Terranne

I've lost 48% of my excess weight and it's been 10 months. I'm not exercising and have had struggles throughout the 10 months...I believe that my weight loss is wonderful, I feel a lot better but if I had of put the effort into losing the weight, I would have been much more successful up to this point. Everyone is individual and everyone will lose much differently. The main thing is that I've lost 58 lbs to date and am continuing to lose and NOT regaining any of it!

For non-coated pills I find them uncomfortable sitting in my pouch so I do cut them in quarters and swallow them one by one with lots of water. Otherwise it's a really uncomfortable, gross feeling for many hours after. It seems like they just stick in there and wait to dissolve.

It really wasn't stressed by my doctor, the pamphlet that was given did state no soda but nothing about caffeine. I drink both. I don't drink the soda a lot because it does bubble up and sometimes cause discomfort but I only drink Coke Zero and A&W diet rootbeer, more the rootbeer because it doesn't have as much fizz to it. As for coffee, tea anything like that, I don't avoid it at all. If I do drink it though I only have sweetener in it...no creams or anything like that to keep away the calories.

I was banded by Dr. Kuri in Tijuana June 2007...great experience! I am self pay from Canada...very long trip to get there but totally worth it and being that Canada's second language is French I didn't know more than a single word and still managed to get through just fine. The hospital was very comfortable and clean, much like a hotel type setting in your room. Dr. Kuri is a very warm and gentle man and made everything feel very calming. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I have a fill nurse that I located about 2 1/2 hours from my home which was a huge concern when I was looking into the surgery but everything has been wonderful! Good luck with any decision that you make...it is very easy to assume that mexico would not be the safest or cleanest place to have this done but my experience was wonderful!

If your doctor is just saying no protein to make sure that you aren't filling up on empty calories, you should possibly try a whey protein isolate...this can be mixed with water, is already partially broken down so it is easy to digest and has next to no calories, no fat or sugar at all depending on the brand you get. I am trying a meal plan in which I'm eating every 2 hours and this requires me to have protein with a carb each time and as well all know, eating that often with the band can be nearly impossible so in order to get my protein which is extremely important I can have a protein isolate, yogurt, ff cottage cheese, some nuts, tuna mixed with ff mayo whatever works but for abou 3 out of the 6 meals I do have the protein instead of the food because I cannot physically eat that much. You should of course follow what your doctor is requesting, but if the reason is for calories only, this would be worth a shot.

Swimming is an awesome exercise and if you don't like lap swimming then most places will offer fitness classes too. I love lane swimming, I started after my first child swam 6 days a week for an hour and followed a low cal diet, lost 35 lbs in 3 months! We're in a small town so are times and locations are limited but the indoor pool is to open up after the Sept. long weekend and I'm planning on starting right away. It may seem a bit boring but if you concentrate on your breathing, counting and such the water is a very relaxing sound and can totally take your mind off the fact that you are exercising. Not to mention the no sweating part of it, I hate sweating. Happy swimming

Can you claim the cost of the surgery if it's not done in Canada? Can you claim expenses associated with the fills too?

Don't know anything about that doctor but Dr. Kuri is also in Tijuana...I had my surgery June 12th and everything was awesome! No worries there and also the same price as Dr. Zapata.

vintagebound - I don't think that I have a choice of hotel...when did you chose? They just said it was included in the package and that was it. Assembly line? What do you mean by that? I don't know the first word in Spanish. A lady I have been chatting with just went last month and said that there are 2 english speaking nurses, hope they're there when I am!

Hi everyone! I am being banded Tuesday by Dr. Kuri, I would really like to hear from anyone and everyone with an experience with him. I know one other lady banded by him who was very happy with everything so she has been helping me but of course as the time comes closer I am getting nervous and terrified of doing this...I am so stressed and want to know what kind of a decision I've made!!!!!!!! Anyone, please share your experience!

Dr. Ortiz is Tijuana right???? Funny we're being banded the same time, same place different doc lol. I am being banded by Dr. Kuri on June 12th!!!!!! I'm also very nervous but know that I NEED to do this and that I WANT to do this so bad that I'm just going and that's that. We need to trust ourselves, this is a huge committment but we've made our choices hopefully well informed ones I myself am travelling alone and I think that is a larger fear than the surgery itself for me. I've never been too far out of country let a lone doing it alone so that is a big worry.

I've read about the empty calories but never the alcohol part of it. Maybe it's also to make sure you don't have anything carbonated...like a cooler or something mixed with it. Not sure, I rarely drink but I would still like to know that I could have one if I felt like it.

Oh GR8 thank you so much! I was trying to copy and paste the wrong link lol!

