sunflower00

Hi OttawaMan, I went with Dr Christou after all. Actually I didn't meet any of the surgeons I posted above. I'm very happy with my lapband, but disappointed with the service I received from my doctor. The operation went very well and no complications. But I was expecting follow ups from the clinic, something that never happened. I had my operation on June 25th, 2008 and since then I had been in the clinic only once for my fill. They never called to check on me either. I'm pretty much doing it on my own with the help of my awesome lapband of course

Congrats on the band! How are you feeling? I had mine on June 25th with Dr. Christou after all. Frankly, I'm disappointed with the clinic. When you pay $17,750 (with application and consultation fees) you expect better service. Also, I have 5 incisions and he stapled them so they look even larger :thumbup: My sister had the band few years ago and she had only 2 small incisions and a third that is a bit larger (where the port is). But the good thing is that I am loosing weight :thumbup:

I believe Westmount Surgical Center also offer fills. Westmount Square Surgical Center

From what I read, hair loss is caused by protein deficiency. if you are sure you are taking all your proteins, then you may want to ask your doctor.

Hi all, just a quick update... I saw my doctor yesterday as the pain was getting way out of control. He is suspecting that it might be a blood clot that went all the way up to the shoulder! He gave me some self-inject anti-clotting injections and some strong pain killer to take every 4-6 hours. I have been taking them every 4 hours and my pain went from 9-10 (on a scale of 1 to 10) to 5-6. He said I should see him again on Wednesday if the pain didn't get better by then. I'm thinking of seeing him anyway to make sure everything is ok. Moral of the story: Go see your doctor if the pain is severe! You never know what could be going wrong.

I am having that severe shoulder pain as well. I am 4 days post surgery. At this point i am willing to try anything. I am curious what is "stick on pain patch"?

Thank you all for the valuable suggestions. I had already tried walking and heating pads but they both didn't seem to have an effect Yesterday I tried Tylenol with Codaiene and that didn't work either greyhoundmom, how long did it take for Papaya Enzimes to kick out in your case? I started them yesterday after reading your post. I hope they will work for me to!

Hi all, I am banded :biggrin2: I was banded yesterday morning and was discharged from the hospital this morning. If it wasn't for that sharp pain I have in my left shoulder, I would have said I feel GREAT! But that shoulder pain is really killing me. Especially when I breath. I was told this is the gas. Apparently it goes all the way up to the shoulder :blushing: Did any of you discover a way to relieve that pain? Even Tylenol is not working :hurray: The nurse at the hospital said I just have to give it time but it is really painful. I mean REALLY painful :party:

I posted a similar question about a month ago or so. However for me it would have been traveling for work one week after surgery. I got different answers but most of the people said it would be too hard. It seems it is not the flight/drive itself, but more the energy level. But again, I was asking about traveling one week after surgery, while you are wondering about traveling 2 weeks after surgery. So that one week might make a big difference :redface: I ended up postponing my surgery date by one month. The business trip was very important and the dates were not flexible. My surgery is now scheduled for June 25th. Good luck!

RPA, Optifast is a Protein shake. My doctor wanted me to go on it for 2 weeks before my surgery. Their cost was included in the $17500. ladybug, we do have a lot in common!! I made a typo though, my surgery is on the 25th and not the 27th. So I'm 2 days ahead of you I'll keep you posted on how it goes. You too, keep me posted on your progress. Good luck to you two :biggrin:

Hi ladies, I'm from Canada too, but from Montreal :success1: My surgery is scheduled for June 27th. Right now I'm struggling with sticking to Optifast with so many events happening in that period I too have about 70 pounds to loose!! :biggrin: I am also self-paying. Dr. Christou is charging me $17,500 for everything. I believe it only covers the fills for the first year.

Same here .. My surgery is on June 25th and I am REALLY struggling with the preop diet! I'm just not able to do it! Almost everyday I have to cheat as my energy level is so low

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Each doctor is different so you might want to ask your doctor's secretary about that. For me, all my pre-op testing was on the same day. It was a full day (9 am to 6 pm). I called on sick that day :cry_smile: Then for my consultation I only had to arrive one hour late to work, which is totally fine at where I work. My operation is scheduled for May 27th. I am taking a one week vacation for operation + recovery.

My doctor asked me to be on optifast for 2 weeks before surgery to shrink the liver. However my sister was banded 2 years