Mega_100

Ugh! So, I was told I had to go to the Info Session to get my one question answered--how much is the surgery for cash patients--and after sitting through an hour of info I had already heard, I was nonchalantly told that the surgery would cost me $25k out of pocket, nbd. That's more than double every other place in MI I've looked at! Good grief! So, on to somewhere else, I guess.

Yeah, I am looking at GR too. Unfortunately I started my appointments once a couple years ago, found out insurance didn't cover it and gave up. Now I'm trying to get it financed, but I'm assuming they'll make me do the appointments again. The first couple appointments I wasn't especially fond of the staff--the psych evaluation doc made our convo highly religious in nature and the intake nurse was asking me why I was looking at lap band instead of Roux-en-Y, like I was an idiot, and wouldn't let it go. Maybe I was highly sensitive because I don't take the decision lightly, but it kinda put a bad taste in my mouth for the place. Hopefully these were just isolated incidences, or maybe I was being too sensitive.

Thank you @@MichiganGirl! I have heard good things, generally, about their program, staff, and docs, and am hoping to get the financing info so I can determine whether I can afford them out of pocket or not. Unfortunately, the "free info seminar" has been getting in my way wherever I go--I've been to it before, but docs all over seem to want everyone to go to theirs and within a certain time period. I wouldn't mind going if it didn't slow the process down so much!

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into it for sure!

Any help I can get would be appreciated. I feel like I've hit a dead end, so if you know of any options I haven't thought of, please let me know! So, here's my issue... A little over a year ago, I decided to look into bariatric surgery. My husband knew people he worked with that did it and had great success, so we assumed (since our insurance is through his work) that it would be covered. I researched, got over the emotions of whether or not I should do it, started a program, then found out our insurance no longer covered the surgery. Then I learned of a good surgeon that took cash patients that a family member recommended. I was ready to start the program, get financing set up, and get my life started, then I found out I was pregnant. Fast forward nine months later and I have my beautiful daughter, but I was laid off from my job right before I had her. I don't want my husband to have to worry about another bill, but I feel like I am getting desperate to get the gastric sleeve surgery. Do I give up at this point and hope I can find a job to pay for this (I have been looking for 8 months with no success) OR are there options I don't know of/haven't thought of? Thanks!

Well, it's good to know it can be done and that the costs saved helped. I feel like my medical costs due to back problems, knee problems, etc. are only increasing. I have found someone close to where I am that is $11k (so, close to what you found in Vegas), so maybe it's more doable than I thought.

I have seriously looked into going to Mexico, but unfortunately my husband thinks going to Mexico is too much of a risk. I have found a doc in the US that charges $11k and I thought that was pretty good for the US. I'm just not sure we could afford that with one income. Thanks for the reference, though, I'll look into it further.

After researching LB for 2 months, I finally registered for a seminar that was last night. I was so scared I was shaking on the drive there. After getting lost in the building, I finally saw a registration desk and as I walked up I noticed that I knew one of the girls at the registration desk...This was my WORST nightmare realized! I was concocting stories in my head of what I was going to tell my family and friends when I got the surgery and finally convinced myself to go to a seminar. The worst part is that the girl is a friend's girlfriend that is a judgemental gossip along with her friends. It is the WORST possible person I could run into! I was doing all I could not to cry sitting there listening to the doc--thank GOD my husband was there for support. Now that it is the next day and I am trying to adjust my thinking that it's OK for everyone to know. On one hand, I am a horrible liar and am happy I don't have to keep this from anyone. On the other hand, I am a very private person and don't want people to judge me for my choice. I am still trying not to be upset and even reached out to the girl to ask her if she likes the docs she works for--maybe she will take my surgery seriously and not be judgemental--but how do I (suddenly and without a choice) accept that everyone I DIDN'T want to know, will know?

