Hypothyroid and PCOS

I am new to this whole thing..I have been looking into having the lap band. I was looking at the qualifications, and it says you are not a candidate if you have a disease that caused your obesity. I have been reading some of the posts and see that some of you have PCOS. I too have it, and also hypothyroid. I have heard in some cases, they will not approve you. Is this true? Should I not even bother looking into it, or should I try it?

I have hypothyroid and I had surgery on the 2nd. Thats not what cause me to get fat but it made it impossible to lose the weight I got. I don't know what pcos is though so I hope that helps a little? good luck to you and never give up!!!

Thank you for your reply. Did your insurance pay for it or did you self pay? If your insurance helped, did you have a lot of problems with them? I have not started the process yet, but I would like to know what I am up against. Anything information you have would be helpful. Thanks again.

My insurance is medicaid and they paid for the hospital but not the surgeon (only because I wanted the best surgeon and he didn't take medicaid) I used credit one it is a credit card for medical procedures. I will be broke for 4 years with another car payment but it was worth every single penny!!!!!! you might not have a fight on your hands just call you insurance see if they cover the procedure and what they need some have diets some have nesescity! you have to start there before you worry about self pay Dee

Hi Jamie, I have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which is the cause of my hypothyroidism. I self paid my surgery because I wanted to get it done and was not up to the fight with the insurance company. Thyroid disorders are not considered one of the major co-morbidities that ensure insurance approval. Check with your carrier and ask in detail what they require. If they require the medical visits and supervised diet, start seeing your primary care doctor asap and on schedule. Even though I self paid, I would never tell anyone to not try. Try and see what they say and then be prepared to fight like hell. Regards, Mary

Thanks for your reply. How much does the surgery cost? I don't really have the money to self pay..my understanding is that is why I got insurance..to help for problems like this. My mom had problems with her insurance company as well. If all else fails and I need to self pay, do they have programs to help you get a loan?

Jamie, The cost of self pay varies from surgeon to surgeon. My best advice would be to research doctors in your area and call them. You will find that there are a number of people on this board with insurance that opted to self pay for many reasons. Each of us does what we need to do to regain our lives. As I said earlier, I have insurance and chose the self pay route because I wanted to move on with my life and not define it by a battle with insurance. I was fortunate enough to be able to pay without borrowing money and that was a major blessing. As far as costs, what I paid is a private matter between me and my surgeon. I don't think it is fair to discuss on a public board. Costs vary based upon cir****tance and procedure, etc. Many surgeons hold informational sessions that are free of charge. Many even advertise on this site. Visit them, talk to them and then find out what your coverage will and will not pay for. Best of luck. Mary

Thanks again..I did not know the price varies...I will call around.

Jamie- I also have PCOS but am early in my approval. But I'm sure it depends on your insurance carrier, but I don't believe they would deny you because of this. Check out this area of obesityhelp.com http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/polycystic_ovarian_syndrome/ Hope this helps.