Doddie63

Thanks fousilly for responding.

best wishes plevy. I don't have children but the band has given me a life of energy and happiness which has translated into better health to enjoy my retirement. I know you will find you enjoy everything so much more. Again best wishes

muckstack. What a wonderful son. Now you can relax while on the liquid and mushies stages of your food intake. I had to cook for my DH and I admit it wasn't easy. EL will be thinking of you on the 3rd. My best wishes go with you

becca: I am glad you made this statement. It is common to read some individuals think that once a doctor is trained, they will do fills for anyone. NOT!

frypan: log onto canadianlapbanders.com website. That is a site that the TLBC and SWLC patients use. Others are of course using it and are welcome. But if you want to learn about the support groups that is the place. Good luck on your journey.

Oh, I agree with you 100 Per cent. You have hit all my points on the head. That individual had a local surgeon after the ER hesitated in helping. Long distant patients don't have that luxory. I experienced the fear of not having a local surgeon to call as you can see by my Ticker. But TLBC referred me to Dr. Woodhead and now I have help if I should ever need it. Any long distance to travel for a potential bandster should be researched and backup planned and ensured. I am not trying to disuade anyone from going to Mexico or any long distant clinic.But I am hoping to point people into looking carefully at their aftercare before surgery, based on my experiences. Why should they experience what I did if I can help then not to. I wish you well in your journey and I hope you continue to be proud of your clinic and promote it with the caveat that you tell them to ensure backup.

congratulations on the start of your journey. It will be worth it. You probably would get the best answer to your question if you ask your surgeon what he does. The practice of stitching the port or leaving it in a pocket of fat next to the skin is a surgeon's choice. Mine is the second and it turned on its side. I had it corrected, but there is no quarantee it will not turn again. Stitching causes more pain after surrgery and there is more chance, the tubing will break. Example take a metal object and a plastic tube and bend it back and forth. It will probably break at the connection. Apparently turning the port or fixing the tubing is not too serious. There are a variety of bands on the market, and your surgeon is the only one to tell you what his choices are.

Dr. Leung is the Gold Standard. Not good bedside manner for some ve people but an excellent surgeon who has been doing the surgery for some time. The other is Dr. R. Woodhead, young and just starting out. I personally go to Dr. Woodhead and like him very much. I know of a few others banded by him and like him as well. He was trained by Dr. Yau of the TLBC and went to France for further training in the Fr. Midband. You can check the Professional Registrar to see if there are any complaints against either one. Hope this helps.

sphyxmomma. You indicated after the band the medical profession is responsible for us and have to treat us. Please go to the canadianlapbanders.com site and read the posting of someone who went to the Ont hospital and sat there for 5 hours. They would do nothing. Then had to go home and try to contact her surgeon for help. Also, a GP is not obligated to help you if you are not their patient. In fact, GPs "fire patients", which shocked me when I saw it on TV a few weeks ago. I am all for people going to Mexico and getting the band. In my view anyway they can get the band the better. But they had better go with all the information they can gather.

You are more than welcome. I am turning 65 next month and I can't believe how the weight loss has given me so much more pride and energy. The bonus of course is the band keeps me from sliding to far back. I can't understand by the medical people in our province are so dead set against the band. Anyway, I sure am glad I have it.

Hi: My doctor recommend Tums ultra 1000. They are fruit flavord and chewable. I take two in the morning. I understand there are other calcium products out, but Tums for calcium are the cheapest and do the same thing. But there is a warning with any calcium product. Do not overdo as you can develop problems. As for the sticker Deb go the the home page and scroll down to Sugestions, Feedback and Questions. Look for "How to get a ticker in your signature". The instructions are very good. They worked for me and I am a real dunce when it comes to computers.

smsmithart: I have 5.5 cc in a 10 cc band also and have ample restriction. If you are having pain, you are not chewing enough. The natural chewing is approx. 12 bites before you swallow. So the trick is to take small bites and chew at least 20 times before swallowing. If you take normal bites, more than likely you are swallowing chunks too large to go thru the opening. Also, are you weighing your food. One cup of food is hard to eyeball with some. Me, for instance. I was having vomiting and pain every time I ate until my doctor told me weigh and measre my food and to take bites the size of a pea and chew it until it is liquid. then he told me to down my fork after 20 minutes and eat no more. The pouch will be full and so will you. No liquids with the meal to make the large chunks go down easier. The key is to chew.

pamperedmoon. Hey, it is great. Your starting weight doesn't have to be different for any other weight loss. You are well on your way and it sounds like you can cook too. Not my strength.

