Guest guest Posted October 1, 2001 Report Share Posted October 1, 2001 In a message dated 10/1/01 9:21:43 AM, duodenalswitch writes: << Dear , What an incredible testimony, I had never read it before! I am 5feet 5.75inches and weigh about 220lbs. What medical insurance do you have? I have Kaiser Permanente they are strict with their BMI and " must have " co-morbidities! a, Pre-op >> Hi, a: I have Oxford Freedom. I was concerned about the lack of more 'serious' co-morbidites but I qualified with the bmi (45). I did have persistent joint/ankle/back pain and a hiatus hernia... but none of the other 'classic' co-morbidities. I also had a history of diets (one of them being physician-monitored/medically supervised). I've heard that Oxford is pretty good about swift approvals (the surgeon is the one who actually writes the letter of necessity and, based on his/her experience, can make a convincing case to the insurance company). I'm not sure if their stance has changed or altered towards the DS nowadays or not, but I didn't experience any problems getting a DS (I know that some companies are willing to approve WLS but only the RNY) --- I had my surgery on January 25, 2001. I considered myself relatively 'healthy' and moderately 'fit' despite my excessive weight. That's why I decided it was the best time to undergo the procedure. I was starting to show the signs of health degradation associated with morbid obesity and there was a strong genetic link that such problems would indeed develop with time. It was the ultimate wake up call for me. I had definately been unable to keep the weight off in the past and I just keep getting larger (faster!) each time I gained weight back. Of course, the fact that I was relatively young (at 35), had two young children (ages almost 2 and 4 1/2 at the time), was relatively healthy although mo did weigh on my mind. I knew that the surgery was a last resort but my situation wasn't desperate (yet! LOL). But, I knew chances were very high that it would be in the near future and I wanted the best odds possible when I underwent this serious, complicated procedure. all the best, lap ds with gallbladder removal january 25, 2001 Dr. Gagner/Mt. Sinai/NYC eight months post-op and still feelin' fabu! preop: 307 lbs/bmi 45 now: 215 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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