Former lurker....now a OH member

I have been following the weight loss surgery industry for a while. I went through stages. Amazed that they could do this, never considering it for myself, then realized who am I kidding I am FAT. Yep no doubts about it. 6'2" 360 lbs give or take a value meal or so. I know that some people at my employer have had surgery in the past; but that was a few years ago. I called my insurer the other day and was informed that bypass was an exclusion. HumanaHmo for Fidelity Investments. I finally resolved all my fears about the surgery and got up the will to call just to find out it is now excluded. AAARRRGGHHHH!!!!!! Is there anyway to fight this??? I'm not sure. AS I stated I have lurked here for a about a year or so and read a lot of great stories about WLS. I have read about the troubles or glitches a few have gone through. Your stories have helped to motivate me to think that I should try for WLS but I need your help once again. How do I fight this? How do I get them to approve a surgery? Is it possible? OR at the end of the year do I jump ship to the other policy that work provides through United Healthcare. Are they better I don't know but I will ask around at work and have someone call and see if WLS is excluded? Doesn't make since to jump from one sinking ship to another. Let's just say that I now realize all my health problems for a male of 33 years is related to obesity. I have tried working out in the past and diets; but I am not that strong willed a person. Lord do I wish I had that kind of personal resolve. Any help or replies are appreciated. Got any ideas or thoughts please share them as I plan on using your gals and guys personal victories to help motivate me in my endeavors. Thanks for reading so far. I will try to make my other posts not so long. Ryan

Ryan, I can see now you are going to be a wildman on our often times very quiet board..LOL I have always heard that if there is an exclusion on the policy there is NOTHING that you can do...I would definately check into the other policy. You can also attend meetings at some of the centers to see if they can help you get more info. your profile says you live in Florence. Dr. Tom Sonnanstine is at St. Luke, he has an information seminar every 1st thurs of the month ...if you need his information go to the left side of this page then hit "bariatric surgeons" his name will pop up you can find his number there. also he is great about returning all emails personally, if you would like to ask him a direct question. any thing I might be able to help you with, send me an email. you probably know by now I am working on the event in Lexington...let me know if you want more info on that as well Brenda

Thanks for the reply Brenda. If you only knew how wild I will get............... just wait and see. Dr. Tom Sonnanstine is one of the doctors I am interested in. He is very close to me and my home. I do mean close as in a mile and a half away. Well I could engage the 4x4 and go through my backyard and be about 1/2 mile then. LEt me say this; I am a HAPPY fat guy.Not a guy who is happy being FAT At work I volunteer to do Santa for the employees kids for their snack with Santa. Guess if I ever get WLS done I will have to get a pillow or something else as the kids Love me as Santa. One year I missed due to being out of town. Man let me tell you there was some upset kids and parents as they didn't like the replacement santa. I keep forgetting that the info session is the first Thursday of the month. I usually remember or come on to OH and on the first Friday. Duuuuoooohhhhh! Well I guess I will keep going to the YMCA and swim there for right now. Shoot I even get hit on by the older ladies. At least someone cares to. And no I am not making fun of or belittleing(sp) myself.

you crack me up, I want to ride on that 4X4

Hey Ryan, Just as Brenda said, Nothing to do about the exclusion. Hope all works out for you, Come by the Mens board sometime. It's a pretty good place to get info from, from a mans point of view anyway! Take care! http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/men/

Thanks Tony. I was taking a look this morning after I got your message. One question what does the acronym stand for. You know the one I'm talking about.

Hi Ryan, I hope you get lots of good info. I have heard exclusions are pretty tough to beat. I had Humana as well PPO through my employer (I work for a investments firm as well) and thought it was going to be pretty rough. I had heard they had exclusions etc but luckily I squeezed in before the deadline. I have heard GREAT things about United Health Care, and it sure would not hurt to call and make a inquiry about their requirements! Hope this helps some, and if you have any questions please feel free to email me, I will be happy to help. Oh yea, if your like me your jumping up and down for joy that Monday is the 17th, because if I have to take ONE MORE prior year contribution for one more person, im gonna squeeze their little heads until their eyes pop out! (omg, can you tell I need a vacation?)

Hi, Ryan. My sister works at Fidelity. Which office do you work out of? I've heard (but don't know more than this) that you can ask HR to reconsider an exclusion. And if you want to fight it hard, you can, but it'll take a lot of money and there's a chance that you won't win. I really do like Dr. Sonnanstine so far. I had my initial consultation with him last week. Best of luck!

Hi Ryan, Dr Sonnanstine did my surgery 6mths ago today and he is great. I only wish I had done it years ago but I read everything I could get my hands on. This has been a life saving for me. I am no longer on BP meds and other conditions have resoved in the last 6 mths. I have lost 100 lbs since surgery and 115 since getting the nerve to make that first call. I wish you good luck. If you have any questions just drop me and e mail. I would be glad to answer any questions. Jane 296/196/150 goal