I know this will probably get a lot of negative comments...and I certainly do not mean to hurt anyone, but sometimes I get so tired of reading threads where the person has lost a minimal amount of weight because they have cheated or not exercised...then I look at their stats and see that insurance covered their surgery.

I was not lucky enough to have my insurance cover my surgery. I had to finance the $13,900 that the surgery costs. Every time I think about eating wrong or not exercising, I think about the $300 a month that I am paying. I have lost 73 pounds in four months. To tell you the truth, I may not have done as well myself if my insurance had convered mine.

Don't get me wrong...I am very thankful that this wonderful surgery is free or at minimum cost for some people. I just get so sick of hearing the whining and moaning.

Thanks for letting me vent!

I wish I could get motivated by the money spent on this, but my husband does the bills and Im not too sensitive in this area. I have lost from 205lbs. to 170lbs. this year and will lose more with time. Im not offended, but Ive lost this same 55lbs+, 3 or 4 times and Im just taking it easy now. Sorry,just not a candidate on money=motivation issue but If I were, Id be S-K-I-N-N-E-Y.

Unlucky me

mad

Edited March 19, 200917 yr by maddy

Obviously people that are getting upset did not read this thread close enough.

I think this is a great thread. what biggestloser is saying is she hates when people complain bout losing slow and then post that they are cheating or not doing any workouts at all!

Shes not complaining about the SLOW LOSERS in general.

It is annoying when people complain and then say oh but I ate this or that, or just sit around. well you could of done that without the band! insurance or self pay, you wont do good if your lazy with the band!!!!!!!!

What I have noticed is that people will spend tons of time responded if they can argue about something, but a post about an easy way to share what we are eating is ignored.

I think it is the nature of man to want to fight with each other rather then work with each other.

On one hand, I can see where the poster is coming from-

On the other as a future self-payer I find myself drawn to other self-payers experience because they relate mostly to myself, so my overall observation I'm sure is different then if I was a insurance covered individual.

I would like to also second the previous posters statement about insurance is not free. Unless your on Medicaid and well.......I'm not opening that box....... now that's a poll that would start some s**t!

I think either way- people should educate themselves as much as possible *duh*. I'm personally glad I have to wait, although reluctant, I think will overall give me more drive.

Edited March 19, 200917 yr by alegna242
typo

Interesting thread. Not banded yet, just beginning the process. However, I have been jumping around the forum reading lots of posts. My impression is that is more of an issue of personality type/maturity level vs. self-pay or ins. pay when it comes to posters are going against doctor's/nutritionist's orders and then are astounded that they are not losing weight. Just my opinion. :tt2:

You certainly didn't offend me. I look at it this way, I am looking everywhere for motivation. You have one additional place to look and I truly am glad that helps. My main motivation was being off blood pressure medicine and hopefully one week away from finding out my sleep apnea is cured.

I like the previous analogy of college students. Having to pay for college myself, DID make me work harder than my friends who had a "free ride." However, that said, I don't think you can paint all bandsters with the "self pay" "non self-pay" brush.

I personally took the OP as saying that he is tired of people complaining about the band not working while they're eating forbidden foods and not exercising. I thought the self-pay comment was just an added "extra" :tt2:

I do understand to some extent what you are trying to convey. Let me state that I pay 197.00 per pay period which for me is every two weeks for my insurance to cover my family. I was also not covered 100% for the hospital portion. I have an out of pocket expense of over $2000.00 not including my $30.00 copays and the initial $250.00 fee I paid my Dr's office which was not billed to the insurance company. You have to be careful when you say free because I pay my insurance every two weeks weather or not my family or I go to the Dr's office.

I can understand your fustration with some of the post where people state that band is not working however that is what this site is for. This site is for encouragement, information and support. Unfortunately many people that have had lap band or bypass surgery can not undo years of bad habbits. Maybe they did not educate themselves enough or maybe thier dr did not educate enough or maybe they just do not see the bigger picture to want to take the inititive to make this tool work. I had lapband surgery two months ago and still do not have the amount of restriction that I thought I would have. For me personally thank God I could come and read information from real people like myself to better understand this journey that I am going through. Although my dr. did explain and provide information along with pros and cons my expectations of this surgery were completely different prior to.

