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Question about fills & pre-op diet..


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I am almost 100% sure about getting the lapband procedure but still have a few questions. First, what is the purpose of the pre-op diet? When does one get their first fill? Is the band filled at all at the time of the initial surgery? Are the fills included in the cost of the procedure? Is the third night stay at the hotel optional? How soon can I get back to work? (desk job, no heavy liftng :) ) Thank you in advance for your responses!!

It's great to see how supportive everyone is on this site. It definitely makes me more sure about my decision :)

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The pre-op diet is designed to help you loose some of the fat around your organs, making it easier for the doctors to poke around in there. It also helps to shrink the size of your liver for the same reason.

Fills are done at 6-8 weeks out. You will probably gain weight between the surgery and your first fill, so don't be anxious during that time, just heal.

Sometimes the band has some saline put in it during the surgery but it is a minimal amount and won't affect your level of restriction.

With Dr Ortiz, fills are included in the cost of surgery but use of flouroscopy is not, so you'll be charged about $100 at the time of your fill. You can also find a doctor locally to do your fills but with florouscopy those fills range $350 - $450. Shop around and make sure they'll take a Mexican patient as some US doctors won't.

Some people leave the day after surgery, but you should really be resting and healing at this point. The early traveling might be putting unnecessary strain on you. I flew down to Mexico on a Monday, was banded on a Tuesday, and flew back up Thursday night. I probably could have gone back to work Friday if I had to but I wanted to rest and just slept as much as possible that day. Of course, by then my cats had learned that I made the best faces when they jumped on my stomach while I was sleeping . . .

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