Welcome to the MedStar Health’s Bariatric Surgery Online Seminar. Please read through the entirety of the information below, take the two quizzes, and watch the videos about the 3 types of surgeries we perform. At the end of the page there is a link to each hospital that performs these surgeries. From there, you will fill out a quick survey form that proves you reviewed this information, which allows you to move to the next step.
You’ve struggled to lose weight for a long time, and you’re hoping that bariatric surgery can help you be successful. It sure was for me. You probably have questions about whether bariatric surgery really works. You may wonder if you qualify for surgery and what bariatric procedure is right for you.
You can get all your questions answered by taking this course.You can get all your questions answered by taking this course.
You’ve taken the first step to find out about bariatric surgery. What you may not know is that there is a whole community of medical professionals and former patients like me ready to help.
I didn’t know anything about bariatric surgery when my doctor first told me about it. It was really helpful to learn about how it works and why.
Please complete this quiz about bariatric surgery to continue with the seminar.
If you’re like me, you’ve tried to lose weight so many different ways: diet pills, dieting, exercise, behavior modification, medication, but the weight always came back.
Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment for severe obesity, providing medically significant sustained weight loss for more than five years in most patients.
There’s a good reason why these treatments do not work for many people. According to the American Medical Association, obesity is a complex, chronic disease that is extremely difficult to treat.
Now it’s time to find out if you may qualify for bariatric surgery. You can start by finding out your body mass index, or BMI, and then answer five questions to get a general idea of your eligibility.
Note that insurance companies vary in their requirements, so be sure to check with your insurance.
You may qualify for bariatric surgery if:
For help finding out what your BMI is you can use this calculator
This is a partial list of obesity-related health problems:
Check with your insurance to confirm obesity-related health problems requirements.
You need to have been trying to lose weight for 2-5 years
Check with your insurance to confirm weight history requirements.
Many bariatric programs require you to be at least 18 years old.
Check with your bariatric surgical program to confirm age requirements.
You need to commit to attend sessions where you will learn about stress management, nutrition, and exercise.
Please answer these questions to help you understand if you are a candidate for bariatric surgery.
Now that you’ve learned about bariatric surgery and investigated whether you may be a good candidate, it’s time to find out about three common types of weight loss surgeries and see which one may be the best fit for you: sleeve gastrectomy (sleeve), gastric bypass, and adjustable gastric banding procedure (lap band).
Make sure your mind is straight. You have to be ready to do this mentally. The surgery is just a tool; if you don’t use the tool right, you’re not going to get the job done.
I thought, if I’m going to go through six months of classes and surgery, I’m going to do this for myself, and I’m going to make it work. Being able to do the challenges in life I never thought I could do as far as running a 5K–my husband and my kids and my grand kids were all there cheering me through the finish line–I could never have done anything like that being overweight. –Linda, a post-surgical bariatric patient
Call the member services number on the back of your insurance card and ask these 3 questions.