Paying for surgery out of pocket

I think Dr. Blackstone is about $15,000-$17,000 for LapBand Cash...my friend went with Dr. Simpson for LapBand and I think it was about $14,000. ~Nicole

Hi Lisa, Self pay sucks! I did the RNY and was self pay. I heard years ago that make a wish foundation would help finance, but I'm not sure if they still do that or not. My friend was going to do it through them, and it was a 5 year pay back period. Personally I sold my house to get the money. I figured there will be time in my life that I will be able to get another house, but this was the only body I had. So it was worth it for me. There are ways around some of the cost if you have a physician that will work with you. My insurance would not pay for anything that had to do with weight loss. And I mean nothing. So they had to find ways around that, other conditions that applied and order test for those conditions. So most of my blood test, chest x-rays and such were covered by my insurance. So if you have a primary physician that will work well with you, you can get around some of that. I had enough other problems that there were enough reasons to order blood work outside of needing them for the surgery. I also had a stricture after surgery. And my insurance did cover that. Of course they applied it to my deductible LOL, so I am still making payments to the hospital for it. But they did cover it. I agree with Nicole you should find out from your insurance company directly as everyone's policy is written differently. I know your in a tough position. Self pay is not an easy. And once we pay out of pocket for the surgery, there is still the plastic surgery to look forward to! But if you can pull it off, by what ever means possible any price is worth saving your life!

Ooops. My response should have been to both for Lisa and Lithia. Kinda read that thread in bits and pieces and got mixed up. Thought it was one person asking those questions.  One of my blonde moments. :)

Thanks everyone for the great information. I know everyone has different thoughts and experiences and I appreciate the input. I think i've decided to make another appointment with Dr. Fang since he has all my records from my first try. His price falls in the range of some of the figures that people listed. As I mentioned before, I still go back and forth about the whole thing. You always think you can do it on your own, but knowing myself, I need an additional "tool" to help me. Plus getting older doesn't make it any easier since all you hear is it's harder to loose weight after your in your 40's. Well, 45 is right around the corner. A few friends and I are going on a cruise for my birthday the end of February, so maybe this will be an early birhthday gift to me :)  I do have another question though if anyone wants to share..... I have many things going on and probably wouldn't be able to do this until the first week of December. I know it sounds like a ways away, but it will be right around the corner. With 2 jobs and a couple trips lined up, it would be too hard to do it any sooner. If I had it done the first week of December, how do you think it would be going on that cruise the end of February. I know you go through many weeks of different eating phases. So if I was about 11-12 weeks after surgery when I go, how would my eating be at that time? Thanks again for the input

I travel fairly frequently and I have to say that a cruise is the toughest type of travel for me food-wise.  Even at over three years out, it's still a little tough for me.  The good news about a cruise is that there are so many options and offerings that you can usually find what you need.  Most cruises have a sit down breakfast where you can order off a menu and youshould be able to get an egg however you want it for breakfast.  They were really good about bringing me specifically what I needed.  I just resolved myself to waste a lot of food at dinner and just picked the protein off the plate.  This flies in the face of being a card carrying member of the Clean Plate Club for 43 years.  Lunches are usually buffets and usually have some sort of fish so that worked.  They also had a sandwich bar so I just ate the deli meat and cheese from there.  At the end of one long day, I knew I hadn't eaten nearly enough protein so I ordered a bunch of BLTs from room service and ate the bacon.  You probably won't be eating bacon by then.  You'll have to be ceative, but it can be done. What you can eat at about three months out will depend on your surgeon.  If I remember right, I was still eating mostly chicken and fish at that time.  I think if I were you, I'd play it safe and take some sort of shakes or protein bars just in case.   Connie

Hi Lisa, I went to Ensenada Mexico & used DR Valencia. He is the best. I had Laproscopic RNY the cost was $12,500, That included everyrhing Hosp, hotel & transportation from the San Diego airport. He also does  the Lap Band for $8,000. You can check out my profile to see pictures & read my experience. It was the best thing I have done for myself & I would highly recomend him to anyone who is self pay. Laura