lauriearnold

UHC paid for the band removal and i got the bill today guys and the hospital bill alone was $34, 648 and dr fee was $4900 and i don't owe anything. matter of fact im in the positive still. UHC will only pay for one bariatric surgery per life time. So, I'm having to wait 3 months for stomach to heal cause i had 2 holes in my stomach from the band that had eroded into my stomach. the only thing that was not in my stomach was the buckle part, the whole band was inside my stomach. So, now i wait 3 months and i pay for the sleeve myself which i'm fine with as long as i know i am getting it and i know i won't gain any weight. I can't get back into the gym until january and it's hard right now to go in and train my clients even cause i can't show them proper technique due to not being able to lift more then 10 lbs so i've had to put all my clients off till january too.

exactly BeautyLocs40, we have to take care of ourselves and think about us for once. so many things come before us a lot that it's time for some "me" time for us. I just got back from my follow up dr appt. they removed the drain, thank god, that was the worse part of it all. Now i have to wait 3 months to get the sleeve so I told him to mark his calendar and get ready cause i'll be back to schedule my sleeve. it's going to cost $16,700 and i am going to be a self pay on it but idc, i'm doing this for me. Insurance can kiss my butt, lol

i know my insurance said once in a life time. I have a friend who had bariatric surgery years ago with a different insurance and just recently she tried to get the sleeve since it had been almost 15 years and her new insurance company picked it up and denied her cause they seen where she had already had one and denied her 3 times. good luck girl1! I'm just forking out the dough cause i'm tired of fighting with UHC, after 3 appeals and the dr sending in all kinds of stuff, i'm just done. It's been a week since my band has been out yesterday (Monday) and i have to wait 3 months for total healing before i can get my sleeve. Got to let stomach heal or i'll more likely have a leak.

i had my band taken out a week ago yesterday (Monday) and i'm still in some pain, still have drain tubes and alot of gas still. My stomach is totally messed up too. When i eat, it's like it goes straight to my intestines. my stomach does alot of gurgling and growling and noises. I will go to have sleeve in 3 months once this is healed. I'm not gaining any weight back, i still have 40 lbs to get off.

No UHC did not pay for sleeve. they paid to have it removed and all that. I ended up owing like $441.00 total after this. I had lap band removed a week ago Monday and i'm still in pain, have a drain and letting my stomach heal now. It's going to take 3 months to heal then i can do the gastric sleeve which is what i'll have to pay for. I have UHC Choice Plus luv.is.patient1

I've appealed 3 times, talked to our employer, the HR, and my dr even sent 2 letters to them regarding this and they still denied it. so no big deal, i have the money to pay for the sleeve, insurance is paying for the removal so i'm just going to go on.

I had my scope done yesterday and my band has completely eroded into my stomach. it is so weird seeing that on film. I mean the whole band is inside my stomach. Never 1 symptom of that happening either. On 11/3 i will have my band removed after having it for 8 years. The dr said my band has been eroded prob for over 1 year now cause the stomach has completely healed around it. I will have to wait 3-4 months for it to heal so i can convert to gastric sleeve. Wished i had never gotten this band now.

KM30381 i went today for my scope and my band did not sleep or prolapse. My band eroded into my stomach so i too am going to have band removed on 11/3 and have to wait a few months to let that heal then do the sleeve that is going to be self pay

i have the big total premiere package luv.is.patient1 and they still won't pay it. i've put in 2 appeals and they still denied it. They said that insurance will only pay for 1 bariatric surgery per lifetime. They will pay for the band to come out and everything that comes with it but i have to pay for the sleeve myself and anything that happens after that, that has to do with the sleeve they will not cover.

luv.is.patient1 NO, insurance denied both appeals so i'm having revision on 11/3 and i am going to be self pay for sleeve but insurance will pay to have removed. I'm going to end up owing $16500

BadBand you need to get to a dr asap. they found my slip in february and took out all the fill but the dr told me if i had any chest pain whatsoever, not able to keep Water or food down, that i had to get to the ER fast and the band would have to come out in an emergency. You need to call a dr and find out what's going on but i know that is not good at all. Your band could be eroding into your stomach right now and that is very dangerous. Please keep me up with what's going on girl. I'm worried about you. Sending prayers up for you. I don't know if insurance will pay for it due to you having it done in Mexico but def need to have an american dr look at it. insurance will prob pay to have it taken out. My insurance is paying to have mine removed next month.

wow, i hope my doc will go through with it while i'm in there. I don't have a clue what it's going to look like. i've had no symptoms at all and he fully unfilled me as soon as they found it in February and i've been eating very carefully since then to try and not stretch it out more. I can't wait to get this all out. it's so hard to work out and do abs and stuff with this stupid port.

