alegna242 1 Posted February 21, 2009 .........I'm starting to feel like a broken record was looking into Dr. Alanis (Houston) called his office asked the woman who answered the phone of they take Care Credit, yes she said. Dr. Alanis is $9800.....Emailed his office with some questions and I get this back- "Unfortunately the facility that we are affiliated with for that price does not accept Care Credit. The facility that does accept Care Credit is our Sugarland Hospital and their price for the band all included is $12,100" Thanks, just wasted my time- So, back to the drawing board- TLC Edge is in Dallas, is $9990. I live around Houston. Will go there if needed but there HAS TO BE someone in this area for around 10G that takes Care Credit? So, asking my fellow self-payers in Texas- what did you pay? I'm hoping someone in the Houston area will reply. Am I missing a Dr.? Why is Houston so much more expensive than Dallas?!?!?! (((((((((((I know I shouldn't be fixating on price, I know Mexico is cheaper, Thanx)))))))))))) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tiffanygrace 0 Posted February 21, 2009 Hi. Im from Houston and was self pay. I also used care credit. I went with Dr. Spivak but I payed 12,900. I decided to use him because of his experience and office staff are very supportive and are always there for anything you need. When looking at price you need to see what it covers as far as fills, dietician, etc. Hospitals do charge very different prices. I first looked into garth davis and it was going to be around 16,000 because methodist hospital is more expensive. Im not sure why dallas is less, but I have heard that. Just make sure you know what comes along with price you are getting. Fills can be expensive so you want to make sure they are included (since they contribute to much of the success). My price included unlimited fills for a year. Let me know if you have any other questions. I was just banded 3 days ago. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hppy2bme 0 Posted February 21, 2009 know your in Houstong area but have you tried Corpus Christi? it's only like 3 1/2 -4 hrs away? Try calling Dr. Glenn Griffin or Dr. Jimie Owsley they both do banding. .........I'm starting to feel like a broken record was looking into Dr. Alanis (Houston) called his office asked the woman who answered the phone of they take Care Credit, yes she said. Dr. Alanis is $9800.....Emailed his office with some questions and I get this back- "Unfortunately the facility that we are affiliated with for that price does not accept Care Credit. The facility that does accept Care Credit is our Sugarland Hospital and their price for the band all included is $12,100" Thanks, just wasted my time- So, back to the drawing board- TLC Edge is in Dallas, is $9990. I live around Houston. Will go there if needed but there HAS TO BE someone in this area for around 10G that takes Care Credit? So, asking my fellow self-payers in Texas- what did you pay? I'm hoping someone in the Houston area will reply. Am I missing a Dr.? Why is Houston so much more expensive than Dallas?!?!?! (((((((((((I know I shouldn't be fixating on price, I know Mexico is cheaper, Thanx)))))))))))) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olie1964 0 Posted February 21, 2009 I went with journey lite of Houston, Dr. Collier. I liked him and his staff. They do accept Care Credit but the price was 12,500, but that includes the fills for a year, dietician, counselor, and doctor visits for a year. I ended up getting a personal loan because of the lower interest rate. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alegna242 1 Posted February 22, 2009 Hi. Im from Houston and was self pay. I also used care credit. I went with Dr. Spivak but I payed 12,900. I decided to use him because of his experience and office staff are very supportive and are always there for anything you need. When looking at price you need to see what it covers as far as fills, dietician, etc. Hospitals do charge very different prices. I first looked into garth davis and it was going to be around 16,000 because methodist hospital is more expensive. Im not sure why dallas is less, but I have heard that. Just make sure you know what comes along with price you are getting. Fills can be expensive so you want to make sure they are included (since they contribute to much of the success). My price included unlimited fills for a year. Let me know if you have any other questions. I was just banded 3 days ago. Do you mind telling me what your monthly payment is? You can PM me. I know care credit's website used to do their payment calc. based on a interest rate of 11.XX % now it says 13.XX %. I am curious what your payment is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tropicana 0 Posted February 26, 2009 Do you mind telling me what your monthly payment is?You can PM me. I know care credit's website used to do their payment calc. based on a interest rate of 11.XX % now it says 13.XX %. I am curious what your payment is. I'm curious to know this as well...if you can send me a message. Alegna, not to be too personal, but how is your credit. I'm graduating from grad school and my credit is not so great. I wonder if I should start now to clear all debts before I apply in December. And how long does approval take? Do they accept a cosigner? