QOTW! Insurance and Weight Loss Surgery

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-04-2003
QOTW! Insurance and Weight Loss Surgery
18
Tue, 05-25-2004 - 9:02pm
If you qualified for weight loss surgery.......and all insurance companies decided to cover it........would you do it?
 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-05-2000
Tue, 05-25-2004 - 9:12pm
Not me. I think you lose to fast and don't learn good eating habits. Also that fast weight loss causes all the icky baggy skin. :-)Stephanie 280/225/170
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 05-25-2004 - 9:34pm
No.

  Shawna-- Proud Cl for 100 Pounds or More to Go 

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-19-2004
Tue, 05-25-2004 - 10:04pm
Good question! Funny, I was thinking about this the other day, and realized that I was a candidate at one point, because I was more than 100 pounds overwieght. I KNOW there is more criteria to it than that, but you know what I mean. I had a fellow dispatcher get it done because our town's insurance covered it. He was 300+ and had to be weighed on a livestock scale (I would just die if a doctor said that to me). He had to lose 15 pounds before being approved, just to see if he could lose the weight. He lost 17, got weighed, and then put it right back on at the chinese buffet the next day. He gained it back in FOUR days. He never bothered to excercise or diet, even though he told the doctors he did (I've know him for a long time, and I know more about him the he thinks I do. Did that make sense?)and he would come to work with a pint of B&J's, chips, burritos...for a snack. A SNACK! hello!

So he has the surgery and is flat out sick for six weeks. Infection, vomiting...

Anyway, he has now taken his body and surgically modified it so it can only accept micro portions of food. Too much too soon could cause the spot where his small intestine was sewn back on to his stomach to pull away. No carbonated drinks, no sugars, no fatty foods. Supplements for the rest of his life, because he cannot absorb nutrients properly.

He has lost a huge amount of weight. He refuses to listen when he is told that up to 25% of people post surgey can gain the weight back over a period of time.

What really bothers me is that he never tried to diet or excercise - I even tried to get him to do water aerobics with me because he mentioned he'd like to try it, but He made excuses. he still has horrible eating habits to my knowledge. I feel bad for his body and what he putting it through.

As for me, if my life were in danger and I'd tried everything, then maybe yes. But it scares me.

Off my soapbox.

Amy

Avatar for brens2boys
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-29-2003
Tue, 05-25-2004 - 10:11pm
Not if they paid me!!! My Grandmother had it done years ago(she was only in her early 50's at the time),had complications,went into a coma,and died a year later.My Aunt just had it done last year,had complications and was in ICU for a week until they stopped the bleeding.As much as I would love to lose the weight without having to work hard at it...it's not worth losing my life over.I know there are many many people who have no problems and go on to lose the weight and feel good,but the potential for something to happen is not worth it to me.

Brenda

iVillage Member
Registered: 10-31-2003
Tue, 05-25-2004 - 10:27pm

Good question!

Avatar for angelinoh
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-19-2003
Tue, 05-25-2004 - 10:55pm
well i actually asked my dr. once about it and she said i didn't qualify(didn't weigh enough) i haven't thought about it since.

If i did qualify i don't know if i would have. I know several people who have had it done and were happy with it.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 1:31am
A few months ago Joe went through thinking about this and it got me to thinking also....I called my insurance and they said they paid all of it medically neccessary . I called to see what out of pocket would be with the surgeon etc etc..basically I can go get it done when I have all the evaluations but I am too chicken chit to do it..I have heard too many horror stories but then again Ive had friends who did it and are perfectly skinny and fine today !
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-17-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 2:52am
In a heart beat. I don't know if I have a slow metabolism or what, but it is so hard for me to lose weight even if I am eating well and exercise.
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-23-2004
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 6:17am
I qualify and my insurance company covers it, but I won't ever have it. I had a nasty scare when I delievered my daughter by C-section two years ago. I hemorrhaged and almost died due to abdominal adhesions that had formed after my son was born years earlier. I am terrified that if I were to have the surgery I would surely die on the table or have life threatening complications. Its too big a risk for me.

Vikki

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-09-2003
Wed, 05-26-2004 - 6:35am
hmmmmmm it depends.... would it cover reconstructive surgery as well? If the benefits would out weight the risks I might consider it… but I would make sure I changed my habits to… my sister had it done and she went from insulin dependent to no treatment for diabetics… she had a lot of problems with hers… and went from being morbidly obese to anorexic where all her bones where sticking out then turned bulimic because she could not keep anything down at all…had to have it removed… now she gained a portion of it back….. She now weights around 200 pounds so I would not allow myself to gain that much back… if I went through all the trouble I would make sure my life style has changed… she may not eat “large meals” but the junk that woman puts in her mouth is unreal…. She bought a 12pk of rootbeer 2 days ago and as of last night started in on Frankies sodas for his lunch… now the occasional soda with dinner or something might not be so bad but 12 in less then 48 hours is unreal and this a habit for her… her reconstructive surgery didn’t go all to well… her body looks like a road map and her nipples where misplaced they are now on top of her breast pointing straight up … I have seen several people who have put back on their weight and it makes no sense…. Okay im going back to bed now lol

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