did you go to Mexico or use a dr in the US

thank you so much nowornever14. I have been doing a lot of research for the past couple months. I have 5 friends that have went to Mexico and are doing great. My husband comes back today, he works off shore on the oil rigs and is stationed in Malaysia so i'm going to talk to him today when he gets home. I have been in contact with the doctor and his nurse a lot in Mexico and he has done a lot of revisions. i just worry i'll be the one that ends up having problems. But he has started doing it in 2 surgeries where my dr here in US said that if there wasn't much scar tissue he will do it all in one. the difference is the money. Mexico is $9000 for removal and sleeve all in one or 2 trips and here in US it's $17,000 and that's self pay. I've read a lot of comments here on bariatric pal and another bariatric site i found that i've been talking to and researching. i'm just kind of confused right now.

i've talked to my family dr and he said he would do his best to watch me but as for a specialist...no, i would have to go to a ER to get help. I'm more concerned about going to Mexico then i am a dr right now. I've got 4 friends that have went and they're doing good but it still scares me going to Mexico. I would like to cause it's cheaper but i worry about something going wrong since i have a prolapse and not sure how much scar tissue i have.

my family doctor would prob watch me but he doesn't really know alot about these surgeries. He helped me get the lap band but when you go to Mexico here and have something done the dr's in the US can deny seeing you. Most dr's around here will NOT see you if you've went to mexico unless you end up in the ER

I have had the lap-band since 2006. I have stalled on the weight loss for about 2 years now. Got me a new doctor and he found my stomach had prolapsed through the band. The band has to come out. My insurance has denied the surgery revision. My questions are should i do the lap-band to sleeve in one surgery if possible? Has anyone went to Mexico and have this done cause i have been in contact with them and their price is $8500 while my Dr in the States is going to be $17,000. I'm really scared to go to Mexico in case i get home and have problems, there is not a dr around here that would touch me or look at me unless i went to ER. That scares me. I have an appt with my surgeon next week to talk about this but wanted some input. Is my weight going to be slow after the reversal? I've heard so many people say their weight was very slow. I work out in the gym with a personal trainer 2 hours a day 6 days a week and i am in school to become a personal trainer, nutritionist and sports therapy.

just found out today that my insurance denied my 2nd appeal. Am thinking very seriously at this point to quit fighting with insurance and going to Dr Alvarez in Mexico. My lap band has to come out due to a prolapse that will not fix itself. Been unfilled since December 2013 and very very cautious of what i am eating right not to avoid any emergency surgeries. Has anybody on here gone to dr alvaraz and have a prolapsed band removed and sleeve done at same time. Help i'm desperate right now. ldatda@hotmail.com arkansas

thank you so much you guys for all your information. i'm not gonna give up yet!! i'm going to keep on until they get sick of me

i they are really being a butt and not getting in any hurry. glad this isn't an emergency yet!!! that's what i'm afraid of, they're going to wait so long and i'm going to be in the ER having major surgery over this when it doesn't have to be.

i am dealing with the insurance coordinator from my surgeons office but my insurance is being a pain in the butt. she's doing all she can and i feel for her cause she's constantly faxing, emailing or talkig to them. i'm tired of eating 300 calories a day, ugh

ive been dealing the UHC since May now waiting to see if they are going to pay for my revision but after talking to them today they said #1 my bmi is only 30 and #2 my insurance will only cover 1 bariatric surgery for lifetime. It's still at the insurance waiting patiently to find out. i guess what i'm needing to know if anyone with UHC had a revision with a bmi less then 35 and UHC cover it???

that's what i'm worried about short and chunky, i have no symptoms right now but the last few days i've been really queazy. not throwing up just feel like i could. i can eat a little and keep it down but know it's not enough cause my energy level has decreased big time. i'm still working out with trainer but having a hard time with my stamina. i just got the approval letter for the band removal, duh, like they're not going to approve that but still waiting to see if they're going to approve the sleeve. if not, i've decided i'm going to pay for it myself. i'm so tired of feeling sick and swollen stomach all the time.

wow, so sorry girl. that sounds awful.

wow Bandarella that's awful. did you have symptoms from the start?? i never had any symptoms and did so good until this past year. still now signs or symptoms but somehow i have a small prolapse. he said it's like a shirt being tucked in and when the shirt overhangs over your waist, that's what mine doing and it won't go back. it's just hanging there and he said it needs to come out before i do start having symptoms or it starts entering into my stomach area and doing major damage and can not be fixed. hopefully it'll be fine when they take it out to do the sleeve. that's why i'm really being careful what i eat right now. just keep it where it's at and not do damage to it anymore.