Ok, so here is the skinny on gastric banding in Portugal.

I qualify for the government insurance to pay for my operation. Problem is, it will take about a year on the waiting list before I will get a date. However, it will be totally free.... I won't pay a dime, and it will be done in a hospital about 5 min from my house.

I also have the option to go with a private doc who will do the surgery at his own facility. I can have a date as soon as next month, but it will run me around $10,000.

Hubby and I could get the money if we really needed it and the doc said he would take monthly payments.

So, should I wait a year and get it for free, or should I go ahead with it now and be out the money. It is quiet a lot of money. However, I have 2 big events coming up this year. In September my husband's brother is getting married in a huge lavish wedding with every one attending. It would be a really good time to show off some weight loss. In addition to that I'm finally going back home for Christmas in December and that would be a great time to show off weight loss to my family whom I haven't seen in person in over a year.

I'm torn. My hubby kind wants to go the private way because he thinks I might get better care than a public hospital, but on the other side he hates to part with money, especially an amount that big. $10,000 is almost what I paid for my new car, and it seems a shame to waste that much when I can get it for free.....if I wait.

Help guys, what would you do??? :help:

I don't know...this is a tough one. I know that once I finally came to the decision that lap banding was what I wanted, I wanted it right then. Every time there was a delay I got all upset. I fortuantly had insurance paying.

One thing to consider....are you going to want plastic surgery done later? Maybe if you wait the year, you could "save" the 10 k spent for surgery and maybe finance plastic surgery? I know I want to have a tummy tuck later...i will defiently need it. I might even need an arm/thigh and booby lift (if there is any left to lift that is)...though I want the tummy the MOST. All of that is going to cost more than 10k, and I know it will be YEARS before I can have it all done. If I had of had to pay 10k for the lapband and then that I think it would have been almost impossible.

I've always heard good things about the Portuguese nationalised health system, so a year wait is long but not unreasonable.

It's so easy to say, go wait a year but that's a long time when it's YOU who is waiting. If you just had the money on hand, I'd say just pay cash for it, but it sounds like the extra money will be a bit of a stretch.

Now if you wait for the government to approve you, but then again you could use this time to get some pre-op nutritional learning, some counseling and prepare yourself for this big life change. If the wait was two years or more, I know I couldn't do it. But if I thought I could get the government to pay for it this time next year, I think I'd make my year work for me.

Good Luck and Happy Band Journeys To All.

"Ya gotta figger out this one yerself Bunkie" ---no insult intended here...

None taken, it made me laugh :biggrin1:

How much extra weight are you likely to gain in the next 12 months?

How long will it take to lose that? How certain is the reality of "No cost"...and will the surgeon still be there? Will the policy change? etc etc....

Not much, I have gained about 20lbs in the past 3 years, so maybe another 5 to 10 if I'm not careful. Maybe nothing if I keep trying to diet. The no cost thing....well I'm not that certian. I know they pay for the surgery its self, but I may have to pay for the pre op testing, even though I was told by another person who did it, that she didn't pay any thing. I don't think the policy will change,the national health care has worked like this for a while, and serious health risks are always covered, and with a bmi of 40 or higher a person is considered a health risk. (I'm 40.8, so there might be a chance if I loose weight, that I won't qualify any more)

My own bottom line is this: I've had $10,000, and I've had new cars....I would have traded them all to NOT have to have suffered the past 15 years as a zombie derelect tottering only with one foot over the cliff and the other on a banana peel.....but that's just me. Your mileage may vary.

Cheers....

I hear Portugal is absolutely beautiful!!!

My mileage is that I have had weight problems since I was 6. While Portugal IS a beautiful place (come visit us some time) they aren't very nice to obease people, I constantly get stared at, the kids make snide remarks behind my back and its hard to find clothes in my size. (even though I'm a 20/22) And nosey people are constantly asking if I'm pregnant or giving me diet advice, I mean complete strangers off the street! Plus, they would never say so, but I think it embaresses my mother and father in law.

One thing to consider....are you going to want plastic surgery done later? Maybe if you wait the year, you could "save" the 10 k spent for surgery and maybe finance plastic surgery? I know I want to have a tummy tuck later...i will defiently need it. I might even need an arm/thigh and booby lift (if there is any left to lift that is)...though I want the tummy the MOST. All of that is going to cost more than 10k, and I know it will be YEARS before I can have it all done. If I had of had to pay 10k for the lapband and then that I think it would have been almost impossible.

This is EXACTLY what the other woman who I spoke to told me. She waited I guess and she said it was worth the wait because eventually she would need plastic surgery and she couldn't afford it otherwise. I don't know if I will need it or not, im 242 and 5´5 I was hoping to exercise and maybe get some tissue massages to help the skin snap back. Plus I'm still pretty young, however I guess there is the possibility that I may want it further down the road.

