Hi all! I've been trolling around in this forum for about a week now... It's the best on I've found online... everyone is so supportive and friendly! I'm glad to be a part of it.

I'm in Michigan and just got back from a bariatric seminar at Beaumont Hospital in the Detroit area. I knew this already but they told me again that you need a BMI of 40+ if you want the band. (Or 35+ with complications, but I have no complications.) Anyway I really want to be banded but my BMI is 39. It would only take about 10 more pounds to qualify...

Should I just eat more so I can gain the weight by the time I meet with the doctor lol?? Seems kind of like cheating, but heck, I'll probably gain the weight anyway in the next year or so, if I continue at my current pace.

My bmi was too low to get surgery (with dr. kuri) and i allowed myself to gain about 15 pounds and it took a while to gain the weight but it happened and now i regret it because i found Dr. Ortiz in Mexico who would have done surgery on me at my weight of about 193 now i'm 208, my bmi is still not high enough to have surgery with kuri so i'm having surgery with dr. ortiz. I don't know how you feel about having surgery in Mexico but thats one option for you.

Good Luck!

Oh, so Dr. Ortiz will do the surgery for people using different criteria than U.S. surgeons have?

I'm definitely not into having the surgery in Mexico, especially since I'm up in Michigan. It's so far to travel, but they just told me at my hospital that the surgery is $25,000 - $30,000 if you want to pay for it out of pocket. So I either need to get my insurance to cover it (in other words, I need to gain some weight first) or I may consider going to Dr. Ortiz.

yea if your bmi is higher than 30, i believe, he'll preform surgery. Dr. Ortiz's website is www.obesitycontrolcenter.com you can request some info. I'm having surgery this coming monday, once i'm back i'll let know how my experience went. I'm sure it'll go smoothly i've heard a lot of great things.

I'm self pay so paying 8500 was way better than the 15000+ it costs in the U.S.

meeg: Did you go to a session Dr. Deol did, or Dr. Krause or Chengelis? If you went to Deol's, I hope they told you about the $800 charge for the MANDATORY support group fee which is over and above the other fees. Insurance doesn't cover this fee. It was the main reason I didn't use her. There is no mention of it on her website and when you call for more info, they don't tell you unless you ask about it. I don't mind that there is a fee or that there is a program that's mandatory, it's her practice and she can run it as she sees fit, but I was taken aback by not being told about it up front.

I am going to Hurley in Flint (I'm from the Ann Arbor area, so it's a bit of a drive, but not bad) and I am very impressed with their staff and how nice and knowledgeable the surgeon I consulted with was. (Dr. Wagner, but from what I have read, they are all wonderful there.) The only complaint I had was the wait time, but you always wait around in a surgeon's office. Though Hurley requires you to buy a special pre-op and post-op diet (one week pre-op for BMI under 50, and two weeks post op) that costs $195. But $195 is better than $800, and I figure I'd pay close to that for groceries for three or four weeks.

The reason I bring it up is that when I attended the information session, the director gave the presentation (Dr. Obeid, but he's off with a family emergency right now) and he said that even with a BMI of between 35 and 40, they'll consider things such as family history a comorbidity. If you have a strong family history of heart disease, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, there is four comorbidities.

Hope that helps a bit.

And yes, I'd start eating some good sundaes and Cookies...

Just my two cents... why not drink a lot of Water and eat a heavy meal before weighing in. That would put on the pounds, but in a temporary way.

Honestly wish I had to worry about this, I was at a bmi of 48 so I had nothing to worry about.

Ok Megan heres the plan. Schedule the appointment during your time of month, drink water,put on a heavy sweater, and optional ankle weights. Wear your heavy shoes, leave your keys in your pockets, with your purse on your shoulder. That is 10 pounds easy. :love:

I had a BMI of 35 and didnt realise when I began researching that its much more lenient in Australia. I had no troubles. I really thougth that I may be refused as I didnt think a bad ankle would be enough of a comorbidity but it was. I wasnt prepared to gain the amount of weight I'd have needed to to get over 40, for me that was well over 30lb.

But 10lb? Looking back on how much this has helped me and how successful I've been, I'd gain it in a heartbeat. I'd do all the things suggested above and gain a little to boot.

I got sick with the flu and had lost 10 lbs by 12/28. My consult was scheduled 1/10 and I knew I was under the 35 BMI. Needless to say, I had a 13 day feeding frenzy to "make weight" for insurance approval. I felt horrible doing it, but look at me now.....it's already gone and more! It's sad that we have to work the system, but I guess it was worth it considering I am now paying 10% of a $17,000.00 surgery. It's also sad that this surgery costs this much in the States.

