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Avatar universal

Has anyone here considered treatments or doing tests (MRI, etc) in India?

I am mentioning this purely out of interest as I read how much it costs for some people to have their treatments for MS.

I do know that there are those who wont consider places like India due to the possibility of mis-diagnosis, wrong-treatment of meds, inability to travel and other reasons. However once you have been diagnosed (in the US), the goal surely is to manage, reduce and hopefully (one day) eliminate your symptoms completely....but surely also not at the cost of your life-savings (eliminating symptoms altogether would be worth it!).

However for those who are travel-able I am always perplexed by the cost issue. I have no idea how health insurance in the US works (I am not from the US btw) but I read that even with insurance, some people still pay a lot of money for their meds, treatments and consultations.

Just to illustrate: it's about $250 for a Brain + Spine MRI (with contrast), and about $200 for a 5-day course of IVSM. The MRI is available at a day's notice, the appointment with the neuro in 3 days if I book it today.

In 2010, there were news reports of a surge of people from Europe and the US going to India for cosmetic surgery. I am of the opinion that this will extend to other treatments, even as far as neurological and infectious diseases.

The equipments they use in India are the same as in the US, the neurologists are (a lot of them at least) educated at some of the leading medical colleges around the world (US, Norway, New Zealand...).

This is not posed as a question as such, but its just me thinking out aloud. Comments are welcome though. The last person I actually spoke to and suggested India as an alternative for cheaper treatment (if they could go there) said that the Indians were dirty and backward would probably get their facts and diagnosis wrong. That was quite uncalled for I thought.
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429700 tn?1308007823
It's an intriguing thought and may be a really, really great option for those Indian-Americans who have relatives in India that they visit anyway.  

Is Copaxone available in India?  If so, I wonder how much the Copaxone would cost and how much you can you buy at one time and transfer it with you on a plane?  

You are right--health care costs are very, very expensive.  I spend about $10,000/year on health care (which includes the insurance, medicines, doctor costs, etc.).

Great thread!

Helpful - 0
987762 tn?1671273328
COMMUNITY LEADER
Personally i think its a terrible idea!

We've had the stories of tragic concequences from people doing this to save money and i do mean tragic. There are shonky operators anywhere in the feild of cosmetic surgery but i cant think of any MS treatment other than stem cell. No offense to any country but i wouldn't be doing that or anything medical without 100% confidence in my medical team and thats not going to happen on a fly by night trip overseas.

Life saving treatments are not available for MS, eliminating sx completely isn't even in the rells of possiblities, and i can't see it ever will be but even if it was, i wouldn't ever take the risk!

Cheers.........JJ
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572651 tn?1530999357
Welcome back. weren't you the person asking about coming to the US to get MS treatment ?  Sorry If I'm confused about that.

What you are talking about has a name - medical tourism.  People who travel all over the world to get medical treatments performed in different countries, almost always because of cost savings.  There are companies that arrange these serv ices.

The problem with doing this for MS is there is no cure right now.  There is ongoing treatment that has to be done.  And our local pharmacies would not honor a prescription written in a different country.
best, Lulu
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Avatar universal
Yes I was talking about treatment in the US as well as what you refer to as 'medical tourism'.

Basically I was asking if the US or any MS-related program in the US will financially support a foreigner having treatment, diagnosis, consultations etc for MS in the United States. I currently do everything in India and I trust the doctors there, and their diagnosis and treatment. But lately I've been interested about what American doctors have to say in terms of the disease, but as I understand I would have to pay for it privately and that might be more than afford. Someone told me that an MRI can cost anything from $400 - $2,000. Then there's the Lumbar, the evoked potentials and any other tests they want to take.

Pls dont mistake this as seeking an American doctor's opinion. I just tend to feel that most forums focus on people from the US and UK and they seem to be told (educated?) more from their neuros than my doctors tell me.
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