I am 16 and am considering gastric sleeve surgery. I have struggled with weight my WHOLE life. I am just worried that after surgery i won't be able to eat out with my friends. I would also love to hear any teens experiences and if surgery is worth it?

Not saying that gastric sleeve is out of the question for a teen, but with a BMI of only 37.2, unless your parents are willing to take you down to Mexico for it, or you already have diabetes or other issues, there's almost no chance that you're going to get approved.

It depends on where you live in my state as long as you had a 6 month supervised diet with the NUT then Medicaid paid for it.

My sister didn't want to do the 6 months so she gave up on the idea of surgery through Medicaid.

She later confessed that she wouldn't be a great candidate for surgery right now because she didn't want to make a lifestyle change.

When I went to my NUT class almost everyone there were teens/young adults covered through the state. It's possible, just hard.

The other half in the class were Medicare(elderly folk), self pay, and regular insured folk like me. (At the time)

If it's something you really want I say go for it the worst they can say is no, which can be appealed. My bariatric team also specializes in adolescent wls.

Edited February 16, 201511 yr by fit4life123

Check your insurance , my insurance specifically says no one under 18. But definitely check because every policy is so different. I wish I had this done when I was young, I think about all the health problems I wouldn't have today.