There’s a blog post that I’m sure a lot of people who are researching Lap Bands right now are seeing in which a young woman is telling her tale of getting Lap Band surgery in Mexico four years ago. At that point in time, surgeons weren’t doing fills for the patients of other surgeons, so she had to fly to Mexico everytime she needed a fill – a situation that has now changed. Anyway, she expresses the idea that had she not needed to fly to Mexico for a fill, she would have had fills several times a month, rather than over the course of several months. This isn’t accurate – you wouldn’t have fills several times a month. According to Dr. Paul O’Brien, who is the Director of The Centre For Obesity Research and Education at Monash University in Australia, you’ll have your first adjustment 4 weeks post op. At that point, you’ll have adjustments every two weeks or so, until you hit what he calls “the green zone”. It takes about a week to determine how the particular fill is affecting you and most physicians prefer to have a little more data before they proceed again. Once you hit the green zone, the time between adjustments stretches out from four weeks, to six weeks to three months, to six months. It just depends. I’ve talked to a few people who have lost all of their weight with four or five adjustments. Some people require more.
For those of you who are new to this – the port is located somewhere just to the side of your belly button. Fills are simple and painless. You lay down a table, put your hands behind your head and life your legs slightly. That causes your tummy muscles to tighten up and the physician feels for the port. Once found, they swab the area to clean it, spray a local anesthetic on it (no shot) and do a quick injection. They withdraw all the saline from your Lap Band so that they are sure how much is already there, and then inject the full new amount. It’s all over in under two minutes.
Here’s a video of a Lap Band fill being done:
Here’s Love My Lap Band Interviewee Lorraine Kay talking about her fill (among a few other things). Now, Lorraine’s experience involves a barrium X-ray so they can check things out a little more thoroughly, and that’s more likely to happen with someone whose procedure is being covered by insurance. Still, she makes the point quite well that it’s quick and simple.
And here is Becca getting a Lap Band fill in her physician’s office:
Fill Centers USA has 30 locations around the nation and has an entire post-operative support program. They handle fills, and provide the post-surgical support helping you learn to use your Lap Band to the most positive end possible. One of the things we know, is that people who have post-surgical support lose more weight, and have an all around happier experience. So, if you’re contemplating surgery in Mexico, this is an option you should consider.
If you’re just investigating Lap Band surgery, I’d encourage to read Dr. Paul O’Brien’s book THE LAP BAND SOLUTION. He covers all of the basic information in a clear, concise, easy-to-read manual. He’s one of the premier experts on Lap Bands in the world, and has been formally researching their efficacy since the early nineties.