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ladydiana 0 Posted February 26, 2009 Hi, I am from Dallas, and was self pay. Dr. Gonzales at Medcail City Dallas is who did my surgery for 9500. I think he takes care credit. He does his surgery in Plano and a surgery center. This includes 4 fills. He does require that you get your heart checked and Physic visit. I do have insurance that paid for those visits. My BMI was not high enough for insurance to cover it. So once I saw him, I had a surgery date with in a couple of weeks. I am 4 weeks post op and have had no problems. I get my first fill in March. At this point I don't feel like I have had surgery. Hope this helps. Diana Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alegna242 1 Posted February 26, 2009 I'm curious to know this as well...if you can send me a message. Alegna, not to be too personal, but how is your credit. I'm graduating from grad school and my credit is not so great. I wonder if I should start now to clear all debts before I apply in December. And how long does approval take? Do they accept a cosigner? I have no problem telling you what my credit situation is, besides, I've been asking others to let me know! Although I have not gotten my FICO score in a couple of years- I was told by by another surgery loan place that my score is 705- So, not bad, not the best though in my opinion. Care Credit approved me in like 3 minutes flat- I was surprised. I actually started a thread on here right after that on here saying- it was so fast- is it true? Yep. Got my card in about a week- even called them and asked them to raised it from my initial request of $8000 to $9000- no problem. But, my card is still sitting in my wallet- I'm gutless. I guess I can't know exactly what payments I'll have until I take the plunge. but I still ask on here. I dunno- I want to get some other things paid off before hand, I think by my b-day (May) I'll be ready. Hope this helps! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
olie1964 0 Posted February 26, 2009 I got a 6.35% interest rate with my payments at $400 a month. If your credit is not great then getting someone to cosign would probabally help. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HolllieD 0 Posted February 26, 2009 Hi, I was banded Feb 20, and I used Dr. Manuel Castro. I went through the TLC Edge clinic in Dallas.. it was 9,990 and they took care credit. I don't know if this will help, but Im about an hour and a half from the clinics so when I called them they got all of my appointments done in one day. I spent all day that Friday doing exams and meeting with my surgeon. I have a 10 month old and I just cannot make that many trips to a dr's office. They had me scheduled for surgery the following Friday and all is well so far. I know its a good way from Houston but maybe if they could schedule all of your appt's in the same day it wouldn't be so bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tropicana 0 Posted February 26, 2009 Alegna, thanks! You're awesome. I have no idea what my FICA score is but I'm going to get it all tightened up in the next few months. i plan to get this surgery by the end of this year in Dallas through TLCEdge. @Hollie.when you said you got all your appointments on the same day, what were the appointments for? And in that week before the surgery, does TLC make you do a liquid diet or anything? Also, are there TLCEdge support groups? i'd like to attend one to get a feel for them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HolllieD 0 Posted February 27, 2009 I had to go to the TLC clinic to have a "course" on lapband.. just going over some Q&A. The did a physical, EKG, blood work, urinalysis, and I met with their dietician. Then they sent me to meet my surgeron. He had me on liquids for one weeks, but I was able to have one Southbeach-ish meal a day. I didn't have alot I had to do b/c I am not extremely overweight, I'm young, and I have no health problems/risks. I think there are support groups and seminars, but I've got a 10 month old and going to things like that are out of the question for me. Hope this helps. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alegna242 1 Posted February 28, 2009 I got a 6.35% interest rate with my payments at $400 a month. If your credit is not great then getting someone to cosign would probabally help. 6.35% With Care Credit? $400 a month payments for how long? man, 6.35% is GOOD! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alegna242 1 Posted February 28, 2009 Hi, I was banded Feb 20, and I used Dr. Manuel Castro. I went through the TLC Edge clinic in Dallas.. it was 9,990 and they took care credit. I don't know if this will help, but Im about an hour and a half from the clinics so when I called them they got all of my appointments done in one day. I spent all day that Friday doing exams and meeting with my surgeon. I have a 10 month old and I just cannot make that many trips to a dr's office. They had me scheduled for surgery the following Friday and all is well so far. I know its a good way from Houston but maybe if they could schedule all of your appt's in the same day it wouldn't be so bad. I'm definitely keeping TLC Edge in mind- Dallas is a bit far- I just can't help but think there is got to be someone around here for their price! Let us know how you are doing HollieD! Also, did your pre-banding tests come with that price? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alegna242 1 Posted March 17, 2009 Well, for anyone that is reading this- I went to Dr. Spivak's seminar on Saturday- Very informative. Of course he is on the higher $ide. One of my main concerns is future follow ups and if there is any complications. He did state- that there is NO charge from him if there is a complication, however there would be a charge for the hospital, but reduced, he said about $850 per day. And if there was surgery involved the anaesthetic etc.I don't think he'd bold face lie to 20-25 people- THAT, shocked me. I think I found my Dr. Since he's a bit more then I was hoping for I am going to continue to put this off and $ave,$ave,$ave. Wish me luck. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites