier
own. I mean after all if you "could" do it you would not need the
surgery. Go figure........Best Wishes to you.
— MCraig3
December 26, 2007
I was told that I had to loose 12 pounds if I had Lapband but I ended up
having RNY and had to just do the 2 week liquid diet. The 12 pounds for
Lapband were required from my insurance not my doctor....
— Pam S.
December 26, 2007
I am told that this is required as we will pretty much live on a modified
diet after surgery and the rest of our lives. This shows them that we are
able to do so. So far this (diet)has not been requested of me but I have
not been to my pre-op class yet. I am still waiting for my surgical date. I
wish you well...this HAS to work for us. We deserve it!
— Gena L.
December 26, 2007
Yes, a lot of doctors want their patients to lose some of the weight prior
to the surgery. It has to do with shrinking the liver so he/she has better
access to the stomach. I don't know if they will refuse to do the surgery
IF you don't lose the amount they tell you. I was asked not to gain anymore
and to try and lose 5 lbs before mine. I lost 6. If you go on a 2 week
liquid diet, that will probably help tremendously. I have heard people say
that is how they lost the weight was because of the liquids. You would be
surprised to realize after eliminating soda and all that salt intake how
much water you retain. That was my 6 lbs! You can do, just hang in there!
— juliebelle0402
December 26, 2007
Well not sure if it was the surgeon or the insurance company that told you
that, but both may want to see how comitted you can be, because after your
sugery you must be committed or you will be back to where you are now. See
a dietician and listen and do what she says and it will help you lose some,
I lost 30lbs in a month before my surgery and kept it off 2 1/2 months when
I did have my surgery.
— dapoohster38
December 26, 2007
I'm in NH, and my doctor requires a loss of 10% of the weight you need to
lose prior to surgery. She will tell you point blank that if you hit your
target weight and then are over it on the day of surgery, she will cancel
the surgery. I looked at several practices around this area before going
with this doctor, and they all pretty much have similar requirements.
You're definitely not alone. On the upside, if they have this requirement,
they should have a nutritionist to help you achieve this goal, so it
shouldn't be all on you.
~Shirley
— Shirley D.
December 26, 2007
There R many reasons why surgeons require this. Some require you to lose
weight prior to surgery for health reasons - you have to be under a certain
weight before they will put you out and on the table. Some require you to
lose on your own a % of weight and some require a liquid diet prior to
surgery - this helps shrink the liver and makes it easier for the surgeon
to go poking around and do his/her thing. Also, it helps with minimizing
complications. I had to do the liquid diet and lost around 12lbs prior to
surgery. Good luck.
— jammerz
December 26, 2007
Most surgeons would like you to try to loose weight prior to surgery. I
know my insurance company had several months of classes I had to attend,
and they encouraged weight loss during this process. You had to qualify for
the BMI number or have the co-morbid conditions to even get to the class.
Then, once I saw my surgeon, he too encouraged me to try to loose weight.
In fact, he said if I gained one pound between the pre-op meeting 3 weeks
prior to surgery, and the surgery date, he would not do the sugery. It's
not unnusual.
— Dave Chambers
December 27, 2007
I too had to go on the south beach diet or the atkin's diet, they do that
so your liver can shrink and it will be easier for them to operate on or
laproscopic surgery.
— 2409w.poplar_rodriguez
December 27, 2007
Yes, it was required of me as well...or asked, that is. The doctor told me
that it was because he wanted to remove some fat off the liver to make the
surgery easier...something like that. But, it's not uncommon. Good luck!
Pam www.pamfit.com
— Pam Fottrell
December 27, 2007
yes,I lost 29lbs. before surgery.One reason was medicare required it to
make sure i'd lose weight and the larger you are the larger the liver,so
they want the liver to get smaller before WLS.Viola Burris
— Viola F. Burris
December 27, 2007
This is a common request. My sister's, my nephew's and my doctor all had a
similar request for a weight loss prior to surgery. In my case, it was
just a request to aid in liver size reduction, in my nephew's case , it was
to show his committment to lose weight etc. It helps to lose before, it
helps you for sure after you have your surgery. It did for me. I am post
RNY - 90 lbs and counting and 10 lbs away from goal.
— blossman
December 27, 2007
First, several studies indicate that the ability to lose pre-operative
weight is not an accurate predictor of post-op weight loss success (because
all the neurochemical changes that occur after RNY so drastically change
perception of hunger and satiety that diet restrictions can be followed
with fewer impediments). Secondly, any weight loss does help make the
surgery a little safer-- however, there are lots of skilled surgical teams
who take the same hightened measures to safeguard us whether we have a BMI
of 62 or 42 (my BMI was over 60 when I had my laparoscopic RNY). Program
requirements to lose a certain percentage of body weight won't necessarily
put a patient in a particularly "safe" BMI range-- and the delays
caused while patients are hashing through their doctor-ordered weight loss
exposes the patient to all the daily risks that confront the morbidly (or
the super-morbidly) obese person. Imagine if it takes the 400 pound person
2 months to lose the required 40 pounds-- that might reduce some surgical
risk while increasing the risk that heart attack or stroke (to name just
two of the more common co-morbidities) could strike the patient given the
extreme weight. Lastly, reducing fats and alcohol makes the liver supple
and shrinks it-- people on high fat, but low carb diets, may shrink their
waists, but not necessarily their livers, so it is a myth that weight loss
necessarily causes the liver to shrink.
— SteveColarossi
December 27, 2007
I was told that I need to lose or make good progress toward losing 16
pounds (1/10th of my excess weight). What was explained to us in class was
that losing weight prior is helpful for making sure that the liver is not
enlarged or fatty because that will interfere with the process and
potential success of the surgery, especially having it done
laproscopically.
— Janice B.
December 27, 2007
Everyone I know who has had RNY was required to lose a certain amount of
weight prior to the surgery date with a diet provided by the doc.
— [Deactivated Member]
Click Here to Return