Insurance covered mine and I was not a slow loser. I have also seen people who were self-pay and upset because they paid so much and were not seeing the results they expected. I suppose there are some that were fortunate enough to get surgery covered and didn't appreciate the opportunity enough to work hard for it but for the most part, the people I have seen have been greatful to have the surgery no matter the costs.

Insurance covered mine and I was not a slow loser. I have also seen people who were self-pay and upset because they paid so much and were not seeing the results they expected. I suppose there are some that were fortunate enough to get surgery covered and didn't appreciate the opportunity enough to work hard for it but for the most part, the people I have seen have been greatful to have the surgery no matter the costs.

OT-

Congratulations JODI on being NORMAL!!!! I noticed you just got there today, WAY TO GO!!

I'm excited because I'm not longer morbidly obese..just obese The Dr. told me this week I've made the first jump. So I said, "Wonderful, not I'm not really fat, just fat" and I'm thrilled with that. One day I will be in "Onderland" and normal with you, but until then..CONGRATS Girl-That's AWESOME!!!:tt2:

I have to say that I see where you are coming from. I researched and wanted to have this surgery done for 2 years. My insurance would not pay 1cent for wt loss surgery. I knew taking out a loan was not an option either. I worked really hard to get a good bonus at work and was able to pay cash for my surgery last week. I believe since paying this large amt of money I will be motivated to work much harder and not fail.

Maybe I'm the exception that proves the rule, but the fact that my insurance paid for my surgery tends to make me more responsible for my actions. If I had self-paid, my attitude would probably be "Hey, it's my money, I can waste it if I want!" Since the insurance company paid, I feel a responsibility to other people. Same with going to the gym - my doctor has his own gym which patients can use for free. For me, the idea that I had nothing to lose was a much bigger motivator in checking it out than paying up the ying-yang for a gym membership. Just MHO only!

OT-

Congratulations JODI on being NORMAL!!!! I noticed you just got there today, WAY TO GO!!

I'm excited because I'm not longer morbidly obese..just obese The Dr. told me this week I've made the first jump. So I said, "Wonderful, not I'm not really fat, just fat" and I'm thrilled with that. One day I will be in "Onderland" and normal with you, but until then..CONGRATS Girl-That's AWESOME!!!:tt2:

Thanks for the congrats, coloradobanding. All of the milestones along the way are so rewarding and I have no doubt that you will be joining me soon!

Success is not paid for.

Success is something that you gain only from hard work and dedication.

Some people struggle more than others. I am one of them. It is totally and completely my fault. I own up to that here and everywhere. You see, the bonus of doing this here is support. I only mention that because some here were curious why people would say that here. This is a support website.

If this was all about tooting your own horn, this site would be pretty darned boring, don't you think?

Now, don't get me wrong, you have every right to state your case and "vent". There's plenty more where that came from here. Some vent about Cliques, some vent about rude people, some vent about things that really I honestly have no idea... but that is what makes this place so great!

We can all hide behind a screen name and yell off the rooftops what we are really feeling, without having to do it to someone's face. Passive agressive at it's finest.

In the future, if there is something so detrimental to your own personal happiness, may I suggest ignoring it or skipping it over? It works wonders for me.

HTH

ETA: This by far is not the first time this has been brought up here btw. Interesting topic? Sure, but done, many many many times.

Edited March 19, 200917 yr by LilMissDiva

I do agree with you I have lost 35 pounds in three weeks because I look at my savings account and the money is no longer there. I am very proud of the weight I have lost and the dedication it takes. Keep it up!

I think it just comes down to we all have different levels of motivation and different obstacles in our paths. I self paid 15,000 plus another 800 or so for other band related medical costs along the way, but I've chosen to not work myself to death to get the weight off fast. I'd rather see it come off slow and steady than stress myself over getting it off quickly (not that everybody who loses quickly is stressing themselves, just that I did obsess over it at first and it stressed me). I've lost 62 pounds, 21 of that was before surgery so in the last 7 months since I got my band I've lost 41 pounds. Slow but I'm tickled pink about it cause I have fibromyalgia and plantar faciitis and without the help of the band I would have lost nothing or gained in that time.

I do agree that it's frustrating to see people fuss about not losing when they openly admit to not following the rules. I freely admit that I make bad choices sometimes because in the past denying myself something has led to binging on the "forbidden" item. I also take full responsibility for the results of the bad choices. My loss has been slow, but my mind is not stressed, I'm happy :tt2: