Kaiser insurance- high BMI

That's great! Thanks so much!

Some Kaiser patients have successfully appealed for DS surgery so now they've contracted with Dr. Rabkin in San Francisco to do the surgery. He is VERY experienced with DS. Perhaps you could attend the monthly support group meeting and ask some of Dr. Rabkin's patients how they got through the Kaiser process. Good luck.

We have heard about Dr Rabkin and I believe my husband even contacted his office at one point to see how much it would cost out of pocket. Great suggestion about the support group. It sounds like it maybe a fight, but it's good to know that other people have gotten approved through Kaiser. Thanks for the information!

Another option: I have heard about high BMI patients getting a gastric balloon first. The balloon can only stay in for a limited time, but it can help you reach a BMI that is safer for surgery. Getting the balloon doesn't require general anaesthesia, so BMI shouldn't be an issue.

I'm not a fan of the balloon since it's restriction-only, and it can have devastating side effects, too. I've also seen many people not lose weight with it since it's quite possible to eat around it.

Having had multiple EGDs too... it's not very comfortable to have it inserted whilst awake, either. It's pretty much awful to get one without twilight anesthesia.

High BMI and anesthesia isn't necessarily a problem if the anesthesiologist is skilled. The diffusion rates for drugs are different for us, but it's quite possible for it to be safe if someone competent is doing the procedure. It's probably more dangerous for us to take narcotics at home and then sleep, actually, than to get anesthesia for surgery.

He was interested in the gastric balloon at one time after hearing about a friend who had one. I did wonder at his BMI if it would even be an option.

The gastric balloon, in any and all cir****tances, is a horrible idea.

Yes, this. ^^^^

Please be careful with the balloon. It's not very effective and the side effects can be horrific. Here are just a few of them.

Good luck with however you end up approaching this; people end up doing what they have to do and I know that. Just wanted you and anyone reading to know the risks regarding that balloon.

It would be ideal if he were able to lose a good amount of weight before surgery with something like the gastric balloon. I think it would be very hard to get Kaiser to cover something like that, however. Thank you for the suggestion, I do appreciate it.