Plea for help

[Gt1956]

I’m sure that a failed implant wouldn’t cause death but the busted implant is rubbing on my inside. So if it does cause permeant injury, I would consider that serious. If this is scarring up my insides or leaves my penis inoperable and useless. Or an infection sets in and they have to start cutting away. I’m sure a lot of men would agree with me that’s a death sentence because I will not live that way.

Sorry Jerseyhulk. My post sounds harsh towards you but It isn't meant to be harsh to you. I was trying to show how the 3 parties to the surgery react to minimize their exposure to losses. By far I think hospitals take the most stringent position. They'll be the hardest to get around in my opinion. Let me throw a few ideas out to you.
Attack the 3 one at a time. The manufacturer will likely be the easiest to get some kind of help from.
Work on the surgeon & see what position he takes. If he'll do it for free or a heavily discounted rate. Ask if he would be willing to perform the surgery at a small out patient surgical center. I'm pretty sure that they are cheaper.
You can try going to the hospital & asking about indigent care. My daughter had some emergency hospital care. The hospital had an office that sorted through the lower income patients & picked some that could be slid over onto Medicaid. Trick was that it had to be done within a few days of the care being given. Even if Medicaid wasn't an option they could write some of it off their taxes as charity care.
I think in another post you mention a cost of $100,000. I'm sure that on paper that cost might of been tossed around. It's a fake number. The insurance companies negotiate huge discounts that they'll never disclose to you. Commonly the cash price is quoted around $18k to $23k. Take out around $8k for the implant & whatever the surgeon fee is. You'll be looking at the hospital costing maybe as low as $8k. Still a huge number but nothing like $100k.
Is there a chance that your school offers a better health insurance than you have currently?
Please don't give up. This won't be easy but it might be more attainable than you think. I wish you the very best of luck. Keep us posted, please.

Thanks Gt1956, no offense was taken. I appreciate everyone's input as I don't know of any options at this point. I won't give up, although living with this pain is scary and hindering at times. I don't know how long it will take till I can get it fixed. I won't let this happen to me again next time. I expected a good 8 to 10 years at least out of it, not 4. But next time I will be in a better situation hopefully. I just really hope I can get it fixed soon. This has already started affecting my life physically and I can see problems arising in my relationship. I'm just trying to fight and hang on at this point.

Friendly warning. My gall bladder attacks & eventual removal proved one thing to me. The medical profession, under some circumstances, are hesitant to treat pain. I laid on an exam table more than once in fairly bad pain because they didn't want to "mask" the pain. One time I spent most of a day on an iv drip of demerol (I think). It still hurt but I didn't care. Go figure.
Just an opinion, complain about the scarring & disfigurement. Chance might be that complaining about the pain won't get you very far. Start beating on the hospital side of the equation. They'll give you the most grief IMHO. Best of luck.

[Lost Sheep]

Friendly warning. My gall bladder attacks & eventual removal proved one thing to me. The medical profession, under some circumstances, are hesitant to treat pain. I laid on an exam table more than once in fairly bad pain because they didn't want to "mask" the pain. One time I spent most of a day on an iv drip of demerol (I think). It still hurt but I didn't care. Go figure.

I was reminded of my experience with kidney stones. I had an IV drip of normal fluids into which (when the stones created great pain) Toradol would be injected. Very fast acting (and quickly clearing the patient's system) and VERY EFFECTIVE! At least for intermittent pain.

[jerseyhulk]

I been taking Tylenol by the truck load. I don’t have anything else to take for pain because I probably would at this point. When I piss I grab what looks like a sac of marbles because the implant is all fucked up and causing lumps and bumps. I’m worried about atrophy at this point cause this was my last option and everything else had failed. I don’t know what else to do but I will keep on trying to get the hospital to work with me. Thinking I may have to find a different job with a better health insurance. My current job works with my class schedule so I’ll probably get screwed over with school.

[Lost Sheep]

I’m worried about atrophy at this point
(edited for focus on the only point I have useful advice right now-sorry)

If atrophy/shrinkage is a concern, judicious use of a vacuum erection device for therapeutic protocols would probably be in order if tolerable.

[Skier123]

Jerseyhulk,

First of all - what kind of AMS implant do you have?

Second - you are in a tough spot but it seems ther must be a solution. I agree with other posters who say you aren't so much looking for another implant surgery as a MEDICALLY NECESSARY removal of a foreign body surgery. So I agree with the idea that your urologist should be submitting a different kind of claim than an implant placement - are they?

Third - other posters on this board have had trouble getting BCBS to approve an implant by one surgeon - then they go ahead and approve the same procedure by another surgeon. So it would pay to make sure they are actually excluding the surgery, not just the surgeon (because if its the surgeon they are excluding - go out and find another one they will approve - obviously)

Fourth - I agree with another poster who said find a surgeon who will use a day surgery center, maybe even one they have a financial interest in ... they may be able to get their own surgery center to swing you a deal.

