Question:
has anyone bee denied/approved after telling about their mental helth status?
i am a manic deppressive/bi polar and have attemped suicide several times. currently take four kinds of medications any recomendations? — kimberly T. (posted on April 29, 2002)
April 28, 2002
Kimberly: Please do not take this the wrong way, but are you sure you are
healthy enough to undergo the most major life change a person could ever
have? Your entire body will change. Your relationships with other people
will change. Your meds will probably get off-whack, because you will have
a hard time swallowing them. Also, many people undergo a period of
depression in the first 12 weeks after WLS. I would truly think about
these issues before you pursue WLS. If you have already thought them over
and are 100% sure you want to move forward, your goal must be to convince
your psychologist that you had mental illness problems in the past but that
everything is under control with meds now.
— Terissa R.
April 29, 2002
My only recomendation is to be totally honest with your surgeon. Tell
him/her what medications you are taking, tell them about your past
troubles! Don't worry we all had to give our surgeon our total medical
history and answer any question they had about it. Just go into it knowing
everything will be on the table! I found it very hard to discuss the many
years I took diet pills and how afraid I was to stop taking them. Be
honest with yourself too! Don't set unreasonable expectations on this
surgery! Loosing the weight will not cure you of the bi-polar but it will
help you be physically healthier. I had to face it that loosing the weight
was not going to solve a relationship I was in, even though all he did was
gripe about how big I was. I truely feel that as long as you are taking
your medication for your bi polar and you have it checked often as you
loose weight (weight will effect dosage), I really don't think you will
have a harder time than the rest of us in dealing with gaining control over
food. You may have a more realistic view of the whole thing than I did!! I
found it shocking that I didn't want food and I didn't want to think about
food. I was totally hiding behind my fat. I've found that in loosing my
"Fat Armor" I show my emotions more. I feel alive and full of
hope for the future! As long as you are honest with your surgeon, then
they will be able to help you decide if this is what you want in your life.
Don't worry about being denied, worry about being approved because then you
will have the final say if it's yes or no!!! It's the start of you being
in control! Good luck! Go for it!
— blank first name B.
April 29, 2002
Funny you should ask... Just last Friday I went to see my counselor and
the surgeon's nurse called earlier that day to tell me they need a letter
from my counselor stating I am ok for surgery. I'm on medication and have
been suicidal once, but I think her biggest hesitation in writing the
letter for me was that I have a tendency to go off my meds when I'm feeling
better even though I KNOW they are beneficial. I got upset, thinking why
did I ever even tell them? Why was I honest about it? Well, my therapist
stayed over to talk to me more about this and in the end decided to write
the letter because she could tell I'm going into this with my eyes open,
I've done my homework and I realize a life change of this magnitude is
going to be a challenge. Good luck to you! :-)
— K. Joyce Smith
May 1, 2002
hi i am also bipolar and i have the same concerns about being denied. i
have not been to the psych yet but i am nervous that they will be bias to
me having a mental disorder, i am stable and have been on my meds for over
a year so good luck to you i hope everything goes well for us both c`ya
— blank first name B.
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