Didn't know it was possible to be turned down due to high BMI!

It really depends on the surgeon and the hospital facilities. Some surgeons aren't comfortable doing (or have never been trained to do) surgery on very large people, and some hospital facilities cannot accommodate very large patients, especially for laparoscopic surgery (the tools need to be longer than usual, etc.).

Even if you run into a surgeon who isn't comfortable with it, or a hospital that can't accommodate it, you do still have some options. Some surgeons will operate on larger patients but will do the surgery open rather than lap. If that isn't an option (or even if it is but you don't want an open surgery), you can get a different surgeon and/or hospital.

Lora

I know I have read on here about surgeons who specialize in larger patients. Although that sounds funny to say because we all are larger aren't we?  It doesn't sound like your co-morbidities would keep you from having surgery. If the Doc ain't got a plan for you, I would look at other surgeons.

I saw my surgeon for the first time today and he was not concerned about my BMI. Yay, one less thing to worry about.

Thanks for letting us know your worry is over.  My BMI was in the 60's when the surgeon said,  "the more weight you lose before WLS the better things should go."  During the six-month waiting period insurance required, I was able to get my BMI into the 50's.  Today, it's in the 30's with a goal of 20's.  To calculate your BMI, a BMI calculator can be found on this website under the heading "RESOURCES."

I don't have a waiting period at all, since I'm self pay. But I plan on seeing if I can lose any weight between now and my surgery.