Doddie63

Hi Everyone. We had another great turnout to our support meeting at Lions Gate Hospital. We don't have a structured meeting just everyone telling their journey and lots of laughs. Anyone contemplating banding, pre op or post op and support person please come out to the meetings every third Wednesday. It's free and fun.

I am not your doctor, but I would suggest you need a fill. For instance, I have a 10 cc band and am at 5.5 ccs. I have mild restriction but able to swallow my medication and when I forget to chew thoroughly, I don't vomit very often. My doctor had put my band on fairly tight so I had a natural restriction as well. Ask your doctor what the average restriction for your band is, when you reach that level you should have restriction. However if you have to go higher than the average, go slowly in the amounts such as .5 ccs or less. I have been taking .5 ccs but now I will go now to .25 ccs. My band's average is 6 or 7 ccs. Hope this assists you.

sunshine when were you banded? and what is the size of the band. Some people have to have 3, 4, etc fills before feeling restriction. Take your time about fills, but when you are eating over what your surgeon wants you then get a fill in small incruements. The other question, if you are swallowing pills whole, are they a horse pill or a tiny pill? If horse pills maybe you should ask your doctor for a alternate like liquid or cold you halve the pills. Having pills sitting in your pouch could cause problems to the lining of the stomach (or so I am told).

Nurse: LOL, I trust everyone to know what they can or can't do. As you can see, I had now have a lot to lose. I have gone from morbidly obese to obese - one point for me. You mentioned you were a slow loser but intended to lose 3 lbs a week. I was just trying to encourage you to accept whatever lose you do get as a wonderful goal and not put your sights too high for a weekly weight loss. You could become discouraged if you don't attain the lofty goals. Many cannot step on the scales at all because of the water retention we all seem to suffer. I am a joke in that field. I start out at 232 and in the 3rd week I am 238 then drop down to a lower weight in the 4th week averaging out to 2 lbs per month. Anyway I will cross my fingers and wish a mighty wish you meet your 3 lbs goal each week. Let us know how you are doing so I can envy and admire your success at the same time.

Hi: You may be cutting your calories too low. the recommended weight loss is 1/2 to 2 lbs per week. By having to cut back 7,500 calories a week consistantly until your goal will discourage you. Don't forget, the band is the tool to teach you to eat differently. It sounds to me like you are on a diet of starvation. Does your clinic give you a recommended protein intake. For instance. 3 oz hard protein and up to 4 oz of vegetables/fruit every four waking hours is what I am to do. As for exercise I don't. Up until now, I occasionally went to aqua fit and a bit of treadmill but my limbs won't let me do too much yet I consistantly lose 1/2 to 3/4 lb a week. I point I am trying to make is take it slowly. Slow is frustration at the best of times, but you do have the rest of your life. We all know diets don't work. Having said that, I have been having a Nacho weeks - back to the drawing board. Good luck

I am sorry you are feeling ripped off and that is something you should take up with your clinic. We all know the band is supposed to be a tool that restricts the amount of food that is eaten at any given time so if you are eating the allotted 1/2 to 1 cup of food with 3 oz being hard protein and eating every 4 hours some sort of protein and not losing weight, it is time to go to your GP. See if he/she would refer you to an eating disorder clinic and have you monitored as to what you eat and whether or not you are doing the best exercises for losing weight. I am sure there are a battery of tests that would eventually find your problem. We certainly don't intend to preach, as we all have similar issues but when giving advice, all we can do it tell you what the health authorities tell us. Calories in must be less than calories burnt. You problem is to find out why this isn't happening. For instance, I have been sabatoging myself by having 900 calories a day but I either don't exercise my 30 - 60 minutes/day or I get into the tortilla chips and sauce. I log everything and I soon am reminded I am eating 1800 to 2200 calories. I also graze and that is a disatrous thing to do. My point is if you can't find your own solution by tracking your food intake and exercising then it is time to bring in the GP and experts in obesity. Good luck

email Nancy Coulombe at ncoulombe@tlbc.ca telephone 1-800-409-8151 extension/local 337 Also, Roseanne will have the informaiton.

