alegna242

Thanks for the briefing- will take to heart- or well...ya heart!

On one hand, I can see where the poster is coming from- On the other as a future self-payer I find myself drawn to other self-payers experience because they relate mostly to myself, so my overall observation I'm sure is different then if I was a insurance covered individual. I would like to also second the previous posters statement about insurance is not free. Unless your on Medicaid and well.......I'm not opening that box....... now that's a poll that would start some s**t! I think either way- people should educate themselves as much as possible *duh*. I'm personally glad I have to wait, although reluctant, I think will overall give me more drive.

Owwww- yea- it took 5 days after I had my Daughter- I was holding the sides of the toilet and asking myself if this was the end. So, for sure I am going to have a handy stash of thee laxs and prunes at my disposal. Thanks for the reminder!

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.

.........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))))))))))))

The $500+ she probably would be paying a month in insurance to cover the surgery, and follow up visits she could have her lap band surgery paid off in a couple of years. I wish sooooooo very much there was a private insurance company that would cover lap band, but there isn't. It's just a sad truth for the un-insured in America. I am sorry and wish your friend and yourself the best of luck.

Have you ever been tested for H. Pylori? I'm not banded but have lived with up-your-nose-reflux and heartburn for years. I did not do anything until I started getting this weird pain in my stomach. Well, I am pretty sure I had a ulcer - since I don't have insurance there was NO WAY I was having a endoscopy, but the Nurse Practitioner did a blood test and it came back for H. Pylori bacteria. I'm still on the antibiotics for it along with Nexium but have had a episode since. It very well may be the band- but you may try the testing first. I hate thinking I've been living with this since I was 13 and 115 pounds through to now- 26 and 220 pounds I am also grateful it's getting taken care of before banding. Hope this helps maybe!

Do you mind sharing your experience with Care Credit? I am approved through them but still reluctant due to the unknown on many levels!

Just a suggestion- I am not banded so I wouldn't know for sure- But, I just recently started having these pains in my upper stomach area that went away after eating and hurt at night- It was H. Pylori bacteria that causes all kinds of nastyness like ulcers and GERD and such. You might have that.

So, yesterday I went to Dr. Spivak's Seminar. I feel even more conflicted then before I mean, most of what I heard I was somewhat aware of. He's a very intelligent individual I just don't know I have about 6 different voices telling me what I should go for

So, yesterday I went to Dr. Spivak's Seminar. I feel even more conflicted then before I mean, most of what I heard I was somewhat aware of. He's a very intelligent individual I just don't know I have about 6 different voices telling me what I should go for

Cool, thanks for the heads up! you might want to post that over in the insurance and financing part so more people could see this!

I did am application for surgery loans for I think $9000. I was thinking about going to Mexico at that time. They approved me, but did not tell me for how much until I got a call from a rep about 1 week later- They approved me for $7500, at like an interest rate of 17.XX % !! So, I kinda said, oh well, I wont be doing my surgery until February, and he said he would call me back in Feb. Well, being it's March 1st I've gotten no call yet! I kinda think he got the hint. I'd try Care Credit and see what they say, I am still pre-banding, so I can't tell you for sure but from what I see they have lower interest rates. Good Luck and keep us posted!

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?

6.35% With Care Credit? $400 a month payments for how long? man, 6.35% is GOOD!

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!

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.

Tera ~ Kudos to you! Hope everything goes well, I am a pre-banding so I don't have much for pointers. You've got more guts then me at this point. It's nice to see so may self payers in one thread- hard to find. I do not have ins. so therefore I am looking into self-pay what did you, Tera and the rest of you use for financing? Please keep us posted on how you do! :thumbup:

I am sorry to hear about your situation. Although I am not a single mother I am the only income while my husband in in College. I was also supposed to get medical insurance in May through work but that fell through. I am torn between doing this for me, which is a terribly hard thing to do as a mother anyway, or just not do it b/c who am I to finance 7-9 grand for something like this. I can tell you that I was shocked to learn that I was approved through care credit for $9000- their rates appear to be low around 11%, another finance company wanted something like 18%. If you are still a full-time student maybe pull out one more loan for say, half? save or finance the rest? Being a student you do have a lot of options but I know it's hard to take when you fully know you'll be paying it back for 10 years+. I can also tell you having student loans even while still in college ups your credit score, even if it's still being deferred. You might be surprised on what financing options you may have? Care credit's site says an estimated payment for $9000 is $200 a mo. for 60 months. Thats all I can offer for advise, why I haven't taken the plunge myself, I don't know but, hopefully this is help you. You are not the only one!!