Thank you everybody for your advice!

I like faithmd's suggestion the best: start eating some good sundaes and cookies! That's what I was secretly hoping everybody would tell me. Eat eat eat! :hungry:

But I had also considered the roll of quarter/drinking a lot of Water thing, too. I suppose that's the healthier thing to do. I'm just paranoid that they will find out. Then again, what are they gonna do, kick me out and ban me for life? I doubt it... they've probably seen it before. I guess I shouldn't worry too much. Poodles, you're right, it's a nice problem to have, needing to gain weight.

Faithmd, I didn't see any of the doctors you've mentioned, I was at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. Not the one in Troy - I didn't even know they had one there until reading about Dr. Deol on this forum. I'm going to start another thread about Beaumont because it worries me that no one here has mentioned them.

One thing to consider tho is...if you're going through insurance, most of them require you to be on doctor supervised weight loss for a period of time (anywhere from 8 weeks to 12 months!). I would check with your insurance carrier and find out what the requirement are for Weight Loss Surgery...I even had my company send me the portion of the policy that covered the requirements so I had it in writing.

Best Wishes!!!!

When I went to the doc they wighted me only in my underwear, cause they use special type of scales that measure fat,muscle and water-based on low electrical current(you dont feel it:-)

So maybe gaining 10 pounds is another option, truly said if I wasnt BMI over 40 when I went for the first consultation and that could stop me from having the surgery I would happily gain that 10 pounds.

Ask about the policy first and then decide if gaining is necessary:-)

Best of luck to you

I was as close as you (and I had sleep apnea besides), and my BCBS denied my surgery. I was tempted to gain the 10 lbs to get me to 40. My insurance has a requirement that you have to be at that bmi documented for 3 years. I figured for me there was no use, as I am not waiting 3 years.

Since my denial (and subsequent appeal and denial), my blood pressure has become elevated and my cholesteral has raised. I do not know if this will help get approved or not, but I am trying one more time. I also have a family history of bad things, buy my insurance would not recognize that as a comorbidity for me. Can you tell I am a tad disappointed in my insurance.

At any rate, I am getting surgery in the next couple months I think. I will self pay, probably in Mexico. I have done a ton of research, and I am presently thinking of Dr. Ortiz. I have been preapproved for a loan for the procedure, now I am just waiting to see what my surgeon and/or my insurance will do.

Hope you have better luck with your insurance. I finally got to the point that I need to do this to improve my health. It is sad that my insurance company doesn't see it that way.

Good Luck

Well I definitely need to check with my insurance, but the problem is my insurance company just got bought out by Blue Care Network. The change takes effect May 1, so I'm not sure my current company can tell me what the new one is going to do.

I'm really tempted to go to Mexico... I've heard so many good things about it. And I don't like the idea of having to jump through an insurance company's hoops. Which leads me to another question: Can anyone tell me WHY in the world some of them make you go on a 6 - 12 month diet before they will approve you?? I mean, what good does that do? Of course it's good to lose weight, but obviously if we could do it by dieting alone we wouldn't be seeking the surgery, right? And what if you actually follow the 6 - 12 month diet and end up dropping below their cut-off for allowing the surgery? Do they then deny it because you lost enough weight that you no longer qualify? (Maybe I should be starting a new thread with these questions, or maybe they've already been asked & answered...)

Thank you everybody for your words of encouragement. I plan to stay active on this forum during my entire experience. I just finished looking at like 20 pages of Before & After photos.... WOW! SO inspiring!!! If I ever had any doubt about getting the surgery, it's gone now!

megan...i say enjoy your eating while you can...its a whole new ball game after surgery...but way worth it...Go for it girl...if you really want it do whatever needs to be done. Never thought I would be on this site telling someone to put ON weight!!!hehehe

becky

Hiya

My BMI was also 39 at my initial consultation but the Surgeon said that was so 'borderline' that we didn't need to discuss it - just that I could have the lapband fitted. It's being done in Belgium next Tuesday - yippee!! In Belgium the Hospitals are only allowed to charge 'non-Nationals' the same price that they would charge a Belgian person - another yippeee!! The cost through ELYZEA is £3950 (5813euros / 7757 US Dollars at today's exchange rate according to google) Don't give up trying - consider the European option!! www.elyzea.com - take a look!