Overweight and desperate

[soontobelovely 0]

I am 50lbs overweight and i tried everything to lose it on my own. Are there any doctors that will band me with a bmi of 30? I am willing to travel and pay cash.

Signed,

desperate

[RestlessMonkey 7]

You can probably find someone who is money-hungry enough to charge you to do it. However..often "bandsters" only lose 35-50 percent of their excess weight. Would you pay thousands and go through all this just to lose 25 pounds (or less?) I do not mean to be a snob, a downer, or to belittle how miserable I'm sure you are. BUT...there are probably less expensive ways to get you where you want to be, that are better for you and will give you more success.

[39andholding 0]

Something I have considered... I am pretty sure I could lose 50 of the 100 lbs I need to lose BUT can I keep it off? Obviously not, as I've been between 140 and 190 for ten years. Just keep yo-yo-ing since I eat too much.

The insurance guidelines are usually 35-40+ BMI. If you self-pay, I'm not sure if/what the regs are.

Good luck!

[Nannens 0]

Although I have much more to lose than you, I know the feeling of not knowing what else to do. I know when I was in California 2 weeks ago, there were billboards everywhere around LA offering lap band if you had 50 pounds or more to lose. I don't know if most Doctors recommend getting banded with such a low BMI, but if you are committed, I think anything is possible. Good luck! I would Google lap band in California.

[soontobelovely 0]

You guys have been very kind to respond. I am still desperate and would do anything to lose this weight!!!!

[sms1964 0]

I can imagine that you are frusterated. I've been over weight for years, some years more than others ! But when I started this journey, I found out that my ins required a bmi of >40, and "luckily" mine was 41 or 42. Just over the limit. I too would have been devistated if I was told that I was not "fat" anough. Its a struggle to loose 10 lbs and keep it off, I know. But I assume that the ins companies have the the limits because they figure that over your life time (or while you have that insurance) it is cheaper to do this surgery than to pay for the tests, and drugs to treat the results of obesity. If I were you, and you really want to self-pay, keep searing for a dr willing to do it. If its hard for you to loose weight and you keep gaining (and with the older you get the harder it is to loose) in 5 years or so you could be 100lbs overweight, so I say keep searching. Don't give up. You don't want a 40+ bmi in a few years. Keep us posted.

[*Love* 2]

I was banded by Dr Yau 11 months ago. He is in Toronto, Ontario & it cost me $18,000. I believe his recession price is now $16,000.

I had 45lbs to lose & I hit goal 2 months ago. I think the worry about only losing a percentage is less applicable to those of us starting at lowers weights, but still wanting to get healthy & breath normally too.

[karen_karen 0]

i think if you want to get banded then go for it. but you also got to realize that its a life changing procedure you still have to eat the right way and you also have to excerise. one thing i noticed that has been helping me is maybe try the bodybugg. with the amount you have to lose it might just be worth it. its like 250 bucks on ebay and it helps you find out how many calories you burn throughout the day and also you can input your food intake to see how many calories you are actually burning. you can go to www.bodybugg.com to read more about it. i know 18 grand or even 16 grand is alot so maybe try that first another idea is maybe you want to look into Mexico since alot are self pay there and they will prob band you with your bmi being 30.

i know it can be hard those last 30 lbs will always be the hardest to lose and it will be important to lose it with excerise and the right foods. so when you or if you do get banded remember dont get discourage and just think about how you are going to get there with a game plan.

[ksk 0]

I know it's not for everyone, but you can do it out of the US. Like Mexico... Many people have had extremely positive experiences there. Albeit, the thought of "MEXICO" is very scary... I have a BMI of 31 where I have been struggling with my weight my entire life. I should be at least 60 lbs lighter, and sure - I could go back and forth for another 20 years loosing & gaining, but I'm done with the yo-yo'ing. So I'm having it done in June - Yes, in Mexico... US standards consider me "Obese", just not "Morbidly Obese" which is why I'm crossing the border! Good luck -

[debbie_7155 0]

good luck with finding a good surgeon, like others have said on here it doesnt really matter how much you've got to lose its the keeping it off bit is the hardest & with the banding you should be able to do that, it would be such a shame to throw your money on other gimmic things that are not going to work for you you & end up putting more weight on & then having to pay to be banded later down the line..

[soontobelovely 0]

The words of advice and encouragement have been so very appreciated. I think that my final descision is to get banded out of the US.

KSK,

can you tell me what doctor in Mexico you chose and the cost?

[ksk 0]

I'm not sure if they'll band at BMI of 30 or 31. But check them out: Lap Band Surgery in Mexico - Dr. Ariel Ortiz at the Obesity Control Center

But the price with them is in the range of $7,500. Let us know how it goes!

[soontobelovely 0]

Thanks Again Everyone

[ClaudiaJ 0]

I think you better ask a surgeon for any recommendation or any solution to your problem. You prefer to get it done in Mexico? Aside from the site mentioned above, you can also try this one: My plastic surgery in Mexico, Tummy Tuck in Mexico, liposuction in Mexico, affordable plastic surgery, cheap plastic surgery cost. I hope you'll be able to find an answer to your problem. Good luck.

[Jachut 487]

You can probably find someone who is money-hungry enough to charge you to do it. However..often "bandsters" only lose 35-50 percent of their excess weight. Would you pay thousands and go through all this just to lose 25 pounds (or less?) I do not mean to be a snob, a downer, or to belittle how miserable I'm sure you are. BUT...there are probably less expensive ways to get you where you want to be, that are better for you and will give you more success.

Yet there's credible evidence that the band works much much better for lighter patients than it does for heavier. If anyone is going to lose 100% of their excess weight, which MANY have done, then it is more likely to be a patient who had a lower BMI in the first place.

So so many reasons for this. Ability to exercise for starters. Less obstacles to overcome, sometimes less headwork to do when you havent endured years of huge obesity and your eating habits havent declined to the same point. Easier ability to find good restriction and experience less problems when you dont have the same amount of fat around your internal organs in the first place. Also, anyone who's been fat probably believes their body has a set point that it likes to stay at - I know that amazingly, I plateaued out at every weight that I'd held for a long time on the way up, it was freakish. Personally I believe that once you have predisoposed your body to fatness it will be a lifelong struggle, and better that you're fighting a 50lb weight problem than a 150lb one.

In fact its been discussed on here many times that the more you have to lose, the less likely it is that you will lose it ALL.

I went for a fill the other day and there was posters up (Prof. O'Brien's clinic) about a study being undertaken on lower BMI patients for exactly this reason - to confirm what is generally believed on this topic. In Australia, given the right history, you can be banded at a BMI of 30 and you dont have to go out of the country or go self pay or anything, our medical system will cover it.

As a lower BMI patient myself, I couldnt encourage more strongly that WLS surgery is a sensible and effective option before you get morbidly obese and ill. So much better to get this in control before you face the issues of serious obesity. So much easier.

Edited April 24, 2009 by Jachut