Jane, you are totally not alone, we're all in it together. I used to be this bubbly outgoing person that loved people...now...not a chance, everytime someone is overly helpful or nice I think they want something, they couldn't possibly think something good of me. I've got such a bad self image and I know that weight isn't everything but I was not this person before I gained the weight. I gained it and secluded myself, I avoid people. I live in a small town and I couldn't imagine seeing people that I grew up with and imagine what they are all thinking. I wasn't always big, I was athletic and quite fit so this is a very large change for me (no pun intended It's tough to imagine being someone that nobody will stare at or make nasty comments about, it's tough to imagine that we will be able to shop in the regular sizes and not be embarassed of how we look. We have to do this for us! Obesity isn't healthy and we need to do this to enjoy the rest of our lives, you will succeed if you try! We will all be here together in support for good and bad times. We'll have to find something else besides food to satisfy our feelings...start thinking about other things that you like doing, maybe something that you loved doing and just don't do anymore. I used to love biking and swimming and the plan is to start swimming to aleviate my stress rather than to eat! What's yours?

Hi everyone, I am being banded by Dr. Kuri, Mexico on June 12th!!!!! Anyone else by chance lol! I am currently on the pre op diet, hasn't been too terrible so far. Been very tired, a little weak like another lady had said but other than that okay considering I haven't eaten in 5 days and mighty proud of myself too lol. Just thought I'd pop by and introduce myself :nervous Can anyone explain this ticker thing to me???? I tried to add one (being so happy that I've lost 5 lbs so far lol :clap2:), but when I tried to paste the information that ticker factory gave to me in my signature, it wouldn't work????? :help:

I AM SOOOOO GLAD YOU ASKED THIS QUESTION!!!! We all sit here and read the posts and sit in fear lol. I am being banded on June 12th in Mexico. So right now I'm on the preop diet right...well today is day 5 and yesterday was the hardest, I was stressed, tired and starting to feel overwhelmed and freaking out about the surgery...I wanted soooooooo bad to go to the kitchen and have something/anything to eat!!!!! I got out to the kitchen (when everyone was gone or asleep of course) and looked through the fridge, freezer, cupboards and you know what....I couldn't find anything to eat that was naughty enough lol. I just truely didn't have a craving of any sort at that point, just wanted to eat something to make myself feel better. Food is the ultimate "high" for me...everytime the kids scream I go to the kitchen, immediately after work I go to the kitchen...life is my stressor and food is my answer to everything. The point I'm getting at is just yesterday while I was standing in the kitchen and chose to go to bed rather than have something to eat it showed me that this might actually work for me! I might actually be happy again! My weight is what causes me stress, my weight is what causes me to be unhappy, my weight my weight my weight! On Thursday I threw out some Chinese deep fried ribs and wings that were in the fridge from my "last meal" and that was tough...I instantly got depressed thinking that I would never have that again, I became stressed that I would never be able to eat all I wanted that I would eat and not be satisfied all of that running through my head. I totally understand what you are going through and so happy to hear that I'm not alone, you are not alone! We should keep in touch! Our dates are close, we can share it all lol. Where are you being banded? I'm going to Dr. Kuri in mexico and nervous about the surgery of course but I'm also travelling alone! My husband isn't able to come with me and I don't have anyone else so I'm going about this journey alone!

Hey Buffie! Your family doc does the fills??? Where did you get banded? How long ago?

I'm going to Dr. Kuri in Tijuana, heard lots of recent wonderful things about him and his facility, haven't heard any complaints so far. His web special is $7500 USD right now which is great. You can book as early as you want provided that you either don't have to do the preop diet or you give enough time for that (2 weeks). I'm on day 3 of the pre op diet today...not terribly hungry yet but extremely tired and a bit weak. I will get my fills done by an RN (Lorna) in Saskatoon for $50/each. She had her surgery done by Dr. Cobourne (I think) a couple years back and has been going back to get training on fills from the doctor himself. She's very helpful and informtative. I think she posted on obesityhelp.com under the Sask. forum if you want to look there. Terrie

Hey Everyone! Well I did it, well going to do it lol. I booked my surgery in Mexico for June 12th, booked my flight and got the time off work!!!!! I'm gone, I'm so excited. Started my pre op diet yesterday and so far so good! Completely liquid diet which I wasn't aware of at first but it's okay. Nice to see there are some from Sask. here :confused:

I was thinking Mexico because there is an RN in Saskatoon that will do the fills for $50 each time which is a good price as far as I'm able to tell. She is 3 hours north of here. I could travel to Calgary I guess but that is 5 1/2 hrs. and I didn't know if they would hassle me for going to Mexico to begin with. I am so nervous about spending this kind of money but I know that I have to if I want to be here long enough to raise my kids and that is just so scary. Right now I'm just so low that I can't imagine that anything could help me. I've just given up and even though I don't want to feel this way I've failed so many times it's hard not to. Right now I'm having to wait to see if my husband is going to have to pay for a procedure that is causing him a crap load of pain. So bad that he cannot wait the 12 month waiting period for surgery in Saskatchewan. Just lost!

Hey Argon, I've been lurking for a while so I've seen some of your posts lol. I didn't realize you were from Sask though. Where abouts are you? I'm down south in speedy creek I was considering Ontario but it is double the price down there for the same thing. Did you ever look at other countries? Where do you get your fills done?

Hi Amber, Yes I'm from Saskatchewan, where abouts are you from? Have you been banded or doing research right now? I'm just about at the final stages of making a decision and am considering Mexico for it's obvious price difference from Canada.