Doddie63

Hi: When asked, I tell. Although I had a bad experience with telling my sister, I don't regret making my band public. Hopefully, I will give someone else the idea to have a band if they have a weight problem. One thing I do recommend, is that you wear a medic alert bracelet. There are some very attactive ones on the market. If you have an emergency, whether it be an accident or a band problem, the medics need to know about the gatric band. Happy New Year everyone. Doddie

Any one out there doing research on gettig the band, make it a priority to know how you will get your fills and after care. It is a major problem. A lady in Halifac has just found out her GP has told her he won't do fills because the College has not approved the proceedure. I am fortuantely in that I go to a briatric surgeon referred to me by TLBC otherwise I would have to go back to Toronto for all fills. By not having someone in your locale if you had an emergency requirement for a defill you could have problems. So my advice to all is to ask the question of fills then confirm you have coverage. Happy New Year everyone Doddie

lizzie 07 Contact the TLBC and they may be able to give you a name. I know a lady in Halifax whose physician does the fills for her but there is also a nurse in the City that does fills at her home. contact me privately and I will put you in touch with the lady who has a physician willing to do fills. She also runs the new support group in Halifax so one of her members may help you.

Merry Christmas everyone. Best for the New Year.

Merry Christmas Peaches and all others checking in. I too had a great Christmas. Cooked my Christmas turkey and stuck to my one cup of food. 2 oz of turkey, tablespoon of dressing, tablespoon of chestnut dresssing and the rest in veggies. I am so proud before I would have left the table absolutely stuffed to the point of making myself sick. It was indeed a great Christmas. Doddie

Well it looks to me like you are loosing weight. Remember, the turtle wins the race. Go slow and easy, focus on changing your eating habits, exercise and the weight will come off. I am the turle and have been loosing .85 lbs per week since February. But my eating habits are changing that is my goal. Hope you meet yours. Merry Christmas Doddie

Hi: After a time, story to long to tell, TLBC referred me to a bariatric surgeon in Delta,BC . After reviewing my health histroy and the comments from TLBC he took me on as his patient and he does the fills. I am very satisfied with him. TLBC has great support groups in and around Toronto, but they are only now attempting to give support to out of province people. I have been doing ok, but having someone to be accountable to when I reach a plateau is good and Jill fills the bill. I smile when you say "I can't wait to get started". You HAVE STARTED YOUR JOURNEY. The hardest part actually. The surgery is a snap and after that it is all how you address you weight issue. For me, it was to focus on my eating habits, particularly chewing, then nutrion. I keep a loose fill as I still tend to swallow too quickly and lumps get stuck. Then I have to PB, which is not good. I am loosing .85 average a week so feel good. My GP asked what I thought about the band and I areplied "I wish I had done it sooner". Good luck to you Merry Christmas and a most successful new year. Doddie

Anne Elliot: Most of us were put on yogurt and cottage cheese but I understand lately they have been allowing more foods into the pre op diet. All I know is the yogurt, cottage cheese diet is to shrink the liver so that it is manageable. It is easily damaged as the surgeon has to push the liver aside when putting on the band. So the smaller it is the better. I was obese at 303 lbs so it may have been that my liver was excessively large so the strict diet. Whatever, stick to what you have been allowed to use. Merry Christmas Doddie

Anne Elliot: January 3rd so close. You had to go thru the holdays on the special diet. You sure are dedicated. Good luck and keep in touch. As you will find, you will go thru all the emotions in the book, sometimes even second guessing your decision, but as most bandsters will attest, they would do it again in a minutes. I certainly would. I keep a loose fill and am loosing .85 lbs per week, but others like a tight fill. You will have to find your own way, but my advice to you now, don't rush thru the 30 days of liquids, full fluids, soft foods etc. You band will need time to heal. So you may be in a hurry to loose weight, but if you play by Dr. Yau's rules, everything shold be OK. Good luck and Merry Christmas. Doddie

Iwood I was banded at TLBC and whole heartedly recommend Dr. Yau. There are a few great clinics in Canada but one of the outstanding features of TLBC is they have local support and distant support (I live in BC). You will be introduced to the TLBC support groups and they are a very friendly bunch. One of them met me at the clinic for my first fill. They also have a nutrionist/chef called Jill. She gives excellent advice. Good luck in your journey. Doddie

When you gain wait, your body weight presses down on the foot causing it to press outward. As you loose weight, there is less pressure on the foot, thus is does not spread so far. Example press down on a rubber ball and watch what happens then release. I believe the foot is similar. Doddie.