Hi: I have just heard from Nancy the fill nurse from the TLBC that she will be in Victoria to give fills. Contact the clinic if you don't hear from them if you are interested. yes it’s true I’m going this weekend to Victoria to do fill. i will confirm the hotel by Wednesday and let you know for sure. I will be available Friday between 6 and 9pm and Saturday between 8 and 1pm for fill. I hope I will see you there! Rosane will contact you probably today to give you all the info. I should arrive Friday afternoon. My check in is at 4pm so as soon I have the suite number I will send you an e-mail.

Kero you have made some excellent observations, some of them I subscribe to. I do understand there is now a psychologist on staff but I don't know how you get to him before or after surgery. I live in BC and know firsthand how long distant patients can get lost at TLBC. The aftercare support is second to none for Toronto and area patients. However, anyone long distance must give heed to support very carefully. For instance, for me to have a FREE fill, it costs me roughly $1,000 to fly to Toronto. Also, not being able to attend the "Boot Camp" and other support meetings can leave a long distance patient very much alone. As everyone knows the first few months everything that is unusual such as pain, vomiting, etc. can be very frightening. Not being able to get answers locally can equally be frightening. Where one clinic supplies fill nurses/doctors throughout Canada, TLBC does not do that. They rely on a DVD which has never been accepted by our ER or my GP as a training tool. BC now has a Dr. that does banding trained by Dr. Yau but he will not do fills for any patient other than his own. Mercifully, I was accepted as his patient before he stopped taking on others. All my points are yes TLBC is an excellent Clinic and Dr. Yau is the most experienced. Their aftercare is second to none, except for long distant patients, which can find it a bit tiresome getting help. Zena probably would back me up on this. As for comments on Nancy, I don't think it is the language barrier at all. I I had arranged a surgical date to have my port corrected but she was the direct cause of the surgery being cancelled. She used two needles and 5 tries to get the saline in as a test and told Dr. Yau there was no need for surgery. As a result I lost $1,000 for that trip only to make it a few months later AGAIN and this time I had it corrected. Nancy knew I was from BC but that didn't stop her from "advising the doctor" there was no problem putting in saline. Even when I told Dr. Yau it took 4 needles and twenty minutes to get in a fill. I thought the next day I would get anoher fill before going home On this trip, I told them I only wanted the band corected not moved. In the dressing room, Dr. Yau asked where I wanted it moved to. I was furious and told him to fix the damn thing I didn't want it moved. I really wonder if they talk to each other! FLASH! I just have received word that Nancy will be coming to Victoria, BC for fills. TLBC never told me. Communications anyone?????

zoltrix I wonder if you should be seeing your doctor for tests concerning your lungs for either asthama, infection, whatever. The cough may not have anything to do with banding surgery and is only coincidental. I am particular about coughs because I was diagnosed with TB when I was 11 years of age, caught from a family that did not follow up on one of the children's coughs. I also had asthmas for a long time before being tested only to find I have asthma. The other is a viral cough. Best to check your cough out with someone that is expert in lungs.

My intention was not to slag you Andrew and yes my aftercare was a huge problem. That is why I am making a big deal of it before others fall into the same trap. I have answered 5 recent posts about Mexican patients of Dr. Ortiz who are looking for aftercare. SWLC is setting up fill nurses/doctors across Canada, and TLBC is also trying. With all due respect you are not the only one referring patients to Mexico. They may not be as caring as you are. Also, I am trying to point out the importance of researching after care of ANY long distant patients. For instance, my free fill by TLBC costs me roughly $1,000 per trip and I am very fortuante that Dr. Woodhead took me on. He is no longer accepting any patients from other doctors. Long distant patients may feel they can afford to fly back to the original province, state or Mexico but what about in the future. All these things have to be thought out carefully. Many people don't see past the band and even if they do, they don't always see the questions they have to ask. Critisize me all you like, I will continue to post the importance of after care. Then people can make their own decisions.

