I have been battling with the insurance company for 3 years now and finally decided that I was D-O-N-E with all that and my husband and I have figured out a way to get it done as a cash pay. I'm sure there are a lot of you out there that paid for the surgery yourselves and I want to hear from you! What did your doctor want you to do pre-op? Anything that you did on your own to prepare? I am still about 6 months out before we have all we need for payment. Just curious

I also went the "fight with your insurance" route and ended up paying for it myself! SOOOOOOO glad I did. I did a 3 week pre op liquid diet, doctor required just two. All my first year appointments and fills were included in the cash price. Very hapoy for that....never had to worry about money when getting to the "green zone".! I'm a NEW woman, could not be more pleased with my decision to get banded!!! Good luck!

Where are you from/who did your surgery? My surgeon is 3 hours south of me in Dallas and he also includes first year of fills in cash price

I was self pay..took about 3 weeks from meeting with my surgeon till actual surgery..had to do 2 week liquid diet...a few blood tests and EKG and that's all..best wishes to you!

I will self pay too... what is the pre op diet like? What do you drink for 2 weeks?

pre-op for me was two protein shakes a day, 6-8 oz of meat (chicken, lean beef, or fish) 8 oz of veggies (no carrots, peas, corn, potatos) 8 oz fruit (no citrus or bananas). no sugar, no carbs, no dairy.

Luckily my surgeon has a 8 chapter packet (book lol) detailing everything he expects and what the diets will be like in all the phases. Pre-op/Post-op liquids, soft/mushies phase and regular diet phase. And it also has exercises, food, and even suggestions for multi-vitamins and protein shakes. I was so very impressed when I went through it the first time. I have been reading through it for days now. The reason I posted my question is because it does not have any information about pre-op testing that would be required. I know with my last insurance company they wanted 6 months of diet and exercise meetings with dietitians, therapy, sleep studies, and a whole laundry list of other things that I would have to pay out of pocket and so I didn't know if any surgeons out there would want that too? But now that I have this packet I know what he expects and I am very hopeful!!!! But thank you for all who replied.

I met with my surgeon and one month later had my surgery. I had blood work and an EKG. I did a two week preop of a high protein medical grade liquid protein. 3 protein drinks a day and some green leafy veg. It was hard to stick to but I did it, was a little mean towards the end...lol

I think if you are self pay, you don't have to jump through all the insurance hoops . The cost of my surgery also covers five yrs. of follow up care, including all of my fills , and access to the dietician. He has an excellent clinic. I was treated like a queen by all of the staff.