*sigh* I'm afraid i'm getting my hopes up for nothing. I am fairly sure that my BMI is under 40 and i know that that is one of the critera for being approved...

*sigh* I'm afraid i'm getting my hopes up for nothing. I am fairly sure that my BMI is under 40 and i know that that is one of the critera for being approved...

I'm in the same boat. I'm really worried too.

I'm scared that my BMi might not be high enough or I don't have the comorbidities. i am tempted to lie about my weight by putting quarters in my pocket...but i don't want to do that.

I had a BMI of 37 on some charts, 38 on others. I had no official co-morbities except reflux and knee pain. Of course I'm a self pay and I think they don't care as much if you pay yourself.

Yea. It's very different with self pay. i've heard of ppl with a 30 BMI get banded on self pay.

My BMI was under 35 and I did have co-morbidities including hypertension and arthritis, but what got me approved (by my surgeon, I am a self-pay), was my family history of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Try that angle.

My BMI was under 35 and I did have co-morbidities including hypertension and arthritis, but what got me approved (by my surgeon, I am a self-pay), was my family history of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Try that angle.

Same here, my BMI is 37.1 but I have high BP, arthritis, DD Disease in the spine, and other goodies. My family history is not that great either.

GOOD LUCK!!!

I've heard surgeons say that if you are morbidly obese, it's highly unlikely there are NO co-morbidities. Things like high cholesterol may be invisible to you but they're considered to be co-morbidities for this purpose. Your doc's office is probably quite skilled in layering on the medical information to get an approval. They'll know fairly quickly if you're a candidate.

And as was said, if you're self-pay all the issues change. Anyone willing to pay for the service can probably get it. Good luck!!

i am participating in a low-bmi study at NYU medical center for people with bmis from 30-39. they don't require co-morbidities and as i am fairly young, and exercise very regularly, i don't yet have them but i do have histories of them on both sides of the family.

if anyone is interested, they may still be taking people for the study. the study is not for a new technique or device, it's only to see if the band is a successful way to prevent co-morbidities in obese and severely obese people. the docs there, dr. christine ren and dr. george fielding have a lot of experience w/ the band (1000 and 2000 respectively). fielding is from australia and had a banding practice there. he also has the band himself. so i feel quite comfortable w/ their qualifications. check out their site: http://thinforlife.med.nyu.edu the people in the office are very nice and will let you know if you qualify etc right away. it is self-pay only but it seems you guys don't mind that.

i don't have a date set yet, but i should get one next week. i am sooooooo excited. like everyone else, this has been such a struggle for me for my whole life and i am so happy to get some help with it!

YAY! I GOT APPROVED! I'm scared now, and excited at the same time. Now i need to get lab work and a EKG...AAAHHHH

~jINI

Soon to be a member of the lapband family

Congrats1!! :banana:

Thank you much!

Haha yes i'm self pay Unfortuantly