Hello, first time here.

I am right at that borderline between qualifying for surgery and not. I am 36 bmi with hyperlipidemia, arthritis on my back (due to scoliosis) and sleep apnea. I worry that if I try to loose weight for the surgery I might not then qualify for it at the last crucial moment. Is this possible? or do they go by what I was when I first went to the doctor?

It totally depends on your insurance companies requirements. For some if you drop below the 35 BMI it can become a problem.

Call your insurance company for the specific requirements or call your surgeons office and ask that question.

Personally I would verify with insurance because in the end they are who will approve or deny your claim.

Your question is very very important!

Definitely check with your insurance/policy. I am in a similar situation. My particular company told me I have to meet all of the requirements to qualify- one being 40 bmi or 35 bmi w/comorbids. So if I drop below that when it is submitted, I won't meet the requirements and will be denied. My surgeons office just told me to make sure I maintain my current weight.

To complicate matters, I was originally BMI 39 with high BP (controlled by meds) as my only co-morbid. My doctor's office said insurance was variable on approval with only controlled BP so I wasn't supposed to lose much, just enough to show that I could stick to a plan. I lost about 7 lbs, and during that time I was diagnosed with sleep apnea, thus making approval automatic in the BMI 35-40 range. I went in for bypass, and woke up to find that my intra-abdominal fat was too much/too firm to allow my intestine to be brought up close enough to my stomach! So now I am on a month-long liquid diet to lose 20 lbs before trying again! Fortunately, with the sleep apnea I now don't have to worry about the weight loss.