Advice anyone?

Hi. I, as with all people considering this surgery, have many many questions. lol. I feel like I'm being born again, just now re-learning life. I've always felt that I couldn't ever really be happy as an overweight person, it just wasn't me, but I could never lose any real weight and keep it off with a diet. I believe my maximum alltime weight loss was 2 lbs and I gained about 15 after that lol. Do any of you know about age restrictions on the surgery? Also, how about surgeon recommendations? The only family that I have as of now is my father, but I still can't bring myself to even tell him that I'm considering this. Anyone else feel that way? Also, I'm not sure that my regular physician would even recommend me for this surgery. She's been my regular doctor for approximately 5 years now, but as of late, she seems to be extremely busy and spends very little time with her patients. Any advice on who I should see or how to go about getting a recommendation for it? Thanks for your time and hopefully your responses lol ~Kelly~

Hi Kelly, Having WLS is like getting a "new" life! I had a LAPRYN on 2/18. I feel better about myself and because of the weight lose I can get around better. I also had tried alot of diets and would lose some and gain back more. Now I can see a light. As far as your reg DR. if she is too busy for you I would try to find a new one. I went to 4 before I got mine. He was for WLS. I had been with him for about 2 years, so he saw how much my weight was getting to me. If I can be of any help let me know! Lisa G

Thanks for your response. I'm really really nervous about all of this. . . but I can't see being happy the way I am. I love nature. That's the one thing that my father and I both share and love. At the school I'm currently attending, students have to park at a lower parking lot and walk to the school. . . I had to go to my doctor and ask her to write a note as it was difficult for me to walk from the student parking lot up to the school. I was sweating and my legs were throbbing by the time I made it. Other students would walk and actually carry on conversations while making the trip. I was so winded I would panting while walking. I don't want to live like that. I don't have any severe medical conditions pertaining to my weight as of now, but I'm a borderline diabetic and I have a bmi of 45. Where should I start? I mean, do I start looking for a new doctor first, then bring the idea up to them, or what? I have no clue how to go about this, but I do know that it's what I want. Thanks once again. ~Kelly~

Hey Kelly, I would start with your dr and go from there. When you call for the appt tell them that you need more then the normal 15mins the give everyone. I hate that. An office visit is $60-$80 and all you get is 15mins! Ok back to the matter at hand. See what he says and then go from there. Lisa G

Thanks. So, um, any advice on how to bring it up? I'm nervous about even trying to find a new doctor much less bringing up surgery. My current bmi is 44. .. not sure if I mentioned that already or not, but that alone should be good grounds to consider surgery, right? It's not that I haven't tried dieting. . . my entire family has a long history of even group dieting and family support groups, but the weight just keeps coming back. When I was in fourth grade I was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder, so I now take synthroid. So. . .. once again, any suggestions on how to bring it up? Thanks again for your time and support. I appreciate it greatly. ~Kelly~

I guess I would just start out tell him your history about trying to lose the weight. The tell him you have been looking into WLS and you want him to ref you. Have you picked a Bariatric Dr yet? I love my Dr's they are great. The people in the office are alot of help and I have heard from one of them every week. Also you may want to check with your insurers to see what they need to appove you. I know some want 6 months of diet history with a Dr. Lisa

Thanks I feel so loved here. . . not even a full day yet since I posted my question and already I've gotten so many answers. I don't have documented diet history, but my current "doctor" knows my diet history as we both went on our last one or two together lol. Any advice on how I would go about contacting my insurance or finding out what they require to appprove it? Also, any thoughts on how being diagnosed with a thyroid disorder would affect the approval? Thanks again. I'm sure I have lots more questions, just can't think of them all right now lol. Oh yeah, any idea on age requirements for the surgery? ~Kelly~

Kelly, This is my first reply to anyone as I am fairly new to the site. The requirements for my insurance CHA is : 18-60 yrs. old, BMI >35, >100 lbs. overweight, and they have just recently (Feb.) added blood sugars >8 and >12 months of diet for intensive diabetic management. I started the process before they added the diabetes clause but my ins. approval request didn't go in until March. I have been denied because of that so I am appealing. Call your insurance co. and ask for the claims dept. They should be able to tell you what is required for approval. As far as how to bring it up to your PCP, just tell him that you are there to discuss your concern about your weight and its effect on your health and that you would like his feelings about wls. That's what I did and I was pleased to find that my PCP was in favor of it. Good luck. PS I don't know how to add those cute little smileys!! Vicki

Vicki, thanks for the reply. Sorry it's taken me so long to get back. I'm still contemplating a new "regular doctor" . . . I suppose I'll bring the surgery idea up with them. Thanks for the info, btw. It was helpful. I have Medicare as of now, but the age restrictions that you provided were the first example that I've received thus far. I'm guessing my insurance would be similar. Anyone have any advice on how I should go about finding out my insurance's requirements for coverage? Also, does anyone have any idea about how much the surgery would be, like on an installment payment? I've heard that some surgeons do that. Hope everyone's having a great day, and good luck with everyone's surgeries. Have fun being skinny. lol. Oh yeah, Vicki, as for the smilies, there should be a toolbar on the right with "message emoticons" on it if the emoticons option is turned on. ~Kelly~