Gastric Bypass Surgery - Hephzibah,GA

Hi C.,

Just thought I'd share my experience with you. I am now 36 years old, I have one child who is 21 months old. I used to weigh 326 pounds (my highest) and had gastric bypass surgery in January of 2002. My insurance, BCBS of GA covered like 80% of the surgery. I used Dr. JK Champion out of Marietta GA. He is wonderful and I highly recommend you consult him if you decide to have the surgery. I would have the surgery over and over again if need be. It changed my life for the better. I had my daughter after the surgery. (about a year and a half after) My lowest weight before I had my daughter was about 180. I was wearing a size 12/14 down from a 28/30. I was on TOP of the world let me tell you! But I will also tell you that losing weight that fast at first (I dropped 20 something pounds some of those first months after surgery) takes an emotional toll that is really hard to describe. Significant relationships in my life changed, my "best" friend is no longer my "best" friend. Guess she couldn't handle the "thin" me. I was no longer her fat friend. It's a whole different world being a normal size when you aren't used to it. I dabbled in drugs for a while and obviously that wasn't good They say you trade one addiction for another. But when I got pregnant with my daughter all the "partying" stopped immediately and now I couldn't be happier. I have mantained my weight since my pregnancy and weigh around 225. (still 100 pounds less than my highest) So I am here if you have any more questions or if you want to talk feel free to call me. ###-###-####. Take care and good luck S.

my sister had the surgery about 2 years ago. Her insurance company did cover some of the charges but not all. She started saving tons of money in her account at work. I can't remember what it is called, it is where you can put money into a medical plan pretax. I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway she used that to cover what her insurance company did not. Before they would approve the surgery she had to prove that she had attempted to lose weight for a year. It had to be documented through a doctor with weekly weigh-ins and everything. She actually lost about 15 pounds doing that but she needed to lose about 150. She had the surgery and lost about 130 lbs. Two years later she has started gaining weight back. I think for some people it works great and for my sister it did well for awhile but I don't think she addressed the mental side of why she overeats. Good luck to you.

I worked for a plastic surgeon for a while before I bagan staying home with my daughter. It is true that insurance will pay for the surgery. I guess that is the only plus I can think of...what they don't tell you is that after all the weight comes off, you are left with tons of excess skin. We saw multiple patients at the practice who wanted the skin removed. At this point, insurance considers it cosmetic. They will pay ONLY for the panniculectomy. With this, you only get the stomach skin removed. This is not a tummy tuck where they tighten the muscles. So many patients came in thinking they were getting this done, probably because they insurance billing code is the same for both operations. They differentiate in the diagnosis code. Also, they never pay for any skin hanging down on the sides, around the back, or on the arms. Those things then have to be done at a cost out of your own pocket. I guess it really depends on how much weight you will lose and the amount of skin that will be left over. I know people that are extremely satisfied with the GBS and others that came in saying they wished they had never done it.

Hope this helps.

C.....MOST insurances actually do cover this surgery,sometimes they will give you a hassle,but in the end they do. I had the surgery 6.5 years ago and have since had my daughter who is now 4...Please feel free to ask me any questions....I also know some that got medicaid to pay as well. G.

I have wondered the same thing in the past couple of mionths as I am sick of being overweight and I have tried everything to loose the weight. I have heard that some insurance companies will pay for it but it is defferent will all insurance carriers I would call your insurance provider and ask them
I have also started reading about the lap band which does almost the same thing but its not a major surgery. I would encourage you to do some major research before making any decisions

Yes, some insurance does cover it! Mine covered every penny! I had it done May 2004. Feel free to email me if you have any other questions.