Very sorry for your loss, our prayers are with you and your family. Doddie

Hi Conib: There are two BC doctors I know of Dr. Leung and Dr. Woodhead that do the band privately. I go to Dr. Woodhead for my fills. I really like him. When I found it difficult to travel to TO for my fills, the TLBC referred me to him. Hope to see you at one of our meetings. Doreen

Peaches the loose fill "maybe" a good idea. Don't forget you have to teach yourself how to eat all over again by chewing to death your food, to recognize the full feeling without causing pain, etc. So the gradual tightening of the band is probably a good thing. So be patient and work on other aspects of your journey. The weight will come off if you play by the ground rules so relax. Doddie

Hi Susie: You would be welcome with open arms. Watch the BC WLS website for the reminders posted by Canadagirl. Better still, e mail her and she will put you on her mailing list reminder. If you want to contact me ffor support feel free. My e mail is doddie63@hotmail.com

Haven't heard of him. Do you live in the lowermainland? Doddie

Hi travelology: I posted above you but forgot to say I am from North Vancouver. Maybe sometime you might try to get to our little meeting. How are you doing. Where do you get your fills and what support are you receivig. Doddie

Hi lulubrat: You are more than welcome to our little group before and after being banded. Coming before may help you with preparation, diet etc. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Congratulations on maintaining such a great weight loss with such a horrible job. I agree with Donna D. wait until the new year it is only a few weeks. Perhaps with your co worker in another area of the office, you will be able to settle down. Also, I would check with your supervisor/manager as to the comments "of watching you do nothing". Was this comment from a co worker who may have their own motives for creating a dustup or was this comment done on an appraisal of you. Whatever, I would try to clear that up prior to leaving. It could impact on future references. Again anyone that lost the weight you did should be congratulated. Doddie

Yasmina, contact Jill at the TLBC and she will assist you. She has been helping me get a diet that I can live with as I have diabetes and when I exercise my sugars go down and up. Some tips for protein is a rye crisp with peanut butter or Feda cheese at 3:00 in the pm. Also, you can put protein powder in your favorite food or drink. Beans are a great source of protein. I put a can of six beans into my hamburger casserole (lean of course). But by contacting Jill, she will be able to taylor your needs to your health and life style. Doddie

Peaches. Bypass Nancy and call the head nurse and make an appointment to see Dr. Yau. The other two bypassed the fill nurse and asked for a check by withdrawing the fill as they insisted they would not be satisfied until it was proven there was fill in the band. After all, YOU are the patient that paid for the band and you have the right to know it is working properly. It took a lot of pressure by the other two individuals before they were taken seriously. Stand your ground, you have and are paying them. If it proves they are right then you will be content to have more fill, but if it proves they are wrong, then they have to fix it. Stand tall and demand you be looked after. Doddie

I would ask for another fluo. I correspond with a 2 gals who went back numerous times to there doctor and had fluos and each time was told there was no problem. HOWEVER, THERE WAS. The doctors each time eventually found it. The only way they found it was to do a complete defill and find out how much fluid the band had. Guess what! The bands were totally empty. So ask for a complete defill and ask the docs to measure the amount of fluid that comes out. If they say you have 9ccs, you should have 9ccs come out. Doddie

Hi Donna D. Jill will most certainly help you. She has helped me and will be calling me every two weeks as long as I need to have her help. I do have to contact her though because she sent me a number of menus but no reciepts and I haven't a clue how to make them. LOL Yes I am alright, but drop in glucose readings can happen quickly. I was in the pool and after 1/2 hour of exercise I told the lady next to me how sleepy I felt. Then in a few minutes I couldn't see very clearly so I left the pool. On exit, the life guard was there to greet me asking me questions. I was confused and couldn't come up with the correct answers. He read the medic alert bracelet and saw I was diabetic so he gave me sugar water. Within a few moments, I was as right as rain. Saw my doctor and he reduced the meds again. Now I am just on metformin and must take my readings before exercise and after. I am thrilled to be off another med that the scare I had seems such small matter to deal with. Thanks for asking. I lost another 1 lb in November. That is all I seem able to do. I average .85 lbs a week and I keep a loose fill of 5 ccs. As for you, I think Jill will tell you the same. You must eat more protein. She recommended to me to mix some protein mix in with food/drink. That nesttea you recommended to me is where I plan to put it. Take care and I hope the scales start moving downward for you soon. Doddie

I read posts on restriction being tight in the morning and loosing by evening. Am I the only one in the world that is the opposite. I have 5ccs and have had restriction from day one. I eat a good breakfast, lunch and snack but come dinner time NOTHING goes down easily. The most I can get down is 2 oz of protein. Any idea why?

hi: who are you addressing your thoughts to. I live in BC but was born and raised in Yorkton. What type of questions do you have? The most important one to look for "who will do your after care such as fills". You can get the band done in Alberta or Toronto by very reputable doctors. Just ask away, and I will try to answer or steer you to the right site. Doddie