I am a 21yrs old and I have been struggling with my weight since I was in elementary. Since I was young enough to take medication for adhd I have. And in the 5th grade my mom took me off the medication. I was very skinny up until then. That summer I gained at least 50lbs. About 4 years ago I lost 90 lbs, but I did it in the worst way possible. I was 220lbs. I gained most of that back, of coarse. I am now 211 and I am thinking about getting the surgery done. I am not sure if my age has an effect on this or not. I really wish it didn't but I'm not sure. I have a bmi of 37.2 but no blood pressure or diabetes that I know of. I'm not sure when the last time I got checked was. I am under a health insurance called Unitedhealth care. Does anyone know if they cover this surgery, and if they do what the exceptions have to be in order for them to cover it? Please help me! LADWANA

this website is so helpful. im so glad i found this. never thought i would jnow this much about the before and after surgery.

this website is so helpful. im so glad i found this. never thought i would jnow this much about the before and after surgery.

You probably been reading all night cause when I found this sight I couldn't stop reading ...

If I could go back to my 21 year old self and tell her to get the sleeve, I would. Absolutely, hands down. BUT I would give myself these tips:

1. Call the insurance company directly. As one person said - different policies under the same insurance company can be very different. Some do not even cover WLS even though UHC in general does. Though people on here are super helpful and you may find that the online guideline is correct, they can be very picky about wording. The best option is hearing it straight from an insurance representative's mouth. Record their name and all the information they give you every time you call. Keep it in a file for if you need to call and reference it later. Follow their directions to a T, your approval will hopefully be much less stressful this way.

2. Find a solid support system. Do you live at home/with a roommate you're comfortable with? Do you have someone able to help you? Even at 25, it had rough days where I really appreciated the help. Not to mention you are young and your hormones are probably going crazy anyway - this is going to make that even worse. Having a shoulder to lean on is irreplaceable.

3. Get used to the diet pre-op. I think this would have been a huge struggle for me when I was younger. I had far less self control than I do now, and I think having a period of time pre-surgery where I was going through the diet to understand the phases would be helpful in creating structure. This includes being able to resist alcohol/other peer pressure stuff. You might have a better backbone than me, but it would have been hard for me to not drink for quite a while when my friends went out.

I think if you just make sure you are 100% sure what you're getting yourself into - go for it! Enjoy being young while you're young =) I hope everything works out well for you! Let us know how it goes.

yeah. what if the doctor i talked to talks to the insurance?

I understand that the doctor's office will contact the insurance, but I would definitely get it from them myself. I have heard stories of office's missing a requirement or not communicating it effectively. By calling the insurance directly, you will be able to ask any questions to clarify exactly what they mean. Some insurances are not picky, but boy there are some that you need the letters sent in to be exact wording that they want. This just avoids any possibility of miscommunication. A couple weeks ago I read a thread where the doctor's office hadn't told a patient that she needed 6 months of supervised diet, but she didn't find out and couple have had a month or two already done when she did. I would be super frustrated if that happened to me.

ok ill def make sure to do that! thanks sooo much!

Any updates LaDwana?

Hi LaDwana,

As previous posters had mentioned check with the insurance company directly also it should state it in the policy. I have United Health Care and it excludes any type of WLS. I am not letting this stop me though, I am headed to Mexico in November to be sleeved .

As for your age if you feel it is the right time I say go for it, I wish I would have done this years ago if it was an option that I had known about.

Best of luck to you and your decision.

the doctor ais it was only going to be 15500 at the most so that doesnt sound like a lot to me!? how much are yall paying?

my health insurance said they cover 15% but the doctors said they cover only 10,000$ worth. idkkkk

i meant 50% when i called the health insurance.

Hi,

As a self pay I found that here in the states the cheapest I could find was $13500 ( crazy because I was told $11500)either way still too much for me so I am going to Mexico and paying $4700

Hi,

Well as other people mentioned, there is Mexico. But you should shop around more, because I found a great surgeon in TX that was $12,500! and I heard the best surgeon in Mexico charges $11,000+

At the end of the day it's your money and your body Try not to make hasty decisions. Best of luck!!!

im kinda scared to go to mexico. im not sure i would come back! plus 15,000 isnt that bad. where is the surgeon at in texas that charges 12,00?

In the Dallas/Forth Worth Area

http://www.drdkim.net/html/bariatric-weight-loss-surgery-payment-options-dallas-tx.html

That's his website I might get sleeved by him but I really want something closer to home.