new and needing advice

Good evening all! I have really been considering wls and I am ready to dive in head first! Heres my current situation...I am considered obese w a bmi of 35 and I am not to sure what qualifies as comorbidities. I do have asthma & eczema. I have had back problems for years and recently was diagnosed with degenerative disc disease. I am not diabetic but more then half of my dads side including my dad are diabetic. I have been actively trying to lose weight for a few yrs now and have had little success. I am currently 187lbs and am 5'2. I know my bmi is on the lower side but I feel like wls surgery could be my 2nd chance at life! I know its not a quick fix and there is hard work involved. I am more then ready to get my life back. Recently my back pain has been worse and my doctor even told me it could be due to "obesity" that hurt but could be the truth. I have anthem blue cross ppo for insurance. I know i need to attend seminars and all that. A close friend of mine has had great success w wls and it makes me more hopeful! Any advice would be helpful! Thanks!

I was very close to your starting point when I had WLS.  As far as comorbidities, the one that helped me get over the insurance hump was sleep apnea. I also was close to being diabetic and was on Metformin, had degenerative disk disease, high blood pressure and approaching high cholesterol. A great read to help you get through the hoops is Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies, I kid you not. I got mine through Amazon.

Good luck!

--gina

Thanks! I will look into that book!!

Welcome to our LW Board!!!  Check out the book Gina suggested.  I heard it has a lot of good info in it. What type of WLS are you thinking about having?

I was at the 40 BMI mark so I didn't really have a problem getting approved.  Have you talked to the DR. about WLS that said your back pain could be because of your weight?  It was my PCP who actually kept track of my monthly weigh ins and turning in the papers to get me approved.  I also had to write down my weight loss journey, how many years, and what plans I had tried.

Keep trying and Keep us Updated!!  It's the best think I've ever did for myself!

Hey! Thanks for the info! Very helpful. I have done tons of research online and determined that VSG would be the route for me.

Hi and welcome to the LW Board!!

Have you attended any Weight Loss Seminars?  I would go there and check out the different types of weight loss surgery.  Maybe schedule a consultation with a weight loss surgeon and let him guide you through the process. Their office should know whether you would qualify or not.  I would think back problems that could be helped with weight loss would be one but I'm not sure. 

I had Sleep apnea, diabetes and high cholesterol and morbidly obese so I didn't have any problems qualifying.

Different insurance companies have different requirements.  You could call your insurance company and asked them. 

Good luck and keep us updated on your progress.

Linda

I haven't yet been to seminars nor have I talked to any surgeons. Ive really just been thinking about WLS for the past year and the last week is when I really made the decision to do it. So really I haven't done anything other then online research. If I dont "qualify" through insurance I have thought about going to mexico and doing it that way.

Welcome    I'll second the going to the seminar.  My group could tell you there if you were going to qualify because they keep up with all the insurance.  My insurance would only pay for RNY and band so I chose RNY and have never looked back. You may have sleep apnea and not know it.  But they will send you for all kind of testing.  May as well get started because it will take a while.  My insurance didn't require a 6 month diet but my Dr group required 12 training sessions which took 6 months. 

Stay in touch and let us know if you have questions.  We love to follow newbee's on their journey!

Thank you for the advice! I will definitely be attending a seminar! I am most worried about being turned down for not being heavy enough :(...

You have gotten a lot of great advice already.  I don't feel like I'm in any way an expert as I'm just a little over 5 months out, but when it comes to insurance and coverage your best bet is the following:

1. Call your insurance company and ask them if it's covered and, if it is, what the requirements for approval are.  Once you know if you will qualify or not, you can start making decisions on if you want to self-pay.
2. Attend a seminar and talk to their insurance expert (they seem to have one at each session at least that is my experience).  They can help you understand from their perspective what more might be needed. 
3. Understand that the process is often a MUCH LONGER process than any of us like.  I feel like once I've made my mind up about something, I'm ready to go.  Well, with my process I made up my mind and started pursuing the surgery on 10/1/2014 and yet didn't make it through all the hoop jumping until April 2015 (and that was with doing everything perfectly according to everyone's rules).  
4. Start making positive changes NOW.  I believe my success to date has been because on 10/1/2014 I started making changes to prepare myself for post-op life (changed calorie intake, carb intake, stopped drinking with meals, eliminated carbonated beverages, etc.).  Because I started that process immediately, I lost a lot of weight during my pre-op work (even more than I've lost post-op at this point).  The effort rewards you though and makes post-op life and the challenges that come from time to time just a bit easier.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Janell