Thinking about having RNY in India

Hi, I was reading your blog. My name is Renee Im 29 years old and two yeas ago I had Lap band surgery and I have had many complications since then. My latest complication is port malfunction. I have been trying to get my insurance company to either revise the band or approve me for gastric bypass, but they will not they claim it is not medically necessary and that they only pay for one surgery per lifetime. They also claim that they do not pay for complications. I have hired lawyers and tried for a year now to get them to reconsider, but I have had no luck. I cant afford to have surgery in the US so I was considering going to Mumbai, India. I would like some advice from you if you have time. I'm a nurse but I am very scared about going out of the country, but I know I can't live the way I'm living much longer I am now 250 lbs and I am 5'3" and I am very discouraged. I have hypertension, I have pains in all of my weight bearing joints and my life is work and home because I feel so ugly.

Did u write the company who actually made the port? what happenend to the port? I heard a few people get a revision. My gf had a lap band after a gastric RNY failed and she had gain up to 350 lbs and had a tummy tuck but she gained the weight back 10 years later. So the lap band is her only hope, I would go to a OH seminar and see if u can get some advice to approach this from a different angle before going to india I heard a few people went to mexico for the lap band but never to india for Rny. If u can change insurence when u r due to change that maybe the only way u can get another insurence to pay for it. We had Heath Net and took my hubby 3 years four appeals and law suit to over turn the medical group decison to do a RNY on him and we decided to change insurence company to aetna PPO and Jan I started my process and I was approve in march for april surgery was alot eaiser then Going threw a HMO cost me more up front but in long run only couple of hundered dollars more and we made that up the fact we did not have to go to san diego and spend a week out of town in hotel and pay for gas .. ETC. so the medical deductiable was more but we did not have the cost of gas and hotel as we were able to do it in my home town. To be honest we broke even Lisa

Hi, I do not know who the manufacture company was that made my port, but my port has flipped into a downward position. It is the third time that the port has had to be fixed and my mother feels that the manufacture company should be responsible for it. My doctor wants me to change my insurance he does not feel comfortable with me having surgery out of the country. He wants me to try blue cross /blue shield. I am not sure how to answer the application because I have a lap band and I am wondering if they will see this as a pre-existing condition. I am also concerned at how long once I buy another insurance will I have to pay before I can actually use the insurance company for WLS. Thanks for responding. This is all I can think about. I wake up with it and I go to sleep to it. Im not living it is getting the best of me.

my heart goes out you. Your surgeon is correct to be concerned about oversees. I have heard really good things about Brazil though. I have heard terrible things about Mexico and one person even died there when I was on the south of the boarder message board while another was so sick when she got home and went to the ER she was septic and almost dies herself. My surgeon does out of pocket you may want to talk to him and explain your situation. He may be able to help. Maybe your insurance would pay the hospital fees 80% or whatever your is and you pay the surgeon him self so they are not repaying for wls? I had Medicaid when I went to him I paid out of pocket for him and then Medicaid paid all the hospital fees and that saved me probably 15-20 thousand. I had the best surg in the country and he work at northwestern hospital in Evanston (Chicago area) which is a top center for excellence hospital. Just trying to help and maybe keep you in the states! Dee