Question:
Has anyone had to go back in to hospital as self pay

I am going self pay for the surgery---my concern is that it seems like 20% of people have some complications and if I had to go back in the hospital it could bankrupt me! Seriously i have to put everything I have PLUS a large loan for the surgery --has anyone had this happen to them??    — driven (posted on December 5, 2005)

December 5, 2005
The only prob so far is I now have a couple kidney stones from post op, since before surgery I used to drink about 96+ ounces of water a day. Post op I find it hard to drink 32 ounces a day. Kidney stones can be caused by dehydration, and in my case that is it what caused it. I was rushed to the ER and they didn't know if I was having post problem with my pouch or what, after a lot of test (MRI, X-Rays, and so on) they told me kidney stones. My word of caution is try your best to drink and drink and drink fluids !!!!!
   — dehrma01

December 5, 2005
i have not had any problems. i assume that it is how closely you follow the doctors instructions and what illnesses that you have prior to surgery. my case was a mild case of high blood pressure only. good luck. tammi jordan
   — tjjjx6

December 5, 2005
You can have complications with the surgery, the most common is a leak which I had. I had to have emergency surgery two days after the rny to repair the leak. Spent a week in ICU and a month in the hospital hooked to a feeding tube. When I came home the feeding tube came with me and was my means of nutrition for several months. I had to pay for the cans of liquid to go in to the tube. My bill was enormous, thank goodness I had insurance because there was no way I would have been able to pay if I had been a self pay. Just something to think about. Louise
   — Louise P.

December 5, 2005
As a previous poster stated any and all surgeries can have complications. I personally developed C-Diff after surgery (an infection in the colons caused by the antibiotics used during surgery) and ended up with Kidney Failure and in the hospital for another week. I have insurance that paid thosugh, so I can't tell you how you would deal with that as a self-pay patient. Don't sweat the small stuff, because most of the complications are caught while you are still in the hospital. Good Luck on your journey... ~L
   — Laura G.

December 5, 2005
Stacy, yes that is a concern, I was a self-pay myself and thank God everything went well. I'll pray the same goes for you. Dana
   — cajungirl

December 6, 2005
Stacey, I was a self-pay myself for the surgery and developed an incisional infection. My surgeon sent me to the ER for additional tests such as x-rays, blood testing, abdominal CT scan. Fortunately I had health insurance that covered the ER visit. Just had to pay my deductible which was $500.00. Without the health insurance covering the ER visit it would have been an additional $6,000.00 on top of the $19,000 I self-paid for the Gastric Bypass. Most people if they have complications they are pretty minor.
   — jeriksson

December 6, 2005
I was also self pay. I had my surgery on June 28th of this year and was also fearful of having complications and so far...knock on wood... I have been just finds. I beleived if I followed all my doctor's rules and then some, I would be okay and I was. I am so glad I took the risk and am now down 78 pounds and much happier! I pray that all goods good for you too! Janet
   — jpcal

December 6, 2005
I was self pay. I had serious complications and returned to hospital after a week and stayed for 5 weeks due to a gastric leak. I went home with a tube in me and all associated procedures and labs have been denied by my insurance company. My bill at this writing is over $150,000, this does not include the $22,000 I paid for the surgery! I took the risk because my quality of life was soooooo bad. Best Wishes!
   — *Ladybug *.

December 6, 2005
i dont know if this will help but it is honest and you should hear good and bad. i am 32 5'3 213 well i to was going to have a rny on nov 23. as a selfpay and was asking the same questions and what i fould out was it is a real possiablity i was flooded with stories of people going bankrupt form the complications because many do. THis scarred me horriably and i started to get high blood pressure and stomach pain which got worse when prices started going up doc could and said i needed extra test which would an extra 2200 then the hospital sent a letter saying their fees went up by an extra 5000 all this if i didnt have complications and if i did i was on my own kaiser said they would cover nothing since they denied surgery . well that was it for me since then i have tried to be more healthy and go to curves i have gone from 227 to 213 i still play what might it have been if i had my surgery. shayna
   — taglefamily

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