So I had to go to my primary medical doctor to get a referral to the lapband surgeon for insurance purposes, as I'm sure many of you did as well.

She is clearly not a fan of WLS. She said "you have a long road" before she feels I'd be appropriate for WLS. She would "rather I do it through diet and exercise", yeah, me too, Lady! She wants me to keep a record of my blood sugars and a food/exercise diary for another month and THEN "come back to see her" to discuss it further. She referred me to another nutritionist. She referred me to a weight loss support group. I told her I've attended two weight loss support groups for a total of three years. I've done all the usual diets (WW, Jenny Craig, South Beach, Phen-Fen, fat camp) and exercise over the course of 20 years. I'm currently in a catch-22 situation because my body hurts too much to do exercise other than swimming, and swimming doesn't produce weight loss according to my doctor (or at least it doesn't for me, swimming laps 30 mins to an hour 4-5x per week for years).

I'm diabetic, have high blood pressure, slightly high cholesterol, sleep apnea, joint problems. I'm also relatively young and "healthy" otherwise - I'm practically the poster child for a good candidate for a lapband.

It was VERY frustrating to sit there across from my underweight doctor and have her sort of poo-poo the whole thing.

I'm tempted to say screw you, I'll self pay, then. But with all the money I pay to my health insurance company, I'd really like them to help me out financially with this one. Its in the best financial interest of my insurance company in the longterm too!

ARGH.

Would you be open to find another PMD on your Insurance plan? Maybe you can find one that is way more supportive in getting healthy(sp?).

I agree with finding another doctor or talking more with your doctor and say "This is my decision and I really need your support."

My doctor did not feel it was the best decision for me either but i had to explain that it was a personal decision that I needed to make for myself and I planned to move forward one way or another. He conceded eventually, I did all the testing, was awaiting my surgery date and my company switched to an insurance with a wls exclusion. After jumping through 9 months of hoops, I ended up a grouchy self-pay patient.

Even so, although my wallet is a little light, so is my derriere, lol.

I have lost almost 100% of my excess weight and am withing 2 pounds of a normal BMI when I started at a BMI of close to 40 in less than a year. It was all so very worth it, and definitely the best thing I have ever done for myself.

Hang in there and continue to ask your doctor. It is not always easy to get approved, but persistance does pay. It only took me 4 months from start to finish but many people say it takes up to a year. Don't give up. For those of us who have tried it all, and are willing to admit we need help, we also need our doctor's help and support. Good luck.