AARRGGHH!!!! I had my surgery in Maine 5/17/05 and moved to Orlando, Florida 7/20/05. I have called numerous places and all but one has refused to treat me as I am a liability! the one place that woudl treat me wanted a "program fee" od $ 1,000.00! then the fills would be 150.00 is the dr did it and 75.00 if the nurse did it. I asked what the program fee entailed and was basically a "refresher". Well, I know why I did this and how, I don't feel I need to pay someone that much money to go over it again. I feel like I am being taken advantage of. What happens if you relocate witha pacemaker or other implanted device?? I know that it is basically because the band is so new but still really angers me. I am fortunate enough to have a friend who is a pilot and helps me get back to Maine and then I pay 300.00 cash for my fills. If anyone knows of a reasonable place in Florida who does fills please let me know...Don't care where at this point. Thanks for listening to me vent!:phanvan

Thanks Cheryl,

That's the closest I've been in my search. Do you know if they are suburban Detroit? I'm from Flint but wouldn't mind going that far. I'm going to see if I can find contact info. I'll let you know how it goes.

Michelle,

Check out fillcenter.usa and you will find that they have several locations isn Fla.

Bette

I am having the same problem as you. I live like 70 miles north of Tampa, and I needed a fill. I tryed all the people close to here and no one would take me. So I found a Dr grossbard in Tampa. He said he would take me and it would cost $300 at the office, and $200 for a thing done at the hospital. So $500 total. I thought that was cool so I did it. Well........as I was 400+ lbs the hospital did not want me on the X-ray table and would not let the doctor do it. I was so embarrassed and ashamed, so of course I got good and "Pissed", and, although they did not want to, they did give me my money back. BUT............. Now as I am 375 and light enought for there table, I might be able to get it done down there. I did go up to NY and have a fill, they took out 2cc, & put back in 2.5 cc. I don't think it is enought as I can still too much. If I am going to lose any more weight, I need to eat less. I am the type, that if I can eat a full meal, I will. This is what the band is suppost to do. Keep me from eating. As of right now I can't eat like I was going to the chair, but in order to lose another 150 lbs I need to eat a lot less.

Butch

Butch,

Don't know if you already know this, but if you go through fillcenterusa Dr. Grossbard is on their list. You do have to pay $299 to enroll, however the fills after that are only $155 and $200 if done under fluro.

Bette

WOW........... Thanks Betty, that is great news, I really mean it, that is really great news. I am going on the site now. Your the best girl, you GO !!!!!!!! It's a good thing I did not just call the office, it would have cost me over $500 to do it that way. Thanks again.

Butch

does anyone know a fill dr. in san antonio or austin?

I live on Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Florida. I need to find a fill Dr. near me. Can anyone help? I would also like to hear from lower bmi banders like myself to compare success

Hi AngAsh 1,

My BMI was 32 when I was banded in June of 05, it is currently 24. I would like to loose another 15#'s and am looking forward to another Bandsters boot camp which was very helpful to me last spring. My metabolism was so depressed initially that even though eating no more the 1200 calories I didn't start to loose weight consistently until I was stron enough to increase my arobic exc and weight training to about 7 hrs a wk. Initially I used walking outside or treadmill then progressed to an ellyptical machine which I love because it's easy to get my heart rate up to 150 which is the level that seems to work best for me. It took me quite a while to work up to 30-40 minutes of wt training 3 x's a wk.

The holiday period has been a trip for me both years since banding with increased goodies and decreased exc. I'm having some trouble getting back on the band wagaon. I gained a few pounds over this holiday. Last year I think I maintained. It doesn't worry me too much because I see this issue with moderate eating and exc to be a lifetime project.

Good luck to you in your weight loss and finding a local Doctor for your fills. In my area it was going to cost me as much for a fill as it costs to fly back to Mexico for a fill. Extrordinary unreasonable cost for the floroscopy portion of the fill. I'll be interested to see how you make out with this.

anyone in North Carolina do fills?

I have a list of several Florida Docs. I don't know the area at all but I'm willing to email the list to anyone interested.

Anyone can go to www.obesityhelp.com, and at the top left corner click on Find a Bariatric Surgeon, then click on your state, and start calling the doctors that do lap bands... I am from MICHIGAN and will be seeing Dr. Kim in Ypsilanti in two weeks... The first appointment is covered by my insurance, but if w/out insurance cost is $125-$150... Fills are $150, and not typically fluroscopy, but if needed or desired fluroscopy is an additional $70-$100... Their office has two drs in Ypsilanti and one dr in Holland... Good luck to anyone in the US on finding a fill dr... Just explain that you had or are having the surgery in Mexico and looking for follow up care in your home state...

Thanks for that website www.obesityhelp.com

because I found a hospital and doctor closer to me and will take my insurance 100% This has made me so excited

Audrey

Anyone out there find a clinic that fills in Wisconsin or Illinois?

I had the surgery in Tijuana, which went great, but am really

squeaking with the price of the air to fly back there.

Any midwest clinics and prices? Please help!

Have you tried fillcenterusa?

Thanks so much Bette. I will! BetterLife