Mithow

I had my first fill (3.5 cc's) this past Monday, 6/6. 5 days later, I have lost 5 lbs....definitely feel restriction. Scheduled for another adjustment on 7/11. I'm psyched! That 6 week wait for a fill was super frustrating! Anyway, after my botched first surgery in Mexico, it is soooo satisfying to actually have a band that works!

Hi there - I was banded on 4/19 and I'm having the same lingering gas pains - but mostly when I take a deep breath. The upper chest and shoulder gas pain is the worst! I just hope it goes away soon...I'm pretty sick of it by now! Hang in there! Michelle

Hi all, Just wanted to say that I'm back from Tijuana where I had my band surgery with the Bajanor Hospital...DH and I ended up staying an extra day, since I didn't anticipate having surgery so late in the day (9pm) and having to leave only 18 hours later! (duh) Anyway, that whole extra day was really helpful and I felt a LOT better... Again, I want to thank everyone for sharing their experiences and information...you all have been a priceless resource for beginning my journey...so happy to be on the LOSING side!!! :clap2: M.

Bette - I'm guessing you went to the same place I did for your fluoro fill...I'm sorry that you had a similar experience...but I'm glad you're doing better! So, yeah, I went yesterday, paid my $200 for my fluoro (making the total of my "first fill" a whopping $499)! Anyway, I had worked myself up so much, having been "scarred" from the last attempt of the needle being poked around, that I almost passed out - twice! The first time, the Dr. found my port right away (sign of experience!) and put the needle in...it wasn't bad. But then I had to hold it in and walk to the fluoro machine and I started to get light-headed and faint and my needle popped out. So, back to lay down I went to calm down and for us to try again. This time, the needle hurt going in (since I was already inflammed at this point from the first attempt) and I made sure not to let it pop out this time! So I walk back over to the machine and the feeling came back! I went and sat down this time and really had to talk myself through it, telling myself how much I needed this fill and how much this was costing me (haha)...I managed to get the nerve up again and told the Dr. to just do it and get it over with, because I wasn't sure how long I would last! He put in 1.7cc's to start and noticed I could use more, so I now have 2 cc's. I feel pretty good - I'm on liquids until Saturday. Overall, I had a good experience at the Tampa place yesterday. I'm not sure how much it will be if I want to go back there, another $200 or $200 + the regular $155 fill fee. I plan on trying one more Dr. in my area to see if he can find my port, if it ends up costing $355 as opposed to just $200 for fluoro. I'll have to ask about that. Thanks for listening...looking forward to dropping some weight now, since I've been banded 7 weeks and I'm only down 7 lbs right now. I'm working out 3x a week too, so I'm hoping it's time! :clap2:

Ok, so I signed up for the Fill Centers USA. I live in the Tampa Bay area and there are a few docs in the network around here...can't beat the price. Anyway, I went to one last week and the Dr. couldn't find my port (no fluoro). She ended up referring me to another Dr. to have fluoro done this coming week insteasd. As far as the Dr. goes, she was really nice but it was very frustrating. Your first consultation/fill is $299 and then $155 each thereafter. I paid the $299 and walked away with no fill - just pain for a few hours. Even though she couldn't find my port, she decided to numb me and poke the saline needle in there anyway and hope to "run into it"...I swear she poked my pancreas or something because it hurt badly inside. I told her to stop trying and that's when she set up the referral. Not only did I pay the $299 for nothing, I have to pay an additional $200 for my fill next week. Pretty expensive, but I guess it's not really anyone's fault. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's port wasn't able to be found the first time...I guess I just needed to vent. My band needs some nourishmen and my bank account at this point does too! My final comment - great concept overall though. The guy JR (CFO in letter to Jenna) is actually really nice and helpful. When he found out what happened to me at my first fill, he called me on my cell to make sure I was able to quickly schedule the referral to the 2nd doctor...he seemed to actually care. Heck, I'll take that...while Fill Centers USA is still small... I'll post again after my fill on Wed. to let you know how it went. Mithow

Puddinpie - I live in Florida and would NOT advise unfilling. It's not humid right now at all (quite dry in fact). The humidity won't kick in for a couple months. Have a safe trip! Mithow

Hi fordmotor, I had my band surgery done at Bajanor about 3 weeks ago. I'm doing very well and had a great experience there. My total cost was $8,550 ($8000 for band, surgery fees, hosptial stay, airfare & hotel for one night. $350 was for my husband's airfare. $100 was to stay an extra night at the hotel & the last $100 was for the change in our plane tickets to stay an extra night)...hope this helps. Mithow

I did set up an aftercare Dr. here in the Tampa Bay area. As far as a nutritionist, I haven't done that yet. I figure I'll just follow the diet plan the nutritionist in Mexico gave me for the first 6 weeks and once I get a checkup and fill at about 5-6 weeks, I'll ask for a referral to a good nutiritionist and ask about any support groups. The aftercare Dr. is really important to set up first. Let me know if you have any problems finding one, as I'll let you know the process I went through to find mine, maybe you'll have the same good luck finding one. Congrats on your decision to get banded! M.

Hello all, I am a newbie, scheduled to go to Mexico & be "banded" in a couple weeks with Dr. Covarrubias. Right away, I'm looking for a Dr. here in the Tampa Bay area who would be willing to do my aftercare. If anyone has any suggestions/recommendations/similar experiences, I would be most appreciative to any info I can get. Thank you & I look forward to sharing in everyone's experiences, wisdom and stories to come. Michelle

Thanks all! Wow, it's been a week now and I'm already down 7 lbs...crazy!

congrats!!!!! It'll be here before you know it....mine is TOMORROW and boy, was this past week the quickest ever! Mithow

Hi all, I just wanted to officially introduce myself...I've been lurking around for the past couple weeks on a daily basis and let me first just say THANK YOU ALL for the invaluable information I've been able to gather from all of your posts...your encouragement and support are priceless! :rofl: The Bajanor Obesity Center got the check yesterday from my financing company and will be booking flights for myself and DH today. Thursday is the day!! Dr. Covarrubias will be doing my procedure, along with his team of surgeons. Well, I can't believe it's so soon and I'm so ready, believe me. I feel very blessed to have this opportunity to change my life with this wonderful tool called the Lap-Band! Just thought I'd share the great news and say hello...and again, thank you! Michelle (Soon to be Bandster)

Yay!! Congrats!!!! Take care... Mithow

Hi all, thanks in advance for your help with this... I'm going to Mexico for surgery late next week & was wondering what to pack and if there's anything essential I should buy that will help make the trip more bearable, in your experience...thanks!! Mikkie

DOC & FunnyDuddies, thank you both as well!! Everyone is such a sweetie here... :confused:

La_madam, thank you so much for your reply... I ended up calling Don Mills to ask some questions about the band itself. The list of nearby doctors I was able to get from the Inamed website. However, someone on another board was extremely helpful and showed me a place (www.asbs.org) you can find a list of surgeons by zip code AND you can specify to search for those who WILL FOLLOW UP WITH other Doctors' patients!! This was very helpful, it helped me narrow down the list I got from the Inamed website. I'll be making some calls tomorrow to find my after care DR.....thanks again for replying to my post!