BRANDYK

Hey, my surgery is scheduled with Dr. Spivak for June 19th, I'm not so patiently counting down the weeks!!!! I've actually been trying to keep myself extra busy at work to make the time go by faster!! lol

Buy a month's worth of sexy lingerie and strut around the house in front of my boyfriend in it, WITH THE LIGHTS ON

Who did you get the financing thru?

YAHOOOOO!! Thanks Betsyjane!!! I just called and they said they'll be holding the pricing probably thru the end of the year!!! I was so worried because if they went back up I'd have to wait another two months to get more money stuck back.

Does anyone know the phone number to the surgicenter?

I called and spoke to one of the ladies in the office and she said that it's the surgicenter that determines whether they can keep that price? She said they basically know on a month to month basis whether the price will be held. Oh, and they won't take a deposit :target: Darn

I posted this as a separate thread but rec'd no replies, so I thought I'd post it here. Hi everyone. I'm planning on having my surgery in 7 weeks by Dr. Spivak. Right now he's offering a price of $12,900. I'm a self pay and I'm scared to death he's going to raise his price before June 15th, when I'll have all the money saved up. I heard his price used to be about $3000 more but he started a special at the beginning of the year this year. Does anyone out there know if they are planning on holding that special price for at least a few more months or so? <!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

I'm curious. How many bandsters doctors had to opt for the full incision instead of doing the surgery the lap method due to their liver being to heavy or big. The though of that FREAKS me out. I have my surgery in 7 weeks.

Ok, as I get closer to my surgery date I panic more and more about stuff. Thanks for allaying my fears a little. I guess if I'm a "good girl" and follow the pre-op diet I don't have to worry

I had to schedule my time off, my surgery is in min June. My boss was kind enough to actually point out that I could use sick time instead of vacation time, because technically I'll be too "ill" to come to work.

Has anyone seen the recent issue of Cosmopolitan magazine? There was an article in there about a girl who had the band. It seemed very informative. The only thing that I read that seemed like it might not be totally correct is she described the pain after surgery as something that feels like mild menstrual cramps? I'm getting my band in 2 months and from what I've read here on the forums, it's NOT like that?

I hope on my one year bandiversarry I have done as well as you!!!

I didn't have a "last straw". I had been living my life resigned to the fact that I'd never date, never marry, never have kids. You just don't put yourself out there when your severely overweight because you fear rejection, and if you don't put yourself out there, you'll never find anyone. Well about a year and a half ago I met my boyfriend, and at first we were just coworkers, and I developed a huge crush on him. He's average size so it NEVER occurred to me he was interested romantically in me at all. Well after two months of being buddies I drunkenly confessed my feelings at a coworker's house warming party and was shocked to find out he felt the same way!! I hadn't dated in almost six years so it was a huge deal to me. Well we are in love and he's the most wonderful thing that could have every happened to me. I have no doubt in my mind or heart he's the man I'll spend my life with. That being said, I started see myself having a future, a long one, with children and a husband. I decided I wanted to not only enjoy my life myself, but be healthy and live as long a life as possible for Chris and for any children we have in the future. Being in love with him has made me see life in a different way. His mother may think I'm too fat and ugly for him, but he thinks I'm beautiful inside and OUT. He's actually a little scared I'm gonna get thin and decide I'm too hot for him and dump him. He's so sweet, he has no idea how much I love him!!!

She's been a dieter her entire life, and she'll go up and down, but she's never been nearly as overweight as I am. I think she really does hate the idea that maybe I'll become a healthy beautiful weight and she'll be the typical "sloppy pudgy soccer mom". I talked to my sister last night and she said I should just write mom a letter telling her how much it hurts me when she says the stuff she does. My mom isn't good with verbal confrontation. She gets defensive and refuses to admit any wrong doing, at all. I'm gonna get a card tonight, and write her a note in it. Keep your fingers crossed!!! Oh, and someone mentioned their mother in law earlier. My future mother in law doesnt' know about the band, and won't ever know as far as I can help it. She's a "kept woman" who doesnt' work, so she exercises three hours a day and likes to tell my boyfriend that since he started dating me he's put on ALL this weight, blah blah blah. Basically hinting that his FAT girlfriend is making him fat. He's only about 15 pounds overweight!! He's just got a little tiny gut, that's all!!! I can't wait to make her eat her words!!

