self-pay: Is it worth it?

[abrouill 0]

Hello All! I am a self-pay potential lap-bander. We tried to refinance our home, didn't work out. Now I am looking at a personal loan through a credit card. It would be approximately $330/month for 60 months. Is it worth it? I am telling my husband that it is similar to a car payment. I am willing to drive my chevy until the wheels fall off to pay for this procedure. Any words of persuasion to tell my husband would be much appreciated! Thanks, Angie

[hopefulmom25 0]

I was completely self-pay too. $18,000 + interest of money we didn't have...

My surgery was a week and a half ago on June 11th...

And it was WORTH IT! This past Wednesday, when I weighed in for my one week since surgery weigh-in, I had lost 20 lbs! I'm now able to wear my wedding ring again, and I feel so much better.

[abrouill 0]

Thanks for the reply hopeful mom. My husband is supportive but hesitant because of the money issue. I completely understand his point of view but I can't help but be desperate for this weight to be part of my past. I feel so selfish. We have one daughter who will be leaving for college next year and two boys at home. Money is always a consideration. I know all will be fine. Wish me luck

[snowbird 2]

We paid for our daughter's surgery, as her insurance didn't pay for it. She had surgery October 2006 in Tijuana, Mexico for $8500 and has lost 127 lb since then. It has turned her life around. We are so happy for her and so glad we decided to do this. After seeing how well she did, my husband and I decided to have the band and both had surgery in October 2007. I have lost 74 lb and my husband has lost 60. We feel so much better and are very happy with our decision.

[Northwest_Nance 0]

I'm a 55-year old divorced woman and I don't have a whole lot of extra money, but I paid for my surgery in May by taking out a loan against my 401K. That was my best option because it's low interest and when I pay it back, I'm paying myself back. I think of it as a car payment too (fortunately I paid cash for my car a couple years ago) and a much better investment than a car!

I've only made two payments so far, so maybe it's a little soon for me to be saying it's worth it.... but I believe it absolutely is. I've lost over 30 pounds in two months. I don't feel hopeless and miserable and desperate anymore. I feel positive and hopeful and happy. I'm already starting to feel a little better from the physical ailments I've been suffering with because of being overweight. I'm making plans for the future, I'm walking through stores looking at cute clothes and actually thinking.... I might be able to have fun clothes shopping again one day. My self confidence and self esteem are already rising. And I still have a long way to go to reach goal.... it can only get better from here.

I've lost 100 pounds three times over the last 20 years (Jenny Craig, low-fat, and Atkins) and I've always gained it back. I know how to lose weight, I don't know how to keep it off. But in recent years I haven't been able to find the strength and discipline and energy to do it one more time. I'm weary of it all. Getting the lap band has helped me find the strength, discipline and energy.... and with every expectation that this time, I'm going to KEEP it off.

When you buy a new car, it depreciates the minute you drive it off the lot. And it loses that new car smell pretty fast too. Long after it's no longer new to you, you're making those payments. I'm expecting that I am actually appreciating with each day, and that the longer I am making those payments, the better and better I'll be getting!

P.S., don't forget the cost is tax deductible too, so you will get some of that money back on your taxes next year!

[Michee 2]

Completely and totally worth the money

I too am self pay. I paid $16k for surgery last August. I took out a line of credit to finance the surgery.

I am going to be putting more expenses on the credit line this August when I get my TT, and again in December when I get my breast lif.t and rhinoplasty.

I am a single woman with a mortgage and a car payment, and all the other expenses that comes with life. Having only one income can be tough at times, but I am so glad I do not have to "negotiate" or "convince" someone how I should spend money.

The lapband is for your health and wellbeing, just like getting lasik eye surgery, hearing aids, etc etc. You will not regret it!

ps I now wear size 8 jeans, hows that for "worth it"

Best of luck on this fantastic journey of self discovery

[allielee 263]

Hi, I just had my lapband done on june 20 and I paid 17,800 self pay. First off it for me was worth it. My hubby would leave me 10-20 dollars every day during the week for lunch while I was at work..so between 50-100 dollars a week just on lunch food then we were going out to eat at least 3 times a week. when we sat down and calculated how much i was spending on food it was actually cheaper for me to pay for the lapband. I am saving money! + i get to write off some of the 17,800 on my taxes.. It definetly was and is worth it. My insurance would pay for the gastric bypass but not the lapband and my hubby said no way to the bypass would rather pay for the safer procedure. I have two teenage daughters who will be going to college soon.. it's tough but worth it.. good luck

[glorybee123 0]

The band is definately worth it but I would re-think putting it on a credit card. You could probably get a much lower interest rate by taking out a personal loan. Good luck whatever you decide!

