Self-payers

[outside*looking*in 0]

Wow Hummingbird - that was FAST!!!! I was thinking I was trying to get it too quick in Jan. I guess it all depends on how busy your doctor is. I know when I called about setting up an appointment for consultation I could have got in that week so it may move quicker than I expect.

I have to get my husband to take time off work just so I can go to appointments (we just moved here and have no one we know well enough yet).

I really do want to wait until after the holidays though. I don't want my family to put up with me and my "bandster hell" during the holidays.

A couple of months is fine for me.:biggrin:

[KikiVal315 4]

i was self pay as well, went to mexico to get it done. i believe if you get surgery here in the states or somewhere else, no matter what the fees are, its totally worth EVERY SINGLE PENNY!!!! it changed my health for the best. i don't regret anything except for like most, not doing this sooner.

[ashleyw889 0]

I would think it wouldn't take very long if you are self pay. I started out trying to get insurance to pay for it. I fought that battle for several months. I think as long as you don't have to jump through all of the hoops that the insurance companies make you do, you should be able to have the surgery pretty quick.

[starmlm16 0]

I had my consult with the Doctor and three weeks later was going in for surgery. They could have done it a week after my appointment but I needed to get my work all lined up so I could be off for a week.

Self-pay was and is scary but it was definitly worth it. I had my 10 year high school reunion in July and I was not worried about what people thought becuase I was feeling so good with the weight loss I already had. I don't think I would have gone if I was still at my highest weight.

I just thought of self-paying as getting a car in my body. I will not be getting one until I pay this off but I bet I look really hot in that new car when I get it!!:biggrin:

[hking 0]

Thanks for starting this discussion. I havent been banded yet, but my surgery date is Jan. 13th.

I am double covered by very good insurance but the insurances/pharmacutical would rather make money off you for long term care verses being preventative. Very frustrating.

Both my husband and I make good money but with raising two little 6 year old and all their expenses :biggrin: I took a loan from my 401K.

Here in Oregon, the surgery will cost 23,000. Which includes an extra insurance the clinic offer for 2yrs and a year follow ups and fills with the Dr.. The insurance is called BLIS. BLIS covers anything about the band, if one has to have surgery because of slippage, erosion, port problems, etc...But the draw back is they only offer up to 24 months..

I have been utilizing my insurance with the labs, sleep study, etc...

I am also very worried something down the road after the 2yrs will happen. But I am looking forward to the new journey.

Heather:)

[paracelsus51 0]

I contacted the Dr.'s office in March and got a June date. That was more because of my scheduling. I think two weeks was the minimum. I had to have a phone consult and a nutrition appointment. I was going out of state, so both were by phone. The psych consult was not required. My insurance would not have covered that anyway. Everything was included in one price.

I will not be buying anything, except new pants for the next few years to pay for this, but it is worth it. Once I get my meds down, I won't be really paying much more per month. The downside is that if there are problems, my insurance won't cover it, but I can't be refused medical treatment based upon my ability to pay. I am hoping that if something goes awry (actually, I am hoping nothing goes awry), it's either minor, or I can qualify for the income adjustment.

[outside*looking*in 0]

Just made the appointment for my consultation. It is this Friday. Whoohooooo! Finally the ball is rolling, may be slow, but at least it is rolling.

Are there any questions you had wished you had asked during consult but didn't? I want to ask anything I can (especially since I am forking out $295 for the consult):w00t:

[TN_girl21 1]

I am a self pay. Well, actually my loving mother is doing this for me. This surgery is costing me $14,900. You have to pay another $1,000 if you haven't had an Upper GI done in the last 6 months (luckily, I have though)! I waited exactly one week from seminar to consultation. My consultation was today. I chose my surgery date, and it is December 30!! No pre op diet required because I am so young and don't have a lot of health problems (Just have PCOS). I know that I in the long run I won't feel bad asking my mom for this because I will be thin, in much better help and able to give my mom grandchildren!

[justme6055 0]

I am a self-payer also. While it was a good chunk of $$, I do not regret it t all. I was banded on 11/6/09 and just starting my journey. :redface:

[GalleyGal 26]

Hi everyone, it's so nice to see that there are so many of us self-payers. I had my first consultation on Oct. 19 and found out that the company I work for as a WLS exclusion on our insurance so that was out from the beggining. I still set my surgery date and figured I would figure it out before then. Through many prayers and an amazing mother and grandmother, I had surgery Nov. 5. I am so happy I did it. Now it's time to worry about paying back the 2 small loans I got and the money I borrowed from my grandma, but I know with God I will be able to get it done. I'm 2 weeks post-op and sooooo happy I did this. I have already lost 13lbs, and I'm looking forward to the contiued weight loss I know is going to come.