OK, so I have been researching LBS for a couple months now, I'm going to an LBS seminar tomorrow, I feel like I'm inching closer to LBS...and I can't stop thinking about saying 'good bye' to an addiction I've had my whole life! I, like many others here, have tried several diets and end up gaining everything back. I'm not going to lie, I am feeling like LBS is a 'magic pill' that is going to make everything better <insert my understanding that this is def not the case.> I am someone who responds to before and after photos like I respond to seeing a double cheeseburger--I want that! This is the last stitch effort to MAKE myself eat better and make better choices...BUT I can't stop thinking about how life-altering this will be. I LOVE FOOD. I associate it with good times, celebrations, rewards, summertime, fun...So, how do I say good bye? My thought is to use LBS as a tool to disassociate food and good things, will that work? Am I being niave? Is LBS right for me or am I setting myself up for disappointment and failure?

This is great! I love finding new recipes to try--I love to cook. Sometimes I struggle with the fact that the easiest/cheapest recipes to master are the least healthy. ugh...but <3 Ky <3, I am hoping I have your mentality after I get the band. I have done a lot of self-reflection in the past 2 months of researching the LB. I have finally found that, while I started out being concerned that I wouldn't get the foods I oh-so-much-enjoy, now I am focusing on how the LB might help me adjust my relationship with food. One of the greatest things I could gain from getting the LB is no longer eating because I "want" food, but because I "need" food as a fuel, not because it makes me feel better.

Waitingpatiently I would KILL my husband! He and I have discussed my wanting it to be private as well, but he would do something like that, too. He'd probably act like he didn't know any better. I'm sure you feel somewhat like how I felt last night--like the option to tell people was taken away from you. It was only yesterday, but I feel like I have covered a lot of emotions in that time. On one hand, I was devasted that a lot of people I specifically didn't want to know. On the other, I was kinda warming up to the idea of the support I could get from my friends if they knew. If I were you, I would focus on the latter. Now you may find support from those you hadn't expected to tell. IDK, I was just struggling with this this morning and came to you all for support, so clearly I'm not an authority! 1shauna1, I am definitely trying to focus my attention in the direction you are speaking! I am refocusing and am planning on telling more people than I planned to originally. Still wouldn't have told the gal in question were I given a choice, but that that's OK! Thanks for getting me through this stressful experience everyone!

Absolutely true Toddy, I still don't trust her, because she is incredibly two-faced and I don't allow those people to be in my life. I just feel fortunate that she legally CAN'T say anything! Time will tell if she can demonstrate maturity.

Well, I must say, I have to eat my words! After messaging her about the doctors she works with, she was very supportive in giving me information and told me that she's not allowed to tell anyone that I'm in the program so not to worry about it. (I didn't even bring it up, she must have felt my un-ease last night at the seminar.) She gave me her personal phone number if I ever have any questions. I must say, sometimes actions speak louder than words--that's why I made horrible assumptions about her--but I can certainly say, I am pleasantly surprised!

dhales and Toddy, I thought of this too, but does it apply to a seminar that is open to the public?

Thanks yellowrose88, I don't have much faith that she won't tell anyone--I have caught her slamming MANY people--but I am thinking about all the negative responses people on LBT have gotten from even friends and family about their LB. On the other hand, now I can treat it as something to celebrate as opposed to being ashamed that I need it. I want to be healthy, I DO need this, so I am trying to keep my mind in that direction.

I just came across this while ready LapBandGal's blog and it seemed absolutley appropriate for this topic.: "I am thankful that I have learned: My food choices are never, ever going to fix my deeper problems. Food is not going to make me blissfully happy. Food is not my friend. Food is not going to make me feel less stressed about the business that is life. Food is not going to give me the courage to change things in my life. Food is not meant to be an escape from reality." Reading this makes me hope to accomplish these sentiments some day...

Thank you to everyone, this is all very insightful! I have looked around for a local therapist to see if maybe that would help me understand and ammend my relationship with food, but I have come up short. Usually when you Google 'eating disorder' the overweight, food addict gets left out, I've found. Thanks @morelgirl for this link, I will definitely check it out. I have heard on some forums that the psych eval to get this proceedure can be lacking and that really surprises me since it is such a cerebral thing for me. I know that I will struggle with this if I get the surgery, so it's nice to see that I can come here for support!

I read some good advise on a LBT forum about knowing when you're hungry vs. just craving food and it stuck with me: if you feel hungry for a whole can of green beans, you are hungry. If you could eat a whole bag of potato chips, you are craving. I am still considering surgery, so I don't know exactly how you are feeling, but this has helped me to not overeat or not eat when I'm not actually hungry.