need help

Hello ..!
Can anyone tell me  what i can do since my doc. says I don't qualify for the lap band. ....He will not  help me what so ever...I found a surgeon who would do it for me -but i have to pay out of my pocket...I really cant afford it ....But i guess I'm going to have to ...
BMI 34...

Why don't  you qualify? Is your BMI too low?

Hi Kristina! 

Welcome to the CA board.  Do you have any co-morbidities with your 34 BMI?  34 is really not that high and I always thought that to get any form of WLS, you had to be at least 100 pounds overweight or real close to that.  I may be wrong though.  How tall are you?  There are a lot of people who would kill to weigh 166.  Have you tried to lose weight without surgery?  If you do not have any co-morbidities, do you really want to take the drastic step of weight loss surgery when you only have 50-65 (I am guessing this is the amount you want to lose) pounds to lose.  I would really, really rethink my decision to have WLS.  Dr. Naim is a very good doctor and if he says you don't qualify, I am sure he has a very good reason.

This is just my .02 worth.  Whatever you decide, I wish you the very best.  Know that you can always come here for support and questions and just to tell us your WOW! moments.  Take care.....

HI Kristin and welcome to the Cali boards!

Like Jill said unless you have co morbidities associated with your low BMI, I rather doubt you will be able to get a doctor or insurance approval.

Like Jill said, 40 BMI is the norm for any type of wls. However, some people get wls with a little bit lower with co-morbidities. I would question any doctor who would perform surgery on you at your current BMI.

I have been around these boards long enough to know that some people will put weights in their pockets, eat to gain and whatever to obtain wls. However, you need to question yourself is it worth it?

If you really think long and hard enough being desperate to have wls to go to those lengths is not right and believe me and everyone who has had wls can tell you...it surely is not the easy way out.

I am not trying to be mean to you either. I/we truly understand your desperation. We all have been in your shoes, but have had more than 100 pounds to loose and a lot of us more than 200. I am not negating how you feel with the amount of pounds you have to lose because it is all relative.

Stick around here and we will support you and help you eat proper and I be willing to bet you, that you can lose the weight. Quite a few people here have lost 60-70 and more pounds even to qualify to have the surgery.

I wish I could have some answers, but the bottom line even for those who have WLS we have to diet. Oh yeah there is a honeymoon period that the weight peels off, but for me at nearly 7 years out from surgery, I diet, weigh and measure my food...and have to have a lot of will power!

Like I said stick around....we are here to support you!

AFAIK the general guideline for WLS (especially for the insurance companies and getting them to pay) is 35 BMI *with* co-morbidities. If you don't have co-morbids, the BMI goes up to 40.

So, if you have a qualifying co-morbid, you're very close to a BMI of 35. I'm not recommending this, but I have heard of people gaining a small amount of weight to qualify. BUT, if you were to do something like that, I would think it would be much better/healthier to try to gain MUSCLE by working out, and to still eat healthy (just not necessarily eating for weight loss)..

Then, as soon as you were to get to a BMI of 35 and have it recorded by your doctor (to qualify for insurance--I think they generally take your weight at the time of the first consult) I would continue to work out and eat healthy, but then start eating for weight loss.

Of course, if you have no co-mordibs, you'd need to be at BMI 40 for insurance to pay, and it's hard to recommend to someone else to gain that much more weight just to qualify, whereas going from BMI of 34 to a BMI of 35 seems like less of a big deal.

Kristina, I'm wondering how tall you are? I have a feeling that at 166, you are probably on the shorter side, because I did check out a BMI calculator and to be at that weight with a BMI in the range you stated seems to indicate that you're perhaps around 5 feet tall, perhaps a little shorter?

Not trying to pick on your height at all, just trying to get a concept of how heavy you are for your size. If you are small/short, then even at 166 you really are carrying around a lot of extra weight for your frame.

Anyway, please chime back in with more info if there is any other help we can offer.

Best of luck!

Gain weight!  J/K

Good luck.....but if you have comorbidities, you may challenge it.