My mom was banded about 5 years ago and ended up having severe problems, her dr was horrible and didn't really care that she couldn't keep anything down (she would throw up everything that she tried to eat) since she didn't have insurance. After about a year of pain, vomiting, and just not doing good, she finally found a dr that would help her. She had a slipped band, and part of her stomach died, so they HAD to do the sleeve. I'm not saying this to scare anyone, but if you ever have a problem please get it checked out. By that time she had insurance so the dr went in and took out her gall bladder and did the sleeve, and since he took the gall bladder it was covered. After all that she doesn't regret getting banded, and is very happy and supportive that I made the decision to do this.

Good luck to everyone else here!! It would be great to have a self payers forum to vent about our money problems since this is a very expensive, life changing experience.

[OverBeingFat 0]

Mark me down as another self-pay. In Oct. of last year, I had been laid off from my job. Thankfully even though the economy was in the toilet, I was able to find another job with the same week. Since I now had access to my 401(k) money, I went for it.

Went to seminar end of Oct. and had surgery 12/16/08. So yes, I went through holiday sore as all get out and not able to eat anything more than Soup. I am also the one that usually hosts Christmas Eve (for about 25, I have a big Italian family), however, not last year. Did it suck getting through holidays? Yes. However, by the time New Year's rolled around, I was feeling back to my normal self.

Head's up on things I wish I knew. I think someone posted that they didn't need to diet before the surgery. Not safe and here's why. If you haven't reduced your carbs to where you are losing weight (doesn't have to be much - only a pound or two), your liver will have the consistency of Jello and it's very easy to tear when they lift to get at your stomach. That's why you see so many people post that their doctors have them start Atkins just before their surgery.

After Surgery: TMI but head's up because nobody warned me. I didn't get the gas pains after surgery but nobody told me you won't be able to er, um, crapulate for about a week or so. Being pretty regular, that did freak me out a little. :thumbup:

Also, I went through MONTHS of bandster hell. It took no less than 5 fills before I started feeling any restriction at all (my fills were every three weeks). So for the first four months, I didn't lose anything. Then in April, I started not only feeling restriction, but I started working out (Zumba) 3x a week. Since April, I've dropped 60lbs and have 20lbs to go.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

[XxMariposaxX 1]

Head's up on things I wish I knew. I think someone posted that they didn't need to diet before the surgery. Not safe and here's why. If you haven't reduced your carbs to where you are losing weight (doesn't have to be much - only a pound or two), your liver will have the consistency of Jello and it's very easy to tear when they lift to get at your stomach. That's why you see so many people post that their doctors have them start Atkins just before their surgery.

After Surgery: TMI but head's up because nobody warned me. I didn't get the gas pains after surgery but nobody told me you won't be able to er, um, crapulate for about a week or so. Being pretty regular, that did freak me out a little. :thumbup:

I too will be a self-pay but am still fighting to get my insurance to cover SOME of the $16,000 cost. There is an exclusion in my company's insurance policy for weight loss surgeries. According to what the docs state, a hospital stay is covered for ELECTIVE surgery so, I feel that if I am electing to have the lap-band surgery, shouldn't the hospital portion be covered?! I am still going through the pre-surgical testing portion of the surgery because my surgeon requires that and honestly.. that's fine with me. My PCP has been writing all of the necessary referrals for me so the insurance will cover those tests. What I don't understand at all is.. why would my insurance co pay for the consult with the surgeon but have an exclusion for weight loss surgery, (my surgeon is the head of the bariatric surgery center and this is all he does)???

Over, I want to thank you for making me laugh and introducing me to a new word "crapulate". Also, you gave me some VERY good information.

Another point to make and question.. does anyone know about the tax breaks for surgery and how exactly that works? I keep on hearing something about 7.5% of your income but I don't know anything about taxes.

[GalleyGal 26]

Another point to make and question.. does anyone know about the tax breaks for surgery and how exactly that works? I keep on hearing something about 7.5% of your income but I don't know anything about taxes.

I heard that there was a tax break too, but I'm not exactly sure what or how it works. That would help so much to know I can claim $12,000 on my taxes!!!

[OverBeingFat 0]

Mine actually ran at $15,500, but since my insurance from the job I was laid off from ran until the end of Oct., I went to my dentist and doctor and had a full physical. Part of my physical includes blood work so I was able to take a copy of what my lapband Dr. needed and have my normal doctor run the tests and have insurance pay that way.

Taxes: The way mine were explained to me was since I took the money from my 401(k), normally you would have to pay a penalty. However, since it was for medical that was more than 10% of my annual income (I'm in Florida, may be different for you), I didn't have to pay the 20% penalty, just the taxes on the $15,500 as if it was income.

If there is anything else you have questions about, please let me know! :thumbup:

[rachel75 0]

I'm so sorry to hear that you have a leak! I know that's better than a medical problem, but it's still bad news, especially for self-payers. Has your doctor given you any estimates to what you might expect to pay to get it repaired?

kiz how did they diagnose that you had a leak? My doc said that he put 4 cc's in last time and when i went back in for a fill he said that there were only 3cc's. I asked how? why? he said that possibly it could have evaporated or that it came out after he did the fill?? I have seen where they do a barium test and wondering if he should have done this on me.