Question:
has anyone bee denied/approved after telling about their mental helth status?

i am a manic deppressive/bi polar and have attemped suicide several times. currently take four kinds of medications any recomendations?    — kimberly T. (posted on April 29, 2002)

April 28, 2002
Kimberly: Please do not take this the wrong way, but are you sure you are healthy enough to undergo the most major life change a person could ever have? Your entire body will change. Your relationships with other people will change. Your meds will probably get off-whack, because you will have a hard time swallowing them. Also, many people undergo a period of depression in the first 12 weeks after WLS. I would truly think about these issues before you pursue WLS. If you have already thought them over and are 100% sure you want to move forward, your goal must be to convince your psychologist that you had mental illness problems in the past but that everything is under control with meds now.
   — Terissa R.

April 29, 2002
My only recomendation is to be totally honest with your surgeon. Tell him/her what medications you are taking, tell them about your past troubles! Don't worry we all had to give our surgeon our total medical history and answer any question they had about it. Just go into it knowing everything will be on the table! I found it very hard to discuss the many years I took diet pills and how afraid I was to stop taking them. Be honest with yourself too! Don't set unreasonable expectations on this surgery! Loosing the weight will not cure you of the bi-polar but it will help you be physically healthier. I had to face it that loosing the weight was not going to solve a relationship I was in, even though all he did was gripe about how big I was. I truely feel that as long as you are taking your medication for your bi polar and you have it checked often as you loose weight (weight will effect dosage), I really don't think you will have a harder time than the rest of us in dealing with gaining control over food. You may have a more realistic view of the whole thing than I did!! I found it shocking that I didn't want food and I didn't want to think about food. I was totally hiding behind my fat. I've found that in loosing my "Fat Armor" I show my emotions more. I feel alive and full of hope for the future! As long as you are honest with your surgeon, then they will be able to help you decide if this is what you want in your life. Don't worry about being denied, worry about being approved because then you will have the final say if it's yes or no!!! It's the start of you being in control! Good luck! Go for it!
   — blank first name B.

April 29, 2002
Funny you should ask... Just last Friday I went to see my counselor and the surgeon's nurse called earlier that day to tell me they need a letter from my counselor stating I am ok for surgery. I'm on medication and have been suicidal once, but I think her biggest hesitation in writing the letter for me was that I have a tendency to go off my meds when I'm feeling better even though I KNOW they are beneficial. I got upset, thinking why did I ever even tell them? Why was I honest about it? Well, my therapist stayed over to talk to me more about this and in the end decided to write the letter because she could tell I'm going into this with my eyes open, I've done my homework and I realize a life change of this magnitude is going to be a challenge. Good luck to you! :-)
   — K. Joyce Smith

May 1, 2002
hi i am also bipolar and i have the same concerns about being denied. i have not been to the psych yet but i am nervous that they will be bias to me having a mental disorder, i am stable and have been on my meds for over a year so good luck to you i hope everything goes well for us both c`ya
   — blank first name B.