Thank you for your reply.  I had Gastric Bypass.  My hip, as it turns out, is from arthritis, I was given high dose Naprosin which is an anti-inflammatory.  So what do you do for your arthritis?  I can't just deal with the hip.  I have had it for years in my hands primarily and I too just use a rub and deal with it but I have actually thrown my hip out a few times so I am sure that is why it has moved there.  I am going to see doctor soon so I will ask about other help, if available as it was an Urgent Care - VA doctor that gave me the Naprosin.  I just got a treadmill and spring is finally here so I will definitely get on that.  I would love to come to your group but I am am Central MN so that is too far for me unfortunately.  I also have a husband who is not well so I don't like to travel too far.  He is actually coming home today.  He broke his neck on top of everything else so .... anyway that is another stresser that only adds I guess to not getting enough exercise and eating wrong.  Thanks for the message though.. It is nice to even just talk about it.  It puts it on a front burner and gives me a push as well as hope that I can do it!

Hi,

I feel your pain. I hope this will help you. This is a hand book that I found that helped me with some of my concerns. You need to type in just as I put it on here, Dart Mouth Hitch**** Medical Center Gastric Bypass Surgery Nutrition Handbook. I found it very helpful. Maybe the refresher of starting over from the beginning will help. Obviously some of the portions will be different but you will get the idea again. Also, I am by NO means a doctor, but you might want to check out your meds for any side affects about weight gain and talk with your doctor if there are any other options. I hope this will help some. Good luck to you. YOU CAN DO THIS !!!!

Thanks for replying. As I had to have insurance I got the insurance and was informed that it's excluded (which I knew) and to not even try as they wont approve it. None of the clinics around my area have been willing to discuss doing an appeal with me. If my insurance says its excluded they won't let me set up an appointment. I've looked into changing jobs, but that's not as easy as it once was. 

I hate to say it, but it's making me really bitter. I know that if I quit working I'd qualify for assistance and I could have it covered. However I could never do that, and so I'm stuck without this tool that could potentially improve my life and my help. I'll keep trudging ahead with diet and exercise, but they haven't helped me be successful so far. 

Hi there.

Before I was offered FT work with health insurance that does cover bariatric surgery (I'm in the process of being approved for surgery now), I too was planning to purchase insurance coverage through the exchange. I began researching MNsure and learned that Minnesota is among the 46 states that chose not to include bariatric surgery in its covered procedures (only California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Mexico, and Washington, DC, consider it an essential benefit).

Do you know if you qualify for MinnesotaCare? I learned through a posting on this site that MinnesotaCare--HealthPartners does cover bariatric surgery if you meet certain conditions. As I was eligible for MinnesotaCare at the time, I contacted HealthPartners and was told that it is a covered procedure. I met the requirements (BMI, sleep apnea) and was planning to purchase HealthPartners coverage through MinnesotaCare.

I really hope that MinnesotaCare is an option for you. If you don't qualify, at this point in time bariatric surgery is not a covered procedure through MNsure's insurance providers.

I wish you the best as you investigate this possibility.

Alison

I got your friend request and I will attempt to see you at Caribou in Eagan Saturday 830am. Thank You for your assistance and can't wait to get some feed back for my upcoming WLS.