shepette

Hi. This is my very first post and I think this may be a stupid question but hopefully you'll be gentle with me. I just went to the required information session with the surgeon I think I will work with. My insurer requires a six-month doctor supervised diet in advance. Right now (pre-diet) my BMI is 39 (with HBP and high cholesterol) so the assumption is that my insurer would cover this. But what if, at the end of the six-month diet, my BMI is quite a bit lower? Does the insurer typically consider the highest BMI (hich would be pre-diet) when considering if they will cover? Thanks for any response or advice you can offer! ~ shepette

Thank you so much for your insight! And while it gets harder to lose weight as I get older, my biggest fear is of losing 50 or 60 pounds yet again, be denied the surgery, only to then gain it all back. One perspective I've seen about banding is that while it certainly is directed towards weight loss, it's also a huge aid in maintaining the loss.That's where I have failed over and over again. Just lost another family member to obesity-related disease and am surrounded by others with enormous risk due to HBP, obesity, high cholesterol, kidney disease, etc. I worry about them endlessly -- and then I look at myself and wonder why I can't conquer it once and for all. Why I'm not strong enough to keep it off. I will do the work - I diet and exercise now - but am so looking forward to just that extra help...