Am I a Candidate?

If you have remained severely overweight after other serious and sustained efforts to lose weight without surgery, and especially if you also have obesity-related medical conditions, surgery may be the next appropriate step. Such conditions include high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, degenerative joint disease, history of heart attacks, etc. For some patients, intense behavioral and non-surgical methods to control weight may be more appropriate.

Please answer the following questions to help determine if you are a possible candidate for surgery:

1. Are you between the ages of 18 and 64 years old?
__ Yes __ No

2. Do you have a body mass index (BMI) of 40 or more? (See below to determine your BMI.)
__ Yes __ No

3. Do you have an obesity-related health problem such as sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure, or heart disease? (If your BMI is 35 or more and you have one of these severe conditions, you may qualify for the surgery.)
__ Yes __ No

4. Are you unlikely to lose weight successfully by methods other than bariatric surgery?

5. Are you well informed about the surgical procedure, risks and the effects of treatment?
__ Yes __ No

6. Are you committed to losing weight and improving your health?
__ Yes __ No

7. Are you willing to make the following changes in your lifestyle for the rest of your life:

• Are you willing to chew your food completely?
  __ Yes __ No
• Are you willing to avoid eating large meals?
  __ Yes __ No
• Can you accept not being able to eat foods that your body does not tolerate?
  __ Yes __ No
• Are you willing to and can you exercise daily (not disabled)?
  __ Yes __ No
• Are you willing to take vitamin and mineral supplements for life?
  __ Yes __ No
• Are you willing to eat three meals per day, give priority to protein intake, and to sip water frequently?
  __ Yes __ No
• Are you willing to give up gum, popcorn, alcohol, carbonated and caffeinated beverages?
  __ Yes __ No
• Are you a non-smoker?
  __ Yes __ No

8. Do you not have serious disease that may have caused your obesity, such as steroid-secreting tumors ?
__ Yes __ No

9. Do you not have serious untreated, underlying psychiatric disorders, or current issues with substance abuse, or narcotic dependency?
__ Yes __ No

10. Are you aware that there are occasional failures, potentially serious complications and infrequent deaths after bariatric surgery?
__ Yes __ No

11. Will you commit yourself to lifelong medical follow up?
__ Yes __ No

If you answered "yes" to all of the above questions, you may be a good candidate to undergo surgery for weight loss.

To determine your BMI, use this link to access our Health Education BMI Calculator
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