Re: New and Nervous

[Guest guest]

Hi " nayluvsj " -

As always, I am very late in answering my e-mail - nonetheless I do want

to welcome you to the group. These wonderful people have provided me

with amazing support and information. I hope that you find the list to

be as invaluable as I have done.

No doubt, others have already given you this advice - but I still have

to say it - dump that doctor who said obesity is all psychological.

Find a doctor who is willing to really work with you.

I hate to be a downer - but, even with a doctor who is pro-surgery, you

may be facing an up-hill battle to get approved for WLS. With your

height and weight, your BMI is only 34.7. Kaiser's guidelines are

stricter than the National Institute of Health's - appealing to the

State Dept. of Managed Health Care can generally get Kaiser to approve

the surgery if you meet the NIH's standards. Your BMI is a wee bit

under those standards, but might be close enough. Unless things have

changed since I last checked, the NIH criteria include having a BMI of

35 with co-morbidities or 40 and above without co-morbidities.

I hope that I haven't been a discouragement. My sister has a BMI just

about the same as yours and the gastric bypass surgeon she has spoken to

thinks that he might be able to get her approved for surgery - but my

sister has extremely bad GERD that has already qualified for surgical

treatment and she is not a Kaiser patient.

I look forward to getting to know you and to hearing about your progress.

Take care,

Kay

in San Leandro

open RNY 12/1/03

nayluvsj wrote:

>

> I am 5'9, 235 lbs. and READY to begin the process to undergo gastric

> bypass surgery. I don't know where to start. I am a Kaiser member

> (and employee). I have not established any kind of relationship with

> a Kaiser doctor. In fact, the last time I visited a Kaiser doc in

> Pasadena, I was discouraged by the way she treated me. I explained to

> her that both my parents are diabetic and 5 out of 7 of my siblings

> are diabetic. I asked her if I could try Opti-Fast, Medi-Fast or

> something to promote healthy weight loss. Her response? Obesity is

> all psychological and she prescribed Prozac. I discarded her words

> (and prescriptions) and kept on with the keepin' on... That was over

> a year ago. I began exercising 4 times a week, changed my eating

> habits, subscribed to every weight loss magazine, and here I am 10

> lbs. heavier and my dress size has increased. My knees crack with

> every step I take. I am out of breath after climbing one flight of

> stairs. I get frequent dizzy spells. Does this sound like I might

> qualify for surgery through Kaiser? How am I to approach a doctor and

> request this? I live near Fontana but work in Pasadena. Any

> suggestions? I have an appt. tomorrow in Pasadena for the dizzy

> spells. Should I mention to this doctor that I'm interested in

> surgery? Please advise.