kimcal

I found out that my insurance will only cover band removal, which leaves me with a large amount to self-pay for my revision to the sleeve. I was wondering what companies, if any, any of you have used to finance surgery. I'm not sure how to go about finding someone, and my doctor's office wasn't that helpful. Thanks!

I am like many of you on here, struggling with my lapband. I had my first surgery in 2006. I was a low BMI bandster, and lost all of my excess weight within 9 months. After about 6 months, though, the problems started - getting stuck, not being able to eat any "healthy" foods at all, etc. I had so many bad "stuck" experiences, even with a totally empty band, that I ended up getting a revision to the AP band in 2008. I had no slip, but did have a large hiatal hernia that was repaired at that tim. I have had pretty much the same issues with this band, but unfortunately have gained back most of what i had lost, too. I can barely eat, can never find a sweet spot with fills/unfills, and find myself turning to frozen yogurt and "easy" foods. I still band-throw-up almost every day, even when I don't have a ton of Fluid. My band is so inconsistent - some days I can eat a "normal" meal, but most days, I can't get down anything. I find myself always making sure that I have Soup, oatmeal, Cereal, or Protein shakes on hand because that's pretty much all that I can eat. I am trying to tell myself that this is not my fault, but I do feel like a failure. I am now seriously considering revision to a sleeve, but of course I have a ton of fears and anxiety. My insurance will only cover band removal, so I will have to self-pay for the sleeve (my BMI isn't that high, around 29 or so). I am scared to death that I'll have some major complication, or that it won't work again. If there were some major complication, I'd wonder to myself why I can't just be okay with being overweight. If it doesn't work and I don't lose, or worse, gain weight, I'll wonder why I spent $15,000 on this. On top of all that, I would like to start trying to get pregnant in the next 6 months. Have any of you gone through pregnancy with the sleeve? How long after revision would I need to wait before getting pregnant? I am going to see a surgeon here in Austin to further discuss all my questions, but just wanted to see what other thoughts are out there. This is a big, scary step.