Why I got the band ... weight loss mode ... etc

Our friend, Lap Band Gal, posted a great one about "Why" she got the lap band, and I thought it might be interesting to explain why I got the lap band.
Whereas her post was directed to compare her own experience with choosing between Gastric Bypass, Lap Band, or Gastric Sleeve-- my post is about choosing weight loss surgery.

First, let me get the inevitable competitive nastiness and comparisons out of the way.  I am not here to say any one surgery is the 'better' choice.  I am not a physician, I'm a person with my own long history of weight struggles.
I believe that the recommendation by the surgeon is often informed by the surgeon's experiences, expertise, and personal/ professional position on which surgery is "best" for his or her patients.

Now that I've gotten the "this is surgery is better than THAT surgery" question out of the way (since it is IMPOSSIBLE to answer in a global context... it has to be personalized decision making)... let's talk about my favorite topic: weight loss with the lap band me.
(There's nothing like the strikethrough for a little chuckle!)

My decision making to get the band was not complicated by whether or not to get Gastric Bypass or a Sleeve... those were not options for my particular case.  The only 'option' for me was the Lap Band, and that one was "off label" for me as well.
I was 196 pounds at 5 feet 4 inches when I first decided to go see my surgeon, Dr. Ren.
I was nearing 39 years old at the time, and after a week of trying what usually worked to get some weight off (using vacation time for work for a 'staycation' and exercising hard every day while cutting back on my intake)-- I'd gotten absolutely NOWHERE with my weight.

I was scared and sad.
I cried a lot, and had what I'd term a personal crisis and then a realization that I had to do more and get some help.  That is where my idea of seeing Dr. Ren emerged.

I was fortunate to be working in a position where I could get a fairly immediately appointment (maybe 5 days later) with Dr. Ren-- so I cut to the chase and saw her to discuss my predicament.
I completed the preparatory paperwork for the visit-- and filling out an Excel spreadsheet (my creation) of my weight history-- complete with a graph showing the steady GAIN over the course of my 30's convinced me that something had to be done, all the more.

Dr. Ren immediately understood what was going on with my weight.
She said that while my BMI was not at the level that typically dictated the surgery (I was somewhere around 34, as I recall, and I had NO comorbid conditions,) she saw the pattern and did not think I would ever overcome my weight problem on my own.  I'll emphasize that she said that were I 20 years old, rather than nearing 40, and had I not tried every diet in the book, she'd have sent me to her nutritionist for conservative diet approach.
She also said that she could give me appetite suppressants, but that they would not be extremely effective in the long run.

So, after a brief discussion-- and a wonderful feeling of being understood for me-- WOW, she really got it that I was trying and couldn't DO THIS without more help!!!-- she took out her paperwork for me to sign about having the lap band OFF LABEL.  This means that the FDA had not approved the lap band for people in my weight class. In fact, it is still not approved, and still off label for me...
Remember: the INSURANCE industry, with a bunch of actuaries, is deciding whether or not you or I should have weight loss surgery.

My surgeon absolutely felt it was indicated.
However: the insurance industry thought and thinks that I wasn't fat enough or sick enough (YET) to get the surgery.  I would have needed to have diabetes, high blood pressure, chronic back pain or skin ulcerations... you name it-- something expensive for insurance to treat, in order to justify the large outlay of money that my insurance would need to make for me to have the surgery.

So: I needed to be self-pay.
Being self-pay (to the tune of nearly $15,000) for the surgery smoothed the way for me-- there were no insurance approvals needed, no major waits.  But of course, I had to shell out that large sum.

But I'll tell you, it was and continues to be worth it.
Here I am today, at about 158.8 pounds this am, healthier and more confident than before.  I'm not 'dieting' but living my life.... sometimes it is not easy with the band, but at least I am no longer struggling to figure out HOW TO GET THIS WEIGHT OFF.

Can I get an Amen?

And that is why I got the band.