I was watching the local news the other night and they did a story on how the FDA is considering "lowering the standards" for people to be able to get the lapband.
I guess I'm impartial. On one hand, it would have been nice to have this "option" years ago, but at the same rate, I had to work my ass off and jump through every last hoop to get my insurance to approve my band, and now to be able to say, "Oh, well I'm 40lbs overweight I should be able to get weight loss surgery bar none".
America is chalk full of obese and morbidly obese people, but I dont think they are putting in all of the thought that this ISNT a magic tool. Is it going to get to the point where people might be 20-30lbs overweight and assume this will be the cure all?
I dont want to say I dont think this is right, because yes, everyone deserves a chance, but at the same rate would people be more willing to pack on a few more pounds to get this? It almost reminds me of having to spend $100 to save $10, and when you are $12 short you'll pay that $12 + just to save that $10. *shrugs*
For my lap band ladies, thoughts?
I had a BMI of 34 and had to pay for the surgery with cash, a lot of cash. I am happy to see that the FDA is acknowleding that all obese people should have the chance to have insurance cover this surgery provided all other avenues of weight loss have been exhausted. I am sure there have been many instances of people gaining a few lbs to get to the magic 40 bmi and we may well see that with people going from 29 to 30. Its not going to change.
ReplyDeleteI'm torn... I am glad that they are willing to admit that obesity is a serious problem in this country and that the lapband is a tool that could help cure the "disease" but the magic wand syndrome is a serious one. Any statistically it is not helpful for people to get the band and not work with it... In the long run, it will look as if it is not helpful to enhance weight loss... We are all guilty of "Cheating" the band results but if we overdo it, essentially we know... It is our success not the band's alone. People who continue to make food choices as they did pre-band... are failing their band, their band's not failing them. But you still get these people who claim "the band didn't work for me while swallowing a hamburger and drinking soda"... Have those days... but have more of the healthy ones... and you will succeed.
ReplyDeleteI am up in the air about this one. On one hand, if I was able to get the lap band years ago, it would have prevented me from hitting a high of 272 and probably saved me a lot of money over the years. However, at the same time, I wonder if people who are lookign for a quick fix and not really understanding the commitment they are making will cause it to have a higher "failure" rate as they are not ready to put in the work that a band requires. Hmmmm....good topic!
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