In case Phyl doesn't see this, try going to the forums home page and scrolling down to Suggestions, feeback and Questions. Click on that then look for "howe to get a ticker in your signature". This may help you.

Oh, check your security program on your PC. It may be thinking Fitday is a virus if you haven't used it before. Turning off the security may help

Hi: Basic questions. Did you join and get a password? You may have to exit out and resign in. Once you sign in, there are two custom foods. One is "new custom foods" which brings up a blank form and the other is "custom foods" which retrieves custom foods you have entered. Click on "new custom foods" and when the blank shows up, give it a title that is unique. Fill in all the blanks from the can or bottle or your favorite frozen food, then you must save. The save button is at the bottom or top of the form. There should be no problem. I liked Fitday so much, I purchased their download software. For $20.00 I find the program so much easier to handle and I get a lot more charts. I hope this helps you. Doddie

For any BC bandster looking for a fill nurse, the website is www.northwestfills.com Phone 360 512 4220 If you go to their website they are by appointment only and they give their rates. Vanman, thanks for the compliment. Glad to have helped a bit.

Try www.northwestfills.com phone 360-512-4220 Two fill nurses by appointment only. They are in Arlington, Washington state

Hi: I had a thyroid/diabetic specialist well respected in his field and was written up in the papers and also lectured around the country and overseas. He has since retired. He diagnosed my Graves disease (hyperthyroid). After treatment, I became Hypo and was put on synthroid and remember his words. The blood tests show a range that doctors consider normal, but because of my weight he wanted me at the top of the range. He felt overweight people have a slower BMR than most. I don't lose weight quickly but I do lose weight steadily. Perhaps you should ask your doctor to consider putting you on synthroid. The drug takes up to six weeks to take affect. No harm in asking?

Try going to "Northwest Fill Management" located in Arlington,Washington State. Approx. 50 mines north of Seattle. There telephone # 360-512-4220 www.northwestfill.com Checked website and the telephone number has changed.

Doctor, Mitchell Phone: 403 264-6720 Notes: Fill Doctor in Calagary He may have moved as this is old information given to me by TLBC. Also, I believe there are two fill nurses in Bellingham Washington State. If you do a search on the internet you should find them as they advertise. As well maybe somone will read this and forward the information. I will search as well to get the link.

Did Andrew tell you he was banded by a Canadian clinic and he has his support. What support in Canada was provided to you. Do you have a fill doctor/nurse close by. Have you read postings from banders who have gone to ERs in Ontario and the reception they received? There is no question that Dr. Ortiz is a good surgeon, but what after support does he provide. Many people contemplating going to Mexico would like to read about what aftercare the Mexican clinic provides in canada.

Hi Vanman: I guess you missed my new link about Dr.Woodhead. He is no longer doing patients from Mexico or from any other banding clinic. I saw him yesterday and asked him outright and he replied no that his practice was just too busy. He was going to maintain his support to patients he already has, but he will not be taking on any more. The only fill nurses, with the exception of local GPs who do fills for their patients, are down in Bellingham or having to fly to Calgary.

congratualtions susansilver. looks like your journey so far has been successful. How much fill did you get and what is the total?

Just want to post Dr. R. Woodhead is no longer giving fills to people who are not his patient. Saw him today and asked him to confirm what I had read on an earlier post. He said he would continue supporting patients he now has but will not take on new people. I suppose if a fill is required after long distant surgery, it would be a Calgary Clinic or a clinic in Washington State. Of course, there is your GP to ask as well.

What a great early birthday present. You may not have the cake, but in reality you can still Celebrate a wonderful birthday. Imagination is a wonderful thing. Congratulations on the start of a new life.

Frypan. I would suggest to you that you can eat anything you like except not a lot of it. A recent study has indicated that individuals that track their food accurately every day lose weight. I use www.fitday.com every meal and snack. I won't be neglectful by omitting foods because the only person I hurt is myself. I even factor in a bit of ice cream and potato chips. By knowing what I am consuming I know when to tread softly when it comes to what I eat that day. Try it you may surprise yourself.