You were deadon Phyllser. The doctor cut the stitch just below the skin, put on a antibiotic salve and told me to keep it clean to watch for infection. It feels a lot more comfortable now.

pamperedmoon: You 3 week stats look great. Congratualtions.

re slippage, only an experienced and surgeon can correct that. Again, I urge you to talk to your GP and make enquiries as to a qualified surgeon in your area taking on your case. Better to be sure now than sorry later.

wherever you live, you must ask your GP. Every province is different and not every doctor will take on another surgeons patients especially corrective surgery. Emergency is another matter, but once you go to an ER, some medical professionals want to either defill completely or remove the band completely. You must check with your locals and who better to ask is your GP or the person doing fills. You could ask the Mexican surgeon who he has to represent his clinic in your area. Just some ideas.

Congratulations. looks like you are all set. good luck and speedy recovery.

Hi disolvegirl: Good for you in doing your research. Research old links and ask questions. No matter how trivial or small they may seem. Don't skimp on aftercare either. Support is vital. That can turn out to be one of the most expensive parts of the journey particuarly if you live a long distance from the clinic. SWLC has a network of fill nurses/doctors across Canada and TLBC is working hard to do the same. You will find that many doctors/nurses will not do fills for anyone but their own patients. You will also find different charges for fills. So make sure you have a backup plan for fills. The personal example I can give you is for me to fly to Toronto to get my FREE fill, I have to pay airplane tickets, hotel, meals, taxi etc. I had my local GP lined up for fills, but he backed out. TLBC helped me find a doctor in Vancouver that took on my care. Now I only have to fly back for surgical intervention such as I did in June. I had my port corrected. So no matter which clinic or doctor you chose, bear in mind the unforseen. Hope this helps you on your journey.

mom2two: Hi, I think I posted to you on another website but just in case, be sure you research your aftercare carefully if you chose to go out of province or our of country. There are a few fill nurses in Washington who do fills if you have a vehicle and can get down there. The only doctor I know of in the Vancouver area that does fills for other doctors is a Dr. Woodhead but he will not do Mexican patients. Don't take my word for it though, contact him before going to Mexico and ask him. Also, remember there is more to aftercare than a few fills. For instance I had to fly back to Toronto to have my port position corrected because it had flipped. For me to get a free fill in Toronto,it costs me $1,000.00 to fly there, taxi and hotels and meals. My point is to go wherever you like with your eyes open as to the complete care and costs associated with the band. Assess whether or not you can afford to go back to Mexico, or down to Washington State, Calgary, etc. Sometime it is cheaper in the long run to use one of the two doctors in the Vancouver area who are both very competent. Doreen

Hi: We meet every third Wednesday of the month at the Lions Gate Hospital. The main entrance in on 15th street. There is pay parking unless you want to park on the street if you find a spot that is. After entering the hospital, there is a gift shop directly ahead, turn right and go thru double doors and go down the corridor. Turn right at the library and we are the first door on the right. Look forward to meeting you.

Gerdi: Dr. Leung only does fills for his patients. Thdre are not too many doctors that will do fills if you are not their patient. Dr. Woodhead will do fills for Canadians that are not his patient here in Canada, but he will not do people banded in Mexico. However, I think every individual interested in fills even if banded in Mexico could contact his office for a personal answer. Also, there are fill clinics just slightly south in Washington state or Calgary, Albert. Hope to see you at the meeting.

Thankyou, Thankyou. You have set my mind at ease. Wow! I love this website.

Hi everyone. Just posting to say on June 5 has my port readjusted as it had flipped to its side making fills difficult. I am now experiencing a bit of irritation as I have some surgical thread sticking out. I tried to pull it out but it won't budge so will see my doctor today. I thought all surgical sutures inside are supposed to disolve. I really have no idea how my doctor is going to get it out but I sure don't want infection setting in. Hope all is well with you all.

Mom, we would be only to happy to have you attend. We all have interesting histories, some good, some not so good. You can find out what awaits you as you start your journey. We meet at the Lion's Gate Hospital. If you send an e mail to 'canadagirl33@hotmail.com', she will put you on her reminder list. If you would like to, contact me at doddie63@hotmail.com and I would do my best to answer some of your start out questions. Peaches don't give up. Canadagirl and myself went months. Canadagirl contacted the Lions Gate Hospital and we were given access to a room for our support group free. I even attended one meeting all by myself incase someone showed up. At the very least, if you know of one or two, start an email support group. You all have the grounding interest of remoteness to get you started. Good luck