Hi everyone

I would be very interested to know what people have in their lap band packages, as Private paying patients ?

Examples

How many fills do you expect in the package?

Do you have any professional on hand when you have a problem?

Do you have a dietitian to help you?

We have packages that vary so much and I have a package

BUT still do not know what it consists of !

So difficult to tie anyone down with any answers!!

So much so, that, I have become totally demoralized by this!:biggrin:

I would appreciate your input,

Thanks so much.

My physician currently offers 3 different packages. The most convenient is the one including the 2 years of free fills, appointment with surgeon or nurse, unfills during office hours, pouch dilitations and port revisions included (facility/anesethesia extra), and $100 USD charge for emergency afterhours unfills.

Mine included surgery, anesthesia, pre surgery checkup with EKG & Blood Work and physical, Appointment with nutrionist, appointment with doctor before surgery & after surgery and one fill. The PA who did my physical and EKG will be the ones doing the fills. They will charge a $100.00 per fill after the first one. My package was self pay and it was $9,990.00 I did it at TLCEdge Weight Loss Center in Plano, Texas. You get to pick from 7 different doctors. I chose Dr. Daryl Stewart out of Denton to do mine and I absolutely loved him. He was awesome and very informative and wanted to make sure I had all of my questions answered.

My self-pay package includes appointment with surgeon and nutritionist (and more if necessary) as well as any fills for a year after surgery. It doesn't seem like much, but it is a lot all the same!

After surgery I get one year of free fills and appointments as necessary, including meetings with nutritionists and the exercise guy. I usually go every 3-4 weeks for a check.

I'm coming up on my 1 yr anniversary and am going to have to start paying. I think they'll be seeing me every couple of months after October.

Mine covered:

Preop psych eval, dietitian pre op class and one post op, two years post op fills and office visits, surgery (the outpatient center, anesthesia, the band, etc.), lifetime support group and some other stuff that I can’t think of now. My package was $17k.

I did the pre op blood work, sleep study, barium swallow, and other testing through my insurance, but they didn’t cover WLS.

Thank you all so much..........

I see it does vary, especially from country to country .

I feel the UK is still on a learning curve

I had to pay £7,200 odd English pounds and I am still not sure what the package contains

Alto I do attend a monthly meeting of other bandsters and they are really kind and helpful.

Hand another fill last night which was part of the package!

Its seems very restricting so I am hoping the weight may start to come off more quickly

Because I have only lost about 12lbs since February 2009!!

And I have been exercising walking . Lots!

That is the demoralizing bit :huh2:

But I am confident that this fill is going to work!

I would like some new friends please if possible?

That would be really great!

Thanks Mary

I was self pay and everything totaled around 21,000. It included surgery, anesethia, 1 year of fills, 4 quarterly meetings with dietician and 1 year followup with surgeon.

Hi,

I was self-pay in Kansas. The total cost was 16,500. It included my pre-op visit, surgery, anesthesia, recovery, fills for a year and my one-year follow-up.

I went to Mexico. My package included pre-op tests ( cardiology, pulmonary, dental), anesthesia, stay in the surgery center, 3 days of hotel in Mexico, transport to and from San Diego airport, nutritional counseling, private cell phone numbers of all doctors and the nutritionist. Unlimited online support. I will have to pay for fills and the cost of travel to get there but....they do fills with fluoroscopy so they are more likely to get it right than just guessing and, most of their patients require only 1-2 fills per lifetime.

Total cost $7000.

$12,900 total for Surgery and Hosptial and one year of fills and all Dr visits. Dr. Spivak in Houston

most of their patients require only 1-2 fills per lifetime.

Wow, how does that work? I've had about 6 of them in less than a year. Are they more aggressive in the amounts they put in?

I haven't had a fill yet so I don't know how much I will get but in the book my surgeon and his team wrote, he states "The standard protocol in the United States adopted by most surgeons is a gradual adding of volume. This works well, but the author prefers to get the restriction level to the correct amount as soon as possible.This can be achieved more easily with the aid of fluoroscopy." He also talks about being sure there is no air in the system at the time of the fill. If there is air in there it will make the fill seem more restrictive but, the air will leak out thereby reducing the restriction and then you will need more fill. So, my surgeon uses fluoroscopy to see the level of restriction and is sure to purge the air from the system at the time of the fill. That way all of the resticton is from the saline solution and no restriction will be lost because of loss of air.

We'll see. I don't think I need a fill it has only been about a month and I still get full. I'm planning on my first fill sometime in the months of Sept, Oct, or Nov. if I need one.

I went to Mexico. My package included pre-op tests ( cardiology, pulmonary, dental), anesthesia, stay in the surgery center, 3 days of hotel in Mexico, transport to and from San Diego airport, nutritional counseling, private cell phone numbers of all doctors and the nutritionist. Unlimited online support. I will have to pay for fills and the cost of travel to get there but....they do fills with fluoroscopy so they are more likely to get it right than just guessing and, most of their patients require only 1-2 fills per lifetime.

Total cost $7000.

Hi

Thanks for the reply very impressed with your quotes!

Also the fluoroscope route.

I did have to have some taken out of my band this am 1/4 but at least I can now drink!

Good luck to everyone on your journeys and please keep in touch . Bye Mary

i self-paid in colorado. total costs were a little over $15,000. this included use of the surgery center, anethesia, meeting with a nutritionist, psychological evaluation, and one full year of unlimited doctors visits (including as many fills and un-fills as i need). also, the doctor's office holds monthly meetings that are free to attend. and the doctor gave me instructions on how to contact him directly on weekends and after hours.

Hi Mary.

I was banded 3rd August, at the Spire in Cardiff. I paid £7,550, which included a preop assessment, all surgery fees, an overnight hospital stay, three band fills, an ongoing weight clinic with a specialist nurse and three dietician appointments, plus any surgery I need to have within a year to correct any potential problems. I've also been told to call the hospital/dietician/specialist nurse if I have any problems or concerns. Hope this helps!