Am I the only one who is paying cash?

[DEE-JAY 0]

Hi I am also self pay $15.500 which includes FREE fills for life. I did my homework before chooseing a surgeon because i was self pay. I found Journey Lite of Thousand Oaks California Dr Billy. He and his staff are great. I have also found that there are more Journey Lite facilitys across the nation. As far as the free fills go i dont know if all Journey Lite facilitys honor that. I was scared also. My weight lose has been very slow. I averege a pound a week. The good part is i am not gaining weight. Anyway Congradulations on your new life. just do your homework on your surgeon and i hear that the fills are very costly. My BMI is also low. They say that is why my weight lose is slow going. i will get my next fill next week. i have good restriction but can use more to get to my sweet spot. One pound a week for a year will be almost my goal. Good Luck

[tarheelladybug 0]

Hi!

I was banded Sept 19 in Tijuana, Mexico by Dr. Corvala. I paid $7250 for the new band from J and J and my fee includes a full year of fills. This covered everything except the flight tickets! I was treated very well and stayed in the beautiful Hospital Angeles. I had a lot of misgivings about going out of the country and even considered canceling at the last moment. I'm glad I went ahead and am doing great, even though I am one of the oldies. Be sure and investigate everything wherever you go and know what the fee includes and what it doesn't. I'll be rooting for you!

:clap2:

[OregonHolly 0]

I'm self pay too. I get an employee discount (work at the hospital as a nurse) so my cost is around $15,500. It includes 4 month membership at the local health club with coaching from an exercise physiologist; a year of fills; all the lab work, hospital costs, anesthesia, support group for life, etc.

It was a killer to cough up the money, but hey I figure if I am healthier I can work 4 months longer beyond some future "retirement" and will earn it all back. And meanwhile, I'll have the life I've wanted for so long. Totally worth it. I didn't have to take out a loan (I had savings) but I'd do it in a heartbeat.

[kcintx 0]

<p>I'm paying cash, going to Monterrey Mexico, Dr. Rambaut. $8900. doesn't include air fare.. I'll get the fills in Houston area, if not I'll go back to him. I won't get banded until January,2008... I'm nervous as heck and know that my life will change. I love to eat, but I don't want to be fat for the rest of my days on earth!!</p>

[nancyp 0]

I'm from Canada...my insurance doesn't pay for it either. I payed $16,000 and fills/follow-up are covered for 5 years.

Nancy

[Big As Life 0]

My insurance would not pay, so I did...$15,000.00 and worth every penny...I would do it again tomorrow...all my fills are paid for the first year....

[jessiel55 0]

Hello everyone!!!!

I'm also new and self pay, cannot afford the surgery in the US, so I'm looking in to a couple of surgeons in Mexcico, I'm nervous and frustrated at the same time, I don't know if this is normal but I'm taking my time to make the best decision.

[kcintx 0]

I did some research, Mexico is fine. The clinic will pick me up at the airport, get me back/forth to hospital/hotel.. The contact is in USA and they are great people. I've started incorp liquid meals in my daily eating. So I can get use to the idea of 'drinking' the meal, instead of chewing.

[annabellapeekin 0]

You are not alone. I don't have health insurance so I never thought wls would happen for me. My brother is giving me either surgery as a "gift of life" - he is the best. I'm scared to death of dying too especially if I go with gastric bypass. I'd hate for him to pay all that money only for me to die in the process. That would scar him for life.

[godzgurl75 0]

I also am self pay.....my insurance would cover but they wanted 2 yrs of medically supervised diet.....I didn't want to be fat and a health risk for 2 more years....I pd....$15,000 and that is everything from pre-op consults to the suregery and everything that goes with that....plus all of my aftercare and 1 yr of fills. I will be banded on October 24th and very excited.

[wilem 0]

Paid $15,444 plus $125 for my psych eval. My fills are free for a year. No regrets. Heck...I want to live longer. Who can put a price on that?????</p>

[annabellapeekin 0]

But you know what? I'm not going to worry about that now. What's the point? Would I stay fat just to avoid possible PS? That would be idiotic. I have already told myself that when I get within about 40 lbs of whatever goal I decide, I have to be there for at least one year before I get PS. I want to see what my body will do on it's own. Then that gives me a year to investigate surgeons and save money. Just work on the now. The Band is the first step in a long journey.

This part of your quote is something I needed to read. I am projecting so far into the future myself and wonder what I'm going to do w/ all the skin, etc. I wonder if I will look older because I won't have fat in my face to fill out the wrinkles *lol* I need to get a firm grip on the fear that is controlling me and trying to throw up *self imposed* road blocks. Shoot, I haven't even decided which surgery is best for me yet!

[cookielover 1]

I am a self-pay- it isn't my favorite thing to pay for, but I figured I got myself into this mess...I'd better get myself out of it.

[MC Cindy 0]

My parents made me the offer to pay for the surgery. I live in Canada and insurance does not pay for the surgery. It was $16,000 canadian and I get lifetime fills. Without the financial assistance from family I would have never been able to afford this. I had surgery over a week ago and I am looking forward to a new chapter in my life.

[lonestar5212 0]

I am new to all this too, and am going the insurance "jump through hoops" routine, BUT if they say no, I will definitely be self-pay. It took me a long time (2 years since I first started thinking about this) to make this decision, but now that it is made, nothing will stop me.