Hi-

I have been considering WLS for the past year. I have been overweight for about 10 years. Most of my weight gain has been caused by the hunger that has been driven by the medication I take. I don't have insurance, because in Canada it is difficult to get insurance. I have saved my money and now I am going to meet with my doctor. Overall I am healthy; no major illnesses, except for the Bipolar. My main depression is driven by my weight to be honest, so I REALLY want to get WLS. My fear is that because I am bipolar, I will be denied. We don't do psych consults here, but just the same...I am very nervous. I see this proceedure part of the solution to help get myself on track. But I am afraid to be let down. My question does anyone who has WLS also suffer from serious mental illness or bipolar, and did you have problems getting the WLS? Were the doctors concerned by your mental illness. As a side note for the most part I have been stable for the last year. Was anyone denied based on mental illness? I am very committed. I just need some feed back...and more importantly hope.

I do not have bipolar or mental illness however I have a cousin who is digianosed with bipolar and she was also on welfare in the US and was approved and had the RNY surgery. So I do not think it would out of the question for you. I hope this gives you some hope.

Hope all goes well for you.

I am bipolar and I came through the surgery fine. I can take all my pills with no problem.

Panic disorder and Depression here.

My little Klonipin goes down no sweat. My Paxil too. At first I crushed them but they are so small, the size of a baby aspirin, they have been easy to take.

Depression and anxiety here. And I was approved, as well. I even had to do a psychiatric consult (standard requirement by my surgeon) and my psychiatrists thinks I am fine and certainly more than able to handle this major lifestyle change.

We wish you the best. I don't think you should have a problem.

"Severe depression" here, got through surgery fine. I take medication for it every day, and I never have trouble with that or my BC pill that I take at the same time.

If you take time release medications, be sure to remember that you can't crush them, so if you ever have trouble swallowing pills, switch to the non-time release kind, because you can't crush or break the time release kind.

I don't know much about Canadian Health Care (I thought it was universal?), but if you don't have a psych eval, I don't know why you'd have trouble getting approved.

I have several diagnoses including bi-polar, and the psychologist I have seen weekly for 14 years had reservations about the surgery. In fact, she was afraid to commit to an approval so she deferred to the psychiatrist who manages my meds. One of her concerns was that I had been using binge-eating for so many years to ward off painful emotions that she feared I might have a psychotic break when I was flooded with them without the "protection" of food.

Because she is a very competent clinician who knows me well, I took her concerns very seriously and made no decision for several weeks. The psychiatrist thought that I deserved a chance since the band could always be unfilled or removed if problems arose.

One danger that concerns me with bi-polar illness: that the initial elation that comes with weight loss might cause some folks to discontinue or reduce their meds. That wasn't much of a danger for me because instead of becoming manic, creative, and confident, I become agitated and irritable so I don't feel that the meds are holding me back.

I had a bi-polar friend who had met the woman of his dreams. He was so happy as they planned their wedding that he thought that it would be safe to go off of his meds. A week or two later they had a minor disagreement at the florists about the wedding flowers and he went home and shot himself in the head with a shotgun. He actually survived but is in an institution for life. So I worry a great deal about people like us who tamper with their meds.

The psych exam required in the US is mainly used to determine if the candidate can understand the commitment required and that his expectations are realistic. Not only must he understand the the eating restrictions but there should be evidence that he will adhere to those restrictions.

I'm doing very well although I won't have my first fill until July 20. In fact, I've never been better. Especially if you have support available from a psychotherapist, I say "Go for it"!

Dear Own

My DH is also bipolar. he had no problem with his eval. As long as you keep on your meds you will be fine. I am hoping with the wait loss some of his depression will lift. But we will takw it one day at a time. Good Luck!

i was diagnosed with bipolar ,depression , and anxiety and i am now taking meds and seeing a counselor and phychiatrist. i also had to take a psy. evaluation and at first the psychologist thought that i wasnt ready but six months later he thinks that i am ok to do it. my counselor has doubts and wrote the staff of wls a letter stating that i can dedicate myself to things but she thinks that i have a problem with food and use food as a coping skill, she is concerned that i may continue to binge eat. the fact is that i might have one day here and there where i eat all day but it used to be 4-5 times a week for me so ive made alot of progress. its hard if you have bipolar especially if you have manic and depressive episodes. can you get throught those episodes without using food as a coping skill? you really have to think of what things you do when you get overwhelmed or depressed.

andrea