Finally - I would still go get a second opinion and plan of treatment from another qualified uroligist who deals with men's sexual health. In my experience Doctor's really do want to help as much as they can. I'd just be up front and say you are trying to find the best course of action between now and open enrollment when you can (hopefully) get on a better insurance plan. Ask him/her about what you should be doing to prevent further damage? Control pain? Minimize loss of length? etc. until you can work out the finances to get things properly repaired ... then follow his/her advice.

[jerseyhulk]

Jerseyhulk,

First of all - what kind of AMS implant do you have?

Second - you are in a tough spot but it seems ther must be a solution. I agree with other posters who say you aren't so much looking for another implant surgery as a MEDICALLY NECESSARY removal of a foreign body surgery. So I agree with the idea that your urologist should be submitting a different kind of claim than an implant placement - are they?

Third - other posters on this board have had trouble getting BCBS to approve an implant by one surgeon - then they go ahead and approve the same procedure by another surgeon. So it would pay to make sure they are actually excluding the surgery, not just the surgeon (because if its the surgeon they are excluding - go out and find another one they will approve - obviously)

Fourth - I agree with another poster who said find a surgeon who will use a day surgery center, maybe even one they have a financial interest in ... they may be able to get their own surgery center to swing you a deal.

Finally - I would still go get a second opinion and plan of treatment from another qualified uroligist who deals with men's sexual health. In my experience Doctor's really do want to help as much as they can. I'd just be up front and say you are trying to find the best course of action between now and open enrollment when you can (hopefully) get on a better insurance plan. Ask him/her about what you should be doing to prevent further damage? Control pain? Minimize loss of length? etc. until you can work out the finances to get things properly repaired ... then follow his/her advice.

I have the AMS 700 LGX.

Does anyone know about hospital policies, as far as, qualifying for financial assistance for people with low income? I was reading something about they determine this by basing your income with the Federal Poverty Level. This would be for medically necessary procedures but I believe that I would definitely fall in this category at this point. Anybody familiar with this process?

[FMLFML85]

deleted

[jerseyhulk]

The hospital called my surgeon the day before my surgery and told him that my insurance refused to pay. I had the surgery anyways and the hospital called me about a month after and asked me how much I made a year. They said they would settle for a lower price then the 15k$ they said I owed. In the end I had to pay them 3.8k$. I also have BCBS

Thanks your input FMLFML85. At least it’s some glimmer of hope. I’m praying the hospital will do the same for my situation. I’m basically a nurses aid at the moment, so I have low income. I also pay a house note and my own tuition. I live check to check. If they don’t help I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and look for other hospitals that will. I just really wanted to stick with my doc.

[jerseyhulk]

I’m worried about atrophy at this point
(edited for focus on the only point I have useful advice right now-sorry)

If atrophy/shrinkage is a concern, judicious use of a vacuum erection device for therapeutic protocols would probably be in order if tolerable.

Thanks Lost Sheep for your reply. I guess I had to be the guinea pig since I could not find anybody in my situation and attempt a VED. I have never used one before and I never used one when my implant was working. I bought an erecaid pump through this site shortly after the implant bust in an effort to preserve and prevent atrophy. The pump was a bit pricy but figured it would be worth it if it would serve as a temporary solution to my problem. I was even hoping maybe it would move the implant some and give me relief from the pain where it’s been rubbing against the inside of my penis. Since I can not inflate the implant, the VED seems like it wants to pull everything. I can feel the rte’s being pulled up into the base of my penis. I noticed the bulb in my scrotum getting pulled also. Also it became extremely painful once everything started moving around in there. So I can’t use the VED and it turned out to be a huge waste of money. I imagine they work well and probably work well with an inflated implant. But they are not useful and fear of risking more injury with a busted implant. Just for everyone’s future knowledge since I could not find an answer to this question, I figure I’d contribute something to the community.
My only other option I can think of, and possibly one that may save me is a penis extender/stretcher. I think it maybe a solution since there is no suction involved. If it maintains my size and prevents atrophy, it is worth it. The worst part though is that I’ll never be able to have intercourse until I get the revision done since there is no chance of getting an erection, not even with a VED.

[Waynetho]

My only other option I can think of, and possibly one that may save me is a penis extender/stretcher. I think it maybe a solution since there is no suction involved. If it maintains my size and prevents atrophy, it is worth it. The worst part though is that I’ll never be able to have intercourse until I get the revision done since there is no chance of getting an erection, not even with a VED.

Go into that with caution. I've used one of the "clamp-on" traction devices and they fasten onto the front of the penis behind the glans, right where the front tips of the cylinders are. Since I've accidently squeezed the edge of these tips a time or two while deflating, I would imagine this will be very painful if not injurious to attempt.

I'm not saying it's not a good idea but just use extreme caution and don't spend a fortune for the traction device unless you're fairly certain it won't cause too much pain or injury of its own.