my last cry for help!!!

HI everyone im 30 years old 5ft 6in tall at 375lbs my insurance covers the surgery but i need help how do i get started?And how long dose it take to have the surgery?And i work in construction and i work my check is week by week,how long will i be out of work and how long till i can hit the weights and gym?what kind of changes will i have to ajust to after surgery?why dose is haveing the surgery such a long process?Now im depressed bc all my life i been overweight up and down a hundred times i finally made up my mid to do the surgery but dont know how to go about haveing it done.ive been alone over 12 years bc i have no confedence,i hate going out anywhere,and i can never find cloths to fit me,i have hardly no friends and keep to my self 90%of the time.I needs this surgery bad Bc latly i been have bad thoughts bc of my lonelyness and people allways picking on u,and stareing,u cant sit at regular tables.u cant fly anywhere the seats are small.im tired of my life and need change asap or i might as well be 6ft under.Please someone help me get the ball rollen my life sucks my job sucks i would like to have the surgery and find a job in north floridA or gorgeia i need change my life is too stagnit!

First of all Neil----GET a HOLD OF YOURSELF. It will be all right. You are not the only one out there with that problem. We all go through the depression of being big. But there is help. I would suggest going to your PCP first and talking to he/she. Tell them this is what you want and you need a suggestion on a good doc. If that doesn't work, search this site. There are plenty of great doc that I have seen on here and are bound to be accepted by your insurance company. Then-----see if there is a support group in your area. They are more and more every day. I just found one in my area that I am gonna start attending even though I am prolly a year or so away from being able to go through with the surgery. But remember only you can make that first move. Good luck----and remeber that all people out there are not out there to judge you!!

Thank you very much for your kind words sorry it took so long to write back i havent been online in a while.Thanks Neil Intindola

Hello Neil: Please take it easy. Well it does take a little while to get the ball rolling. But each case is different and it mostly depends on what type of insurance you have. First call your insurance company and get any info on the coverage they provide for the surgery. If you can find anyone there who can tell you, also what their qualifications for the surgery are. Go ahead and make an appointment with your pcp if they require a letter from them. You might also want to ask about anti depressants. There is nothing wrong with taking them, I myself take them. I could not stand anyone much less myself before I started taking them. At the same time you make an appointment with your pcp, call the bariatric dr in your area and ask them questions. Ask them if they take your insurance and verify what they need from you to get the ball rolling. You more than likely will need a physc eval and nutrition eval as well as bloodwork. Now is not the time to get impatient. For some it only takes a month or less to get a surgery date and others it takes a year or longer. Get those antidepressants and then the patience will come. You are worth waiting for. As far as the weight goes and how people treat you, yes we are treated differently. Not always negatively, but different. I am honest when I say the personality always wins. I know that it helps to have a pretty shell, but I like a self assured man. Get some antidepressants!!! You will feel much better and think much clearer. I had made my first appointment with the doctor in May. I was so unsure about everything and was so depressed I cancelled it. I then made one for October after I was antidepressants. I had to change that one due to money. But I finally went to see the dr. The doctor was wonderful. I am very happy that I saw him.

Neil, First of all,stop. You may qualify for this surgery ( it sounds like you do) But more than anything,you are an important person. Every person is. Baby,you feel good about yourself and that is the best start ever. I hate for any heavy person to feel like you are less than nothing because that is so not true.Everyone is beautiful and special.Hang in there ok? I am there for you.............

Hi Neil, listen I am just about where you are as far as height n weight and I live a very active life with 3 lil girls, but sometimes believe me we all get in a slump and depressed, I am in Ocala, and My doc is in Gainsville ...and lets talk girlfriend! E-mail me and i will give you my home phone number ok! God Bless I will help you! Mary in Fl.

Hi Neil, Before you can get started on your weight you must first get in touch with yourself. I also live in Homestead, Fl. and my life hasn't been the best, but the one thing that is sure and constent in my life is my belief that GOD doesn't make mistakes. HE doesn't give us more than we can bare. So Neil get on your knees and pray, talk to GOD and HE will give you the love and guidence that you seek. I am a single mother of two boys, I am also a full time nursing student at MDCC, and I am on public assistance. I started my weight loss surgery journey with research and then I reached out to people who have already had the surgery. I had my first consult on 1/13/04 with Dr. Raul Rosenthal at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston Florida. I am now scheduled to have all of my diagnostic testing on 1/27/04 and my psych evaluation on 2/3/04 and finally my nutrition consult on 2/4/04 and then they will schedule my surgery for the following two weeks. I am 5'5" and I weigh 320 pounds and yes at one point in my life I too felt as if my life was not worth living, but I knew that GOD had much more planned for me and giving up was not HIS plan for me. Who knows maybe his plan was for me to talk to you. So Neil do give into the obstacle that the devil has placed before you, take a hold to GOD'S hand and HE will guide you through.