So disappointed..39.84 BMI

Hi, All

So happy to find this forum, but so disappointed. Today, I had my first doc visit, only to find that I'm not a candidate because ok don't meet the 40 BMI requirement...my BMI was 39.84. I do have some symptoms suggestive of sleep apnea, so now I have to crack that nut. The next doc visit is supposed to be in a month. I really was excited to get started, now I feel back to zero..all because Ibwas a fraction of a fraction off. I. know this is the least of the road ahead, but damn! Anyway, thanks for letting me vent.

Wow...a bit harsh to someone brand new to the site, dontcha think?

Harsh and, you know, illegal. It's what prosecutors like to call insurance fraud.

It is holding me up because I need to tolerate another month of being at an unhealthy and uncomfortable weight when I was excited to start getting on track..in addition, need to wade through the insurance headache of getting a sleep study. But I never said it was stopping me.

All is not lost. Get tested for sleep apnea and if you have it that is one comorbidity. Do you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or type 2 diabetes? See what your insurance requirements are there may be other health conditions that will qualify you. Most insurance companies want a person to have either a BMI of 40+ with no comorbidities or a BMI of 35 with at least 2 comorbidities.

And don't listen to the poster who feels it is OK to lie and perform insurance fraud. It is always best to be honest with the doctors and insurance.

Thanks! Yes, I did look up my insurance requirements before starting the process. I will find out if I do have apnea (symptoms say yes), and go from there. I know all isn't lost and appreciate the encouraging words :)

PCBR....WELCOME!!

Like Lady Godiva said, find out,for yourself, what your insurance requires. Don't depend on your doctors office to do your legwork. You tenacity may go a long way, toward getting you toward your end goal.

Different companies recognize different co-morbidities. You may be sicker, than you realize :)

Please continue posting here, and let us know how things are going

Thank you :)

its either a comirbidity or I just commit to not lose weight until next month (feels like a weird goal but okay lol). I do recognize that sleep apnea is serious and if I have it, it's better to know.

And now for a different perspective ....

During my first appointment with my surgeon, I qualified for WLS in terms of my BMI. I had 3 qualifying co-morbidities and a BMI of 39 and change. (I was insured by Medicare / Medicare supplemental, which requires a BMI of 40 with no comorbidities or 35 with 3 qualifying comorbitidies.)

However, I could not wait to get my own weight loss show on the road prior to my WLS, even before the surgery was scheduled. So I started losing weight slowly on a 1400 calorie/day diet of my own design, modeled after what I was learning about eating post-op.

But I was very concerned that my pre-op weight losses might endanger my eligibility for surgery.

So ... I bought a couple of ten-pound weight belt, the kind that have half-pound weights that fit into little slots on the belt. And at subsequent pre-op surgery appointments I tucked those weights into my bra, pockets, underwear, etc.

BTW, I lost 11 pounds on my own prior to losing another 8 pounds on my doc's own pre-op liver-shrinking diet.

Today, two years and eight months post-op, I've lost 100 pounds and have maintained that weight loss for the last 15 months.

Yeah, I'm just ridden with insurance fraud guilt!