I really hate the idea of waiting another year, but I also really hate the idea of having to spend all that money when I could get it for free if I just waited. There is no garuntee that it's going to be a year either, that was the average time. It could be shorter, or it could be longer. I would hate to go ahead with the private surgen, and then a month later get a letter from the state saying that they are ready for me. Or on the other hand, wait a year and then never hear any thing when I could have done it the year before with the private surgern. *sigh* I dunno..... :confused: :confused: :confused:

My whimsical money is no object answer: You live once. And no one knows when their "number" is up. You can't take the money with you when you depart. I say... if you have the money, spend it. If you want to spend it on the surgery, then do it. Or better yet, think of it as "investing" the money. You are investing in your health and happiness!

Are the payments that the surgeon accepts interest free? If not, what is the interest? Does that include all aftercare (fills, follow up, problems). And would that include removal if needed? Would the national care system include all of that? If I may be nosey....

How do you carry your weight? Is it evenly distributed (ie big all over) or is it localized (ie large round belly?, pear shaped?). If you carry it "all over" then the chances of you needing the plastic surgery as a dire need are slim. I think we all "want" to be fixed up nice and clean, myself included, but do I NEEEEEED plastics? Nope. I have seen a picture of you on your blog and you really don't look that heavy for sure. Plus, you are young and may have a heck of a lot of elasticity left. Through good toning exercises you may be just fine.

My tight wad answer: That is a crap load of money that could be spent on other things!! You have been overweight this long, why not just concentrate on maintaining your weight. You can even spend that time doing even more research and be even more prepared than you already are right now. You may even decide later that you want to go another route. Plus, others may be doing the same thing and your wait could be a lot shorter. I would think that when most people give out a "waiting time" like at a restaraunt, they estimate high so that people do not begin to be upset at taking longer. You could use that money for that dream vacation when you have lost most of your weight and wearing that 2 piece!! I know it is hard to picture the bikini, but it WILL happen!!

How long did the girl you know wait?? When did she have hers done? Are you already on the list now?

Geez, I wasn't much help I guess. All that, and I still don't know what I would do if I were in your shoes. But I think I would lean more towards waiting for it.

That is a bit of a tough call. Good care is priceless regardless. Is your husband right about the level of care you'll receive in the public facility? It would suck to wait and then have problems because your care wasn't top notch. No amount of money saved would be worth substandard care. Are you guaranteed a date in one year, or in one year do they decide; 'ok lets see when we can get around to you'? Thus creating longer delays... Your priority in your decision has to be your health. Can it take another year of obesity? If it can, (no or minimal comorbidities) and you know the care will be sufficient, a year does pass fairly quickly.

Prebanding, my daughter got married. I am preserved forever and for anyone to see, in all my overweight glory, on her mantle in the family shot. My only banding regret is that I waited so long to act. That picture makes me cringe.

Do you have any weight-related health issues at the moment? It could make the decision easier.

I suppose you could wait for the year, and try to lose a few pounds during that time, knowing full-well that the weight you lose over the next twelve months will stay lost due to the band.

princess_n_thep: I don't know the specifics yet of the surgen because I am going to see him on the 8th. I just know what my husbands uncle told me (he is the family doctor in the same clinic where the surgen works) So hopefully by the 8th I will know the answers to all those questions, and thanks so much for posting them because I'm printing ur response and taking it with me to the consulation!!

I don't look that heavy most people say I carry it well, but it's all in my tummy. My upper tummy to be exact, which is why most people think I'm pregnant. My arms and legs are pretty much the same size as a normal person, which is why clothes always gave me a problem, if I buy my waste size then my legs are swimming in the pants. I doubt I will get plastic surgery since I'm already married and no one else is looking under my clothes. I would only do a tummy tuck maybe if my tummy skin doesn't go back, so that I could wear a bikini.

As far as weight related health problems, only high cholesterol and I'm hypoglycemic. And I don't have as much energy as I should, but I'm sure a little exercise would take care of that.

As far as the state goes, they don't promise any thing. They didn't even say it would be a year, they wouldn't give me a time frame at all. I had to go see my state assigned primary care doctor. I told him that I wanted the procedure done and after a few questions he said fine and wrote a letter to the hospital. Then then they faxed the letter and some recent blood analysis I had done over to the hospital. Now basiclly I just have to wait for them to send me a letter giving me an appt. with the doctors at the hospital, and then after that I have to wait again for a surgery date. I have a friend who has been waiting for a breast reduction for 2 years now. She still hasn't had it done. The year time frame I got from the lady who had already had it done. Shes a nurse at the hospital where she had hers done and she said it was about a years wait. So I actually have NO IDEA how long it will be. It could be a few months, it could be a year, it could be 2 years. I honestly don't know and they won't tell me, there isn't even a number or any place that I can call the check the status. So thats where the delima is, do I wait, do I not?? I honestly really don't want to wait, but geezz the money........:faint:

Tough one, in Canada, it is all self pay. If I could get an earlier date than my July 14th date by paying more, I would. I look at it as an investment in my health.

Still, it is a tough one. Good luck with your decision.

I'm pretty much at the point where if the private surgen tells me I can have it done next month if we pay, I'll pay because I just don't think I can go another year being this fat knowning there is somethign out there that could help me. I'll have more info on the 8th after seeing the private surgen though, maybe it won't be as expensive as I think.