Newbie

[Melania 0]

Where do I start? I am very new to wanting this surgery

I have a bmi of 38 with no co morbities

any advice on where to begin my journey?

[ericaseymore 23]

Have you seen a weight loss dr yet

[Melania 0]

I have my first appointment next month is there any other dr I should be seeing?

[James Marusek 5,244]

Many insurance companies require a body mass index of 40 or greater (or 35-40 when there is at least one co-morbidity related to obesity) in order to qualify for bariatric surgery. So the first thing to do is review your health insurance plan booklet and check their requirements. If you don't meet the plan's requirements, there are generally two options that you may want to consider: self-pay and changing your health care insurance provider.

[Melania 0]

I have high cholesterol and I'm pretty sure I can get to 40 bmi I have Medicaid Medicare and united healthcare

[Berry78 4,259]

Your first visit to the bariatric doctor (and maybe previous visits to your primary care doc) is/ the ones where your weight is important.

Not sure if high cholesterol will qualify. Maybe look for sleep apnea?

[ColleenErin1974 195]

I have high cholesterol and I'm pretty sure I can get to 40 bmi I have Medicaid Medicare and united healthcare

I have a Medicare advantage insurance through United Healthcare.
They required me to do a 3 month medically supervised diet. Which I started in November. I met my surgeon on 1/30/17.
The surgeon had me do quite a few prerequisite. I finished them on 2/23/17.
My information was finally sent to UH for approval. That is where I am right now and it's hard to wait for approval.
Good luck to you!!!

[Melania 0]

17 hours ago, ColleenErin1974 said:

I have a Medicare advantage insurance through United Healthcare.
They required me to do a 3 month medically supervised diet. Which I started in November. I met my surgeon on 1/30/17.
The surgeon had me do quite a few prerequisite. I finished them on 2/23/17.
My information was finally sent to UH for approval. That is where I am right now and it's hard to wait for approval.
Good luck to you!!!

Hi I have an appointment with a weight loss clinic next month I want to have that in before I go further with pursuing the gastric bypass so I don't have to waste any time I hope you get your approval soon keep me updated I would love to know how long that is gonna take 😊

[hmills653 365]

You will probably need a sleep study, EGD, and psych appt for sure as well as medically supervised weight loss classes. But I know my doctor said that some preoperative appts had to be within 6 mos or 3 mos of surgery date. So wait on psych evaluation. But get a sleep study scheduled asap bc this takes the longest.

[ColleenErin1974 195]

A good way to start is to make an appointment with your primary care doctor. Tell them the reason for your appointment is for a medically supervised diet because you're going to pursue WLS. They may want to do a physical for a baseline weight. Your insurance company will have certain criteria for you to follow and your surgeon will also have you doing things too. You can set up another appointment with your doc, but the appointment must be at least 30 days between visits.

I started my supervised diet in November and had my consult with the surgeon in January, so my mandatory visit for my insurance were done by the time I saw him.

I did have an EGD, psychological visit, hematology (history of pulmonary emboli), nutritionist, and follow up for the EGD with gastro doc. I did not have to do a sleep study or cardiac visit. This all took place from January to the 23rd of February.

Every surgeon has their criteria you must follow. To succeed in the WLS, always follow your doctors to the tee.

Good luck to you!

I hope this helped.

[Melania 0]

Thank you so much for explaining it! There is so much info and guidelines to follow

[hmills653 365]

The hospital I'm going through requires the medically supervised weight loss classes through their facility. I had already done a few months with my pcp but that didn't count. They went with my starting weight from first class and then at my 3 mos visit with the surgeon. I did 6 mos of classes prior to insurance submittal. I had to have a sleep study which I found out I do have sleep apnea, so I am using a bipap at night for that. I had to get approval from my cardiologist because I've had a blood clot in the past, he did a stress echo and all was good. I had the psych evaluation. An EGD. I think that's all. I got approved two weeks after submitting in March and I'm scheduled for May 31. I'm still gong to the supervised weight loss classes bc I want this to be a habit to continue after surgery. They have a weight loss support group every month after the class as well. There is no charge for these classes if you are having our have had surgery. They are so helpful amd informative. I wish you good luck. I just had a steroid injection in my knee for arthritis and am praying that after I lose the weight this will be a thing of the past as well.

[hmills653 365]

Where do I start? I am very new to wanting this surgery
I have a bmi of 38 with no co morbities
any advice on where to begin my journey?

You may not realize you have comorbidity. Do you have your bp checked regularly? I had hypertension and didn't realize it bc I saw my dr once a year. After going more frequently a few years ago it was discovered. Have them do blood work to check your hemoglobin A1C if you haven't had this done. It was show your average range of blood sugars to make sure you don't have diabetes or pre-diabetic. Also the big one a sleep study I never would've thought I had sleep apnea but if you're tired during the day or feel like you don't sleep well this could be the cause. Any knee or back pain, an xray can show off there's arthritis or a herniated or wearing disc in your back. Sometimes you may have them and not even realize it. Worth looking into with your pcp.

[Melania 0]

1 hour ago, hmills653 said:

You may not realize you have comorbidity. Do you have your bp checked regularly? I had hypertension and didn't realize it bc I saw my dr once a year. After going more frequently a few years ago it was discovered. Have them do blood work to check your hemoglobin A1C if you haven't had this done. It was show your average range of blood sugars to make sure you don't have diabetes or pre-diabetic. Also the big one a sleep study I never would've thought I had sleep apnea but if you're tired during the day or feel like you don't sleep well this could be the cause. Any knee or back pain, an xray can show off there's arthritis or a herniated or wearing disc in your back. Sometimes you may have them and not even realize it. Worth looking into with your pcp.

Hi thanks for the info I have chronic asthma that I have had since a child and the weight is making it even harder to breathe I had my blood checked and no diabetes but I do have extreme lower back pain and I have high cholesterol is the sleep study mandatory?