Newbie Here ~ Saying Hi

Hello, I am new to this message board. I have been considering WLS for about 4 years. I have been too scared and had no other medical problems for insurance to cover it. Now I do. I have sleep apnea and insulin resistance. I have UHC Plus POS. I am pretty sure the surgery is covered, but I still have a $300 deductible and I also have to cover 20% of the surgery up to $2500. That money is going to be hard to come up with. I am still not sure I should even do this. I am concerened that my digestive system is going to fight back. I had my gall bladder taken out in 1998 and ever since then I have been fighting diahreah and constipation. What if the surgery makes everything worse? I am going to the meeting at right weigh tomorrow to learn more about the process. Any info is good info right now. Thanks, Chelsea

Hello and welcome to the site It is a very hard desision to make to have WLS done but it was the best one I have ever made I have also had my Gb out b-4 WLS and suffer from the same as you WLS did not help or did not make it any worse still about the same but now my back never bothers me any more I have so much engery and when I go to bed instead of laying their for 2 or more hr tossing and turning to fall asleep I fall asleep now with in 10 mins or less when I got to bed I just feel so much better about my self now Wishing you the best in what ever you deside Take Care Huggs Beth

Hi Chelsea, welcome! I can't speak for gall bladder surgery, since I still have mine. But I do suffer from IBS. I was told both by my bariatric center and also people on the main board that the symptoms of that should improve or disappear after surgery. I hope so! Go to your meeting and ask questions! Good luck! Rhonna

Chelsea, I had my gall bladder taken out in 99 and have the same symtoms as you. I think that is normal though. Everyone I know who has had the surgery, have the same symtoms...especially diahreah after eating fatty foods. I have my surgeon consult next week, so I plan on discussing this with my surgeon and I advise that you do the same. I'll post on my profile about what he has to say about that. As far as the insurance thing, remember that the 20% is after insurance write-offs. For an example, I had a baby last year and my insurance was 80/20 like yours. My total bill submitted to insurance was over $8000. After write-offs, the 20% I had to pay was only about $150. (roughly) I wish you good luck at the seminar and I hope you find out everything that you want to know. Don't rush into anything your not sure about, but if and when you decide to do this...everything will work out just fine! Take Care and Good Luck! Carolyn