Hi everyone,
I am fairly new to this board and I am considering WLS. HOWEVER, a friend of mine who had the surgerysays "you're not fat enough." She didnt mean it in a bad way but it has been bothering me. I have PCOS and I CANNOT LOSE THE WEIGHT! NO matter what I try, it doesn't work. I am 5'7" and I weigh 170. I am 120 lbs over what i am "supposed" to weigh. I don't "look" obese (yes, i truly am big boned) BUT I AM! If I get a referal from my dr, will the surgeon look at me and say I am not fat enough too? What if my last option is not an option for me? Will my dr even give me a referal? I go to see her this Friday. I just wanted to ask you all about this...maybe someone has some input.
Thanks for reading!
Nancy

OOPS!! meant I weight 270..thought that looked wrong

I was wondering!

I am sure the chicks who have had WLS will respond. I believe being eligible for WLS has to do with BMI, being unsuccessful and weightloss programs and having physical problems exacerbated by weight but they will know for sure.

Bon voyage on your journey.

Hi Nancy......glad you changed that weight, you had me worried for a minute.

As a general rule, wls is normally only done on those who have a bmi of 40 or above. Your bmi, at 5ft 7, 270 pounds is 43.7. Wls can and has been done on those with a bmi below 40, but usually or always those patients have other health problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, gerd, sleep apnea, reflux, a family history of obesity related health problems and so on. Your PCOS also qualifies.

Your friend, who said you were to small, was her starting weight much larger than yours?

May I suggest, before you ask your doc for a referral, you do lots of research. Go to your PCP "armed and loaded" and what I mean by that is, be able to give her a lesson or two on wls. That is what I did, I just knew my PCP was against wls and like you, I needed the referral. Not only did she give me the referral, she has had other patients call me to talk about wls.

One of the best places for lots of information is www.obesityhelp.com and our own Jiff, is a wealth of information, she will be along later, I'm sure.

Hope I have helped you a little bit.

Welcome and keep posting.

I agree with what Debbie said. My dr. also uses the BMI rule of 40, and 100 pounds overweight as the benchmark. He has done a few surgeries on people under 40 bmi, but they had severe co-morbidities.

IMHO, research and knowledge equals power. Try to gather as much information as you can to make a well informed decision. I personally studied for almost 2 years before I made the decision. I'm now 9 weeks post-op and don't regret the surgery one bit.

Good luck.

Lorrie

Thak you Lori and Debbie!
My BMI is 43 and I have comorbidities such as the PCOS and Reflux and I wonder about apnea as I wake up in the middle of the night gasping for breath. I have tried everything for weightloss and nothing seems to be successful. I am going to ask my dr about Insulin resistance this Friday too. Dr's say "lose wight" and then you just get dumped to do it on your own and it is INCREDIBLY frustrating when nothing you try works. ( I know I am preaching to the choir)

Thanks for all your advise!!!
HUGS

Nancy, when you mention insulin resistance, does that mean you're insulin dependant diabetic? I'm curious, as I'm diabetic also. I was classified as "insulin resistant", too. I was taking a total of 175 units of insulin (3 different kinds) through 3 injections per day. After surgery, I'm down to 2 injections/day, with 20U of mixed insulin each. Quite a difference!

Lorrie

wellll....Lorrie I dont know If I am insulin resistant or not. it is one of the effects of the Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. That is why i am going to the dr. The Insulin resistance can lead to diabetes. I just know how hard I have tried to lose weight and nothing is comming off so I thought this might be an angle to discuss with PCP. The Insulin resistance can make it pretty near impossible to lose weight as if you have too much insulin running around in you, it tells your body to keep everything and not to process the fat stores. (thats what i understand from my research)

nancy... believe it or not, but there 's NOTHING i can add to what the other ladies have already said!!!!

with your BMI of more than 40, you meet the requirements even if you DIDN;T have these comorbidities. with them, you are pretty much a slam dunk.

and be prepared. make sure you go into your doc with a list of all the diet and exercise programs you've tried. pills, over the counter things like dexatrim.

and if she won't make a referral, FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR!!!!!

good luck... and keep coming back here... we'll cheer you on!!!!

and you're also right on about the insulin resistance.

OMG!!! Thank you all SO MUCH!!!!!

Nancy, tell your friend to go jump in a lake....unless of course you like her alot.

I just eeked in at a bmi of 40. I had, by some freak of nature lost 7 pounds before I met with the surgeon. A couple of the gals in the waiting room thought I was post op and when they found out that I was pre op they said, "wait! you are not heavy enough!" Trust me....I am!! When the nurse weighed me in she kind of looked at me side ways as if to say...."you are not heavy enough!" The surgeon did point out that since I wasn't that heavy (such a relative phrase) and that I was a candidate for the lap band. I am sure you would be too. BUT my insurance will not cover the band so that is why I am persuing the rny.

Good luck to you and keep on posting so that we can get to know you better. Join us on the daily (or weekly) where we just sort of yak about the day to day things.

peach

Everyone else answered way better than I could so all I want to add is that I too have PCOS! I am insulin resistant, my weight loss is slow but for the first time in my life it is coming off!!! I did lose weight before surgery but it was creeping back on (got down to 276 and was 282 the day of my surgery).

I have lost just over 45 lbs in 3 months and am feeling great. What some people do not seem to understand is that even if you are "ONLY" 120 lbs overweight with PCOS you have lots more weight to look forward to.

I only weighed 125 when I got pregnant with my first son and now 4 sons later I weighed 325 at my highest. I was diagnosed with PCOS back in 1997 when I "only" weighed 220. Boy I wish I had done this back then.

Ok now I am just rambling. Oh yeah I was on Glucophage 1000mg twice a day and now I am on nothing and have periods every 30 days that only last 4 days!!!!AND I FEEL GREAT!!! WHOOOOOOHOOOO That is enough for me.

Hazel
all time high 325
236 TODAY!!!

See? I told you there would be lots of advice - and all of it good. These chickies know their stuff - even if some of them support the wrong hockey team.

<erp!!!! GAG!!!!>>> the WRONG hockey team??? the RANGERS ROCK!!! <i'm only a devils fan because they're from joisy, but my heart belongs to the rangers>

and thank you for not getting THEM started on baseball!!!!

From what I read on the other posts, you are a shoo-in for WLS. My BMI is somewhat higher than yours (of course, I also have more weight and two inches in height less than you )--and in addition, I have GERD, angina, borderline diabetic, hypothyroidism, and arthritis in the knees.

ObesityHelp.com is an EXCELLENT site; I was able to look up the information on the weight loss surgeon (also known as bariatric surgeons) that my PCP (bless his heart ) recommended to me on that site, and the testimonials as well as her background and types of surgeries she has done are encouraging! My consultation with her is August 25


Other sites to have a look at areCOMPASS and Liv-Lite Weight Management ; also good WLS resources.