Hi, I am halfway through my 6 consecutive doctors visits I need for my insurance to cover the gastric sleeve. I have been to the seminar, physical therapist, 2 dietician meetings and next week I go to my Psychologist meeting and 3rd Dietician meeting. My BMI as of right now is 38. I can't go past 35 to get surgery. I have been battling my weight up and down to stay qualified because when I have lost weight in the past I can never get down past a 35 BMI. I just got diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. I am very stressed about keeping my weight up until surgery while still losing a little to show I am trying. I'm nervous and excited for this surgery because I know it is whats best for me and my health and overall well being. Is anyone else struggling to stay at a certain weight to get surgery?

I had been dieting for 6 months prior to my first meeting with the surgeon. A week before surgery I realized I had dropped my BMI from 39 to 33 and I knew it needed to be 35 to be considered for surgery. I actually had to gain 15 pounds before my appointment to assure I met Aetna criteria. My PCP and I had both come to the realization that I wasn't going to get below 33 BMI after I stopped taking the diet pills she had prescribed for the first 6 months. Once I stopped taking the diet pills, gaining weight to meet my BMI requirement was easy. I had a 36.1 BMI on the day of surgery, so my 6 month pre-op diet did show a reduction as required by insurance.

Through the course of my experience thus far and I'm a year post op is that BMI SUCK! It's so unrealistic. You'll be where you need to be to get surgery but you'll soon see the bmi calculator is ridiculous after the sleeve. Look at the calculator as little as possible. Worse than the scale.

Thanx I'm new to this and love having people that know what I;m going through to talk to.

Hi there, I'm new to the group and yesterday I received the call telling me I don't qualify for the surgery. I'm diabetic, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and my BMI is 36. I don't qualify because I don't have records of being overweight for 2 years. I have struggled with my weight my entire life and to be told I'm fat but haven't been fat long enough is very discouraging. I have done nothing but cry these past two days. How do I prove that I have struggled with weight loss to my insurance company?

Unfortunately they will probably require specific medical documentation from a physician. I went thru this too and was a mess! This whole experience is an emotional roller coaster. My bmi was 39.7 in December and was down to 36.1 by day of surgery March 2. Stay calm and know everything will be ok. If extra documentation is required make it your duty to obtain it. The life change is so worth it