History Anorexia?

[Fefe 0]

I am 35 years old and 17 years ago I was bulemic and anorexic. I got down to 97 lbs. and was hospitalized. While in the hospital I was diagnosed with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) and treated for OCD. Once treated for OCD my Anorexia and bulemia went away. I believe this was a side effect of my ocd.

I am now married with 2 children and have steadily gained weight since being pregnant 8 years ago. I have tried all sorts of commercial diets and excercise but continue to gain. I am now far over 100 lbs overweight and extremly frustrated. I never want to go back to being anorexic or bulemic and am interested in WLS (lap band) only to get to a healthy weight. I meet all the criteria for my insurance and noticed it said it would not approve if someone has a history of anorexia (there were exclusions for other problems too like:Active hepatitis, Dental Disease, Chronic Alcoholism, Malignant tumors, Renal failure, Inflammatory bowel disease, etc...) This was an extremly long time ago and I do not know if mentioning in the psych eval my teenage years concerning this would HAVE to be reported to my insurance and open an old can of worms that I do not have in my life today and jeaporadize my insurance coverage. On the other hand I feel it dishonest of me not to mention this and I do not want to feel I need to hide my past. Any advice?

[Fefe 0]

Oops, I said they would exclude if have history of... I just read my insurance info and it said it would "conduct a special review to ascertain that the surgery was medically appropriate in view of the circumstances." But I feel I know my circumstances better than a review board and do I want them to have all of that power for a decision about my life?

[Alex Brecher 10,484]

I think the reason doctors are hesitant to provide the lap-band to patients that have been bulemic is that they are worried that these patients will not have a problem abusing or finding work arounds for the lap band.

I know someone who was bulemic around 4-5 years before they had their lap-band surgery. They told the psychologist that they had issues in the past but they did not have any relapses since.

The psychologist approved them and told that person that he would not put that info on the insurance report but would mention it to they doctor so the doctor would be in the loop.

Is there any way your insurance could know about your eating disorder history ?

[Fefe 0]

I just started with this insurance about 10 months ago so I don't think they know. I do not want to ever go back to being anorexic I just want to be healthy. I just wonder if I will have a problem if I mention it at all.

PS LOVE this new site!!

Thanks

[FDATrialGuineaPig 7]

I just have to say that I went into the psych eval with one purpose in mind: to get approved for surgery.

This isn't a credit check. They aren't going to research your life 20 years back to make sure you've given accurate information. They'll look for evidence that you've dieted...it's not like a life insurance underwriter looking for dirt..the insurance prefers to NOT find out info so that they can deny you as opposed to finding out TOO much info that proves your case.

All I have to say is...think carefully about what you choose to disclose. It's not an honesty contest and half the time the psychologists are more screwed up than we are and have no clue what they're trying to determine in the first place. If they've never been morbidly obese how would they know anyhow?

Just sayin...

Robin

[Fefe 0]

Robin and Alex,

I appreciate your honest answers. It is nice to be able to come here and get feedback. I have decided to do what it takes to get approved and not create for myself additional hoops to have to jump through! They do not know me from Adam and I am not going to give them the ammunition to deny me!

Olga:speechles

[quakergirl 2]

I agree with the others to not ask for trouble by mentioning it for the insurance approval. But once you've gotten the surgery, it may be a good idea to talk to a counselor about how to be sure you don't fall into that trap again, just to be safe.

I've never been anorexic, so I don't know just what it's like, but I can see how WLS might aggravate the problem if you're predisposed to it. Like you, my intention is not to be super-thin; I just want to be healthy and active. Right now, I am so heavy that I figure I will be content if I get down to 250 and THRILLED if I make it down to 200 lbs.

However, I've heard that many people's perspectives change as they get closer to goal weight...so, honestly, I can see how someone like me might think "Well, since I made it to 200 lbs maybe I can get to 150" and keep trying to lose weight until it becomes a problem. Although I feel like the RNY is more likely to encourage unhealthy eating habits, we all need to be careful to stay on the path to good health instead of just being thin.