[slinkymalinky 0]

I'm also paying for the surgery myself, and the best advice I got was from my coworker. When I asked her about whether it was worth it financially, and should I do it...etc..etc...she said "Life is not a dress rehearsal." That really stuck with me. There's no point looking back at your life ten years from now thinking, "I should have...," and "what if?" that's just my two cents. Good luck!

[curlysue 0]

I am a self pay as well and had to borrow to pay for the procedure. I am paying $423 for the next 60 months and it is worth it to me. I was banded April 25th 08, have had 2 fills and am only just starting to lose weight. Even though it is slow, it is SO worth it. Pre banding my weight was always going up, post banding even though not losing right away, my weight stayed the SAME on the scale. That has never happened to me before. Now it is dropping a pound, then another and another and I am thrilled that it is moving in the right direction. I do not care that I am paying all this money each month for the simple reason that this works and in 5 years I will be thinner than I ever was pre banding (at least for more than 5 minutes anyway) To me this is worth it. Not gaining is worth it. I make my lunch now and am not buying new clothes - that equals about what I pay out a month for the surgery. I have some nice "old" clothes that I wore for about 5 minutes and can't wait to fit into again. Anyway, feeling better about myself, having my clothes that were way too tight start to feel comfortable, feeling healthier, is worth every penny. Good luck in your journey!

[Kat817 19]

I went to Mexicali, MX and did not pay nearly as much as some have mentioned, but it was totally self paid. It is impossible to put a monetary amount on the things that being banded have allowed me to do again! I am riding my horse again, and could not count the number of miles under me on the motorcycle, I can swim with my grandkids, in a public pool without embarassment, I can chase them in the yard, I can walk in any room or restaurant without feeling like everyone is staring at me, or wondering if I am again, the biggest person in the room. I am not embarrassed to be introduced to my normal sized DH's co workers. I can shop in most any store around, and find clothes that fit with ease. My knees do not ache with every step. I no longer take a single prescription medication, no more high blood pressure, or high blood sugar, or painful joints, or high cholesterol....

The cost is high yes, but the cost of obesity is too. I would do it again in a heart beat, it was worth every single cent!!

Kat

[ocbreeze4u 0]

Hi again Tracy!

I think self pay is worth it as it has taken me 6 months and two appeals to get approval. At one point I was willing to max out credit cards at a high interest rate or do 100% financing with my doctor's office but my doctor insisted that I be patient and just wait to see if the second/final appeal went through...it was approved.

I am curious....I know in Canada everyone has access to a national health care plan. Do they cover any Gastric Surgeries under any approved circumstances or is it not covered at all? If it is covered then what is the criteria?

Sincerely,

Dawn - 39 years old

Corona, CA

Aetna approved for Lap Band 06/11/2008

And waiting for surgery date

Edited June 22, 2008 by ocbreeze4u

[MacMadame 81]

I think whether or not it is worth it, is going to depend on your outcome. You need to do everything you can to maximize your outcome or it won't be worth it. This means really researching your surgeon, following all the rules and making sure you do all the head work you need to do so you don't sabotage yourself.

Otherwise, you'll end up like some of the people on here who paid big bucks to get banded, then big bucks to get unbanded. Or have only lost a small amount of weight after a year. For those people, I suspect it's totally NOT worth it.

I just found out I will be self-pay. I worked my insurance but it turns out that none of the 3 carriers my company uses covers it because the company excludes it. This isn't what the insurance carriers told me when I called them, but it's turned out to be true, nonetheless.

So I have to work the "is it worth is?" analysis too and I found being self-pay changed the equation for me. It made me less gung-ho for a band and more inclined to get a surgery that doesn't require as much follow up or have as many long-term complications that require re-surgery -- which I'd also have to pay for.

[nan42 2]

If I had it to do over again I would have a sleve it is not much more and no fills. If you get the band make sure you know who is doing your fills. I did not research that so much and the fill place punctured my port after 7 months now I have to pay 4000 to fix it an am wondering if this thing is going to be a money pit for me only 20lbs lost about 19 in tears!!

[slinkymalinky 0]

Hi again,

You know I'm not sure what surgeries are covered in Canada, and it may be different from province to province depending on medical coverage. In Manitoba, I think that gastric bypass is covered, but lap banding is not. don't quote me on that, but I know that the lap band isn't covered.