I think you guys are all on the right path. I'm gonna have to decide not to let her bother me or hurt me, or I'm just gonna have to tell her to shut up. Don't get me wrong, I love my mom to death, and we usually have a pretty good relationship, but this issue is making me really almost hate her. I'm miserable in the shape I'm in right now, and I KNOW this isn't the easy way out. After reading posts on here and talking to the people at the Dr's office I know this isn't going to be some walk in the park. I'm still going to have to put a lot of effort into getting healthy, the band is just going to be one of my tools to help me get healthy, a tool no different than the treadmill and tae-bo dvds I just bought!!! Thank you guys so much for all the suggestions, I was starting to think maybe I was being too sensitive but I really don't' think I am

Hey all!!! I decided to do the band two months ago, and have two more months to go before getting it done by Dr. Spivak in Houston. I'm a self pay so I'm saving up. I'm just curious, has anyone else who has had to wait longer than a few weeks knowing they were going to have it done, go on an eating binge? I'm eating WHATEVER I want and pigging out, with the mentality that I'm not going to be able to do that anymore in a few months. I'm like a person on death row having their last meal!!! I've already gained ten pounds in two months and scared I'm gonna gain even more before the surgery. Has anyone else done this?:hungry:

Thanks for all the help guys. I just need to stop looking at every meal as a "last meal" I guess. Even my boyfriend has noticed I eat more than I usually do lately. I already need to lose 105 pounds, I don't want to make it 120 by the time my surgery rolls around!!! I'll have that subway sandwich, it'll be an Italian BMT with everything on it

A friend told me that we can claim the $$ we paid for the band on our tax return (cash paying patients). She said that any amount over 7.5% of our income for year was tax deductable, so we could claim it and get it back. Does anyone else know if that's true?

Thank you so much guys for all the info!!! :welldoneclap:

"Say your AGI is $80,000. To qualify for a medical expense deduction, you'd need to spend more than $6,000 out of pocket. So if you spent $6,010 you'd only get to deduct $10. And that $10 deduction would only reduce your tax liability by $2.50 if you're in the 25 percent tax bracket." Ok, guys, remember you are dealing with a dumb blonde here :welldoneclap: Just one more question. So, does what I just quoted from Wheetsin mean that I would deduct ten bucks from my taxable income or deduct ten bucks from my taxes owed for the year?

So, to make sure I am clear, let's say 7.5% of my income is $2000.00. So, if the band surgery cost me $4000.00, I'd be able to claim $2000.00 of it on my tax return? Also, does that mean I take $2000.00 off my taxable income, or I actually get $2000.00 paid back to me by the IRS?

OMG you guys, I cried reading all of these. I think one of the worst things I have ever experienced is when the SuperBowl was in town in Houston and I went to the "street party" with my mom and sister downtown. My mom and sister are both very thin and beautiful. My mom was walking a little ways ahead of my sister and I, and we were trying not to lose her in the crowd and both started shouting "Mom Mom!!". Well a guy right behind us said to his buddy "can you beleive something that big came out of her?" Referring to my little tiny mom giving birth to my fat behind. I was mortified, and my sister turned around and called him an A-Hole. I cried the rest of the night.

Hey guys, I am going to have to do a self pay, and I don't want to wait a year to save up for my band. The problem is my credit is far from perfect, due to some stupid things I did when I was young. Does anyone know of a financing company or bank that will finance someone with bad credit for a band?

Hey everyone, I started a new job a week ago, and they carry United Healthcare. They exclude weight loss surgery on the plan, BUT they are renewing the plan next week, and discussing the renewal today with the insurance rep. My HR guy was nice enough to ask about adding that option to our plan, he's sympathetic because his wife wants to get banded. I don't know if it costs the company more money to cover this or not. Does anyone know, or has anyone else had to request getting it added to their employer's plan?

they spoke to our rep, and since we are such a small company, according to Texas law, they can't add it in, or something like that. Basically the company won't pay for the add on I think. So, I guess I'll be saving up for a couple years.