Anyone else noticing this?

[bigloser2008 0]

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!

[Nanook 2]

I know you're just venting and that's fine, but remember just because someone has insurance doesn't mean that you don't have to pay premiums and copays, nothing is free.

[mulderfamily4 0]

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!

Hello I am 37 and going to be banded on 4/1. I can see your point even though my ins is paying. But I have done so much prep and research I am confident that I will not fall into that category. I was wondering how aside from the obvious hard work you have had such great results?? please share with me.

also what area are you from I am from southern ca. thanks

[Shanyab 0]

You know that not everyone loses the same way. What is your starting weight? How much do you work out? How tall are you? In looking back at your past posts you had 62 lbs lost on the 12th and now up to 73 lbs. I am happy for you, but to say this you really have to put yourself ( info and stats) out there a little more than just saying that people cheat and don't work out enough.

When you take into consideration that every person is different and loses weight at different paces all together it really does not make a difference if the insurance covered it or not.

My surgery covered mine but I will say that it was not free nor was it a minimal cost, In the end this will have cost me over $3000 alone in the last 4 months in between co-pays for each time I come in, psyc stuff, labs, everything that is normally included when you self- pay. Plus with the insurance you have to jump through more hoops than when you self pay. My cardiologist alone made me run almost every single test on my heart including having an angio-gram which cost me over $1000 and I had to see each of my doctors ( 4 of them ) once a month each for the last 6 months for my insurance. Talk about dedication.

Im sure that some will be less than happy to see a post like this on here but hopefully you can take a moment to realize that we all gained weight and lose weight in many different ways.

Edited March 19, 2009 by Shanyab
typos

[bigloser2008 0]

I am sure you will be successful! This has been such a blessing for me.

I know that my weight loss will slow down eventually, but I have been eating mostly Protein (fish, chicken, egg whites, etc) I am really getting sick of fish! Lol!

I have also been exercising at least 5 times a week...sometimes every day if I can drag myself up to the gym. I have a buddy that also has had the surgery and go to they gym together. It is wonderful having someone hold me accountable.

I also write down everything I eat. I noticed that for two weeks I only lost a couple of pounds. I was able to go back to my food journal and see that I had started eating Lean Cuisines. I am assuming they were the reason since everything else was the same. I quit eating those and went back to Protein and fresh fruits and veggies and dropped 6 pounds in a week.

I sincerely wish you luck on this journey. It will change your life!

[ldeere2005 0]

I can understand where you're coming from, in a sense... kinda like going to college... some pay their own way which many times makes you work harder.... and some get scholarships or the parents pay their way... and they party more then they do their work... but, on the other hand.. this is a journey that is going to be different for each one of us. We've all had/have our struggles with our weight and even those who have only lost a few pounds, have still lost! If it's only 1 pound, that's a loss and not a gain like many of us would normally have. I have very good insurance...no dedc't, and it pays 90% of my allowable... I'm blessed to have this insurance due to it would be impossible for me to come up with the payment any other way. But I had to fight tooth and nail to get their approval... and the copay I had to pay up front was $1200.00 and I had to come up with it quick... that was like coming up with $13000.00 for me... but Praise God, I had it the day I needed it and I will be having surgery April 8th!!! I think most people have their concerns that the band won't "work" for them... I've had the same worries... but I've had to change my life and my thinking about food. I have a huge amt to lose... approx 250 pds... and I feel in my heart this is my last chance at life. I not only want to make the best of it, I HAVE to make the best of it! And I started making those changes several months before I had a surgery date.... down 19 pds and I'll start my liquid diet next Monday. We've just all gotta remember that we are worth this!!! We are worth whatever we have to put into this whether financial, physical, or mental! And we can do it! Congrats on your weight loss!! That is so awesome!!! You just keep going and remember that whether you pay $300.00 a month or not, this is for you and you are worth it!!!

[bigloser2008 0]

To be honest, I forgot about the fact that sometimes it can take months to get insurance approval. I attended the lap band seminar on a Saturday and was having my surgery the next week.

Whether I have to pay $300 or $3,000 a month...I still wouldn't change a thing.

[wstorms 2]

I myself am a self-pay, but I have a friend that her insurance covered the cost. We are both VERY committed to this journey, regardless of how it was paid for.

I do wonder sometimes why people post certain things. I guess like the OP, they want to vent as well. Like the OP when I don't lose I start looking at what I have eaten and then adjust what I need to get the weight coming off again.

I realize that even when someone has an insurance that covers the surgery, unfortunately mine did not, there are out of pocket fees......but almost $14,000 worth....NOT LIKELY!

This all boils down to everyone is different and everyone handles things differently. Some self payers are very serious about following all of the lapband rules for success and some are not. Just like some that have insurance cover the surgery follow all the rules and some don't.

Everyone reacts to things differently.

[sexylips 1]

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.

I MYSELF WAS SELF PAID I PAID A TOTAL OF 17,000 DLLS. I THINK THAT YOUR COMMENT IS VERY IGNORANT.:cursing::ohmy:

[maddy 0]

Im a self pay slow loser...sad but true.

[El Diablo 1]

I am digging this thread:biggrin::ohmy::biggrin:

[El Diablo 1]

There used to be a guy...scratch that genius, who conducted a scientific poll on this very subject. His name was Dan and he was somewhat of a hero of mine as well as for thousands of others on the forum. Check the wisdom here ....

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f84/have-you-noticed-87126/

[lellow 1,713]

I was covered by insurance, and I'm definitely not a slow loser. So yes, I think it may be an over-generalisation to associate how you pay with whether you're successful.

[maestrita 43]

For real, Nanook. I pay in excess of 15,000. a year for my insurance for my family, and it did not cover my surgery. I would hardly call insurance free. If it were, millions of my countrymen wouldn't be without it at this very moment.

It's my opinion that coming here to vent about the other people who are reaching out for support is inappropriate, and it is hurtful. Haven't we, as patients suffering from obesity, suffered enough criticism already? There are lots of physiological, gender/hormone-related, psychological, genetic, cultural, and lifestyle factors that contribute to obesity. To simplify obesity and weight loss issues would be ignorant and uneducated on my part. Having paid both for the insurance and the surgery, I am really motivated to educate myself on these issues. I wouldn't want to be a hypocrite.

Yeah, I know, this is a lot more than two cents from me, but just one final thought....If one has not ever plateaued in his/her weight loss efforts, I'd say that person is speaking prematurely and has yet to struggle at all with losing weight. If it's that easy, why would a person even need the band?

[emurphy 0]

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.