Northwest_Nance

I'm so sorry, I know how frustrating that is. I am self-pay also and I checked out the loan options, most of the medical loans had high interest and required repayment within 5 years, so the monthly payments were pretty high. I wouldn't have been able to do it either if I hadn't been able to take out a loan against my retirement plan at work. The nice thing about that is that when I pay it back, I'm really paying myself back. I hope it works out for you soon!

Best of luck to you! Tomorrow is my day too.... I'll be anxious to check back and see how you did!

Hi everyone, I'm new around here - have made a couple of posts but haven't gotten around to introducing myself. I'm 55 and have yo-yo'd with my weight ever since my early 20's. I've lost 100 lbs. three times over the years (Jenny Craig, Atkins, low fat) but have always gained it back. I know how to lose weight, I don't know how to keep it off. And now that I'm getting older, and have "been there, done that" so many times, it's really hard to find that "zone" I have to get into to stick to a healthy routine. So finally now I am at my all time high weight (235, down from 255 a month ago) and it has really started to affect my health. When I was younger, I always wanted to lose weight to be thin and wear cute clothes. While that would be a nice bonus now, it's much more about feeling good and being healthy and active. After a week on the pre-op diet I am already feeling better and I know I can do this. What an exciting adventure! Up until today I haven't really felt the excitement of the surgery date and I wondered why not..... I think it's partly because I was so sidetracked by all the doctor's appointments, sleep study, adjusting to a bipap machine after being diagnosed with sleep apnea, arranging financing (I am self pay), tying things up at work for the time off, blah blah blah..... plus after reading so much about it, I have my feet on the ground.... I know the surgery is not an overnight trip to paradise, but the beginning of a long journey. But today.... the excitement has hit me and I am walking around with a big smile on my face. It's been great reading everything you all have written here..... I'll be back to tell you about my surgical experience. Mine is out-patient, check in at 11:00 tomorrow morning and if all goes well, home by about 4:00. We'll see!

Hi everyone, I'm new here and haven't gotten around to making my introductory post yet -- but May 15th is my big day! I'm self-pay as well, as my insurance company specifically excludes weight loss surgery from coverage. I had to take out a loan against my 401K but at least when I make the loan payments, I am paying myself back! I've done so much research I was on overload -- read every online post-surgery blog and diary I could find, every doctor and surgeon's website I could find, I watched the surgery being performed on YouTube, I attended support group meetings and seminars.... and yet.... there is still always more to learn, and all of your posts have been so helpful. I understand that surgery is not an overnight trip to paradise, but the beginning of a new journey. I haven't figured out how to add the little tickers and whatnot yet either, but I'll get there. Good luck to all my fellow May bandsters! :thumbup:

Thanks for sharing your story! My surgery is Thursday and I've been eating up every story I can find for weeks now. Did your doctor prescribe anti-nausea medication for you? I had my prescriptions filled yesterday, one is liquid pain meds and the other is small Phenergen tablets for nausea. It's really interesting how different each doctor is. My doctor has done over 1,000 lap band surgeries - he has me on a pre-op diet for 7 days of 4 MediFast a day and one Lean Cuisine. After surgery he wants me on liquids for one week (anything I can drink through a straw), then week two is mushies, then starting week three he doesn't want any more liquid meals, he wants me moving into solids so my stomach will get used to it. But I've read about an awful lot of patients who are on liquids and mushies for longer than that and your story just emphasizes that. It will be interesting to see how I do. I really agree with you about the liquid diet being good for cleaning us, both physically and emotionally. It sounds like you're doing great.... contratulations!

I have a different story about telling people. I had never considered weight loss surgery (always thought I had to do it myself, never knew how to ask for help) until I had to go to a hip surgeon for hip surgery and he said he really thought I should consider weight loss surgery before getting my hip operated on. I was shocked! And embarrassed. My first thought was "I'm not telling anybody". After sleeping on it, I realized I had to tell at least my boss and my human resources director. Well, by the end of the next afternoon, I had told everybody at work. I was blown away by how supportive everyone was and how happy for me they all were. Then I told my family, and all my friends. Not one single person has been critical of my decision. Everyone is excited for me and I never dreamed they would be so supportive. And it has been liberating for me.... for the first time in my life, I can talk freely about my weight -- obviously everyone has always been able to see that I'm fat, but somehow we just don't talk about it. I understand wanting to keep it to yourself and I think that's a personal decision each of us makes. I have to admit, I haven't told my neighbors, who I say hello to casually. I figure they don't know me well enough that they need to know, and besides, I know they'd send it up and down the street as gossip. But for me, it feels wonderful to have told everyone who does know me and cares about me.