Are you a Candidate?
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Not everyone who is overweight needs bariatric surgery. But if you are morbidly obese, have tried supervised weight loss programs, and are ready to commit to a lifelong change, weight loss surgery may be for you. Only after careful consideration, evaluation and consultation with your surgeon can candidacy be established. But the following steps can give you a general idea and help get you started. First, determine your Body Mass Index (BMI) using the calculator below. |
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If your BMI is less than 30, you likely do not qualify for weight-loss surgery. Medical weight loss options which include diet and exercise are probably most appropriate for you – talk to your doctor for advice. If your BMI is 30 -39, you may qualify for surgery if you have weight related medical conditions. |
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These include, among others:
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Diabetes (type II)
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High blood pressure
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Sleep apnea
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Gastroesophageal reflux
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High cholesterol / triglycerides
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Depression because of obesity
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Degenerative arthritis
If your BMI is 40 or greater, you may qualify for surgery without necessarily having any of the medical complications listed above.
Next, have you exhausted attempts at dieting and medically supervised weight-loss? Surgery is not meant to be a first line treatment for obesity, but rather a seriously considered alternative when more conservative treatment has failed.
Finally, are you ready to make a life-long commitment to change your habits? This means you must commit to significantly altered eating habits, a routine exercise regimen, and life long medical follow-up. And of course, if you smoke you must quit prior to surgery – it doesn’t make sense to treat the number two cause of preventable death (obesity) if you continue the number one cause of preventable death (smoking).
Of course, the final determination of whether to perform surgery must be made by you and your surgeon.
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