Any early 20's get approved by insurance? Hi I'm new!

Hi! I'm Dawnyel, I was hoping to get approved for WLS but I'm afraid they will tell me I'm too young. =( my doctor sent in a referral, but he also said that he wouldn't recommend it. I was just diagnosed with diabetes, but don't need meds (yet) and I have high blood pressure (no meds). My grandma died at 66 from being overweight and heart disease and diabetes. I'm 21, 5'4" and I weigh 255. My highest weight was 298. I can loose weight just fine when I try and it's easy, but I gain it all back + 40 pounds every time... help -Dawnyel 298/255/150

Oh there are tons of people who are/were in their early 20's when they had their WLS. When I submitted my Insurance info I was a couple days shy of my 21st birthday. I didnt have any serious Co-Morbs at the time but mentioned them as well as my family history to show that if something is not done about my weight now I will have serious problems when I get older. I think It took about 2 weeks for me to get my approval. Find out first if your Insurance will cover the surgery and what the requirements are to get approved and then go from there. Document all your weightloss/excercise attempts. I mentioned that during highschool I was very active playing Varsity Softball, JV Basketball, I took extra Gym/weight training classes and was still not succesful. I knew what my Insurance co wanted and I made sure they didnt have a chance or reason to deny me. You can do it your not too young at all. Good luck and keep us posted!

Hi Dawnyel!! I was 21 when I had my surgery in January. I was 5'10" 393 and my grandmother died at an early age due to obesity, congestive heart failure associated with the obesity, and diabetes. My grandfather also had high blood pressure and my father is plagued by it also. My uncle has diabetes too! So it was imperative I took control of my life before I was diagnosed with anything serious as well. At the time of the surgery, I was borderline diabetic, I couldn't stand for more than a few hours at a time without needing a break and ate and ate and ate- that's all I thought about. Its been 9 months, I'm down 182 pounds and feel absolutely terrifi****ep pushing your docs, know what your insurance requires and jump through the hoops! You can do it girl! Jaci 393/211/175

Hi Girls, Thanks for the support! I emailed my doctor and he said that he DID submit the referral!!! I was so worried that he might not have remembered. He said I should be expecting a phone call in 5-10 days! I'm so excited. I've been really trying to loose weight in the meantime. But heres the thing....I really don't think I'm eating enough calories, latley I've had really good willpower and only eating 1/2 or less than 1/2 of my food. =) I guess it's good practice. My husband wants to get the gastric bypass too.. he's 5'9" and 300lbs. He has poorly controlled diabetes, high cholestral and high blood pressure, he's 34. -Dawnyel 298/255/150

There's a young woman in the local support group who had surgery at 17. I think the comorbidities make a big difference in getting approval.

Hi Dawnyel, i am 22 with no co morbalites, and my ins. approved me 3 days after they sent in all the paperwork for approval... i am 5'2 and weigh 235.. take care and God bless