Another "newbie"

Sorry Jeni for the confusion I was asking Patsy about band filling by a lady that used to do it in New Glasgow but not sure who she is - had only heard about her in my research.

I had gastric bypass -so no band here girly just my pouch! No fills needed - lol

You could post on the Lap Band board and ask people in the Maritimes/NS in particular where do they get there fill done or do they have there family doctor do it - also post this question on the NS board - there a lot of people who have travelled to Toronto for the band self pay so I am not sure if they return to Toronto for fills or not - if you send an email to any of the clinics in Ontario they should be able to give you an idea of where patients from this end of the world get serviced!

Its a long process - the research , the decision , the waiting , the choice of type of surgery - its not an overnight decision thats for sure..... good luck with everything.

deb

Thanks Deb, I am not sure if she still does fills or not, but my understanding is that Dr. B. doesn't want others tampering with his bands.  I don't think he will keep you on as a patient ifyou go elsewhere.  I understand this reasoning so I don't question it.  I'm happy going back to Moncton each time cause I trust him and his work.

You are correct Patsy- Dr B will drop you as a patient if you have anyone but his team touch the band. Another thing-  I know that you paid 5700.00, but Dr B's office told me that self pay is 10000.00. Until last Feb. NB'ers had to pay 4500.00 for the band. I'm sure that dr B's fees, the anestesiologist and hospital expences add up to more than 1200.00.....or did you pay 4500.00 for the band plus 5700.00 for other fees?

Jenni , I didn't see which type of WLS you are interested in. Also don't tell Dr B's office that you are on other waiting lists because he will drop you from his list.

Nope it was 4500 for the band and 1200 for the other fees.  that was it.  pretty good deal !!!

 Charline:

I'm interested in the lapband.  I didn't tell Dr. B's office about any other waiting lists but I'm still confused as to why the secretary (can't remember her name) told me they don't do self pay when I've heard different on OH.  Maybe i should call again...just don't want to refused because I'm being a pain.  I've been on their list since last spring and I even told them then that I was interested in self pay.

Perhaps Dr B no longer does self pay since he no longer has to wait for Medicare to approve the patients. 

Don't worry about being a pain, most of us have been a "squeeky wheel".

Ya I dont blame ya one bit -

I think I would feel much better about my surgeon looking after my fills and with the help of the xray/fluro thing to aid in it than someone else - they dont call it the "sweetspot" for nothin- it seems to be a very precise science.

Hopefully your "hudini port" with its catch me if you can attitude will settle down for ya! - must be a man! lol

deb

On the contrary, it is not a precise science, it is an art. Also every patient is a little different. It is a very easy procedure to do and bandsters with a medical back ground often do their own fills.If I had access to the right equipment I wouldn't,t hesitate to do my own fills.

Your band has a guarantee or warantee I think and Lise told me that if someone other that Dr. Beau or his staff does the fill it cancels the guarantee and if you need a port revision or a correction of an erosion - it will cost MUCHO money.  I think in my book that driving to Moncton for a fill is a small price to pay for gas and vehicle wear and tear and a bit of time on your part as compared to thousands of dollars that would result for a port revision for example.  (port revisions are sometimes necessary if your port becomes detached from the muscle wall or if you get a kink in the tubing due to loss of belly fat and then the tube is longer than it needs to be.  Not all band patients need port revisions or changes to the tubing but it is done from time to time in some cases.)

Ann