First steps before Procedure Part1

The year was fall of 2002, my thoughts had changed somewhat from a normal attitude of "I'm going on a diet", why?  After struggling since 1990 with weight issues, I decided that with trying to loose weight on my own, I wasn't getting anywhere, so I began to research on the internet.  I spent as much time as I could researching on the internet when I wasn't sleeping researching one procedure after another one. Was I a candidate, did I meet the criteria. Didn't take long to discover there were a few different procedures available. But which one did I feel was the correct one to go with? The differences varied, as to the safety, health risks, success, the pro's and cons, statistics, as well as the Dr's qualified to perform etc. The tips that I will be sharing are just my opinions and different avenues that I researched.

 It is very important for you to carefully consider all surgical options and a complete evaluation will be completed before surgery to make sure surgery is right for you.

Do I qualify?

To qualify for insurance coverage for weight loss surgery, you must have either:

• A body mass index greater than or equal to 40
• Body mass index between 35 and 39 and at least one major medical co-morbidity, such as respiratory problems, diabetes, or hypertension.

  Calculate your (BMI) here.

BMI Categories

• Underweight = under 18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5 - 24.9
• Overweight = 25 - 29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

 I met all of the above, my medical history consisted of high blood pressure, severe asthma, pre-diabetic, and edema. I was on 7 different medications.  Let alone, I was extremely tired and felt that I needed to eat all the time to keep my strength up. All I wanted to do was sleep after I would get home from work. I was depressed, felt detached from socialization. Other than the contact I had with my co-workers and immediate family. I was ashamed to go any where.

I found that being obese, people treat you differently.  Some are just mean.  That is our society today.  And it is getting worse.  A little background on my family history. Obesity runs in my family. My grandmother and 4 of her sisters, my mother and my oldest sister were always overweight. I really didn't have any severe weight issues until I was older. I will come back and we will begin on the different procedures. We'll start with Roux-en-Y (billing code CPT 43644 ). There is a lot of information and I will help with all that I can.

I have borrowed this information above from http://www.dukehealth.org

Tah Tah for Now

have a wonderful evening and Good monday. Yeah Its Springtime, so go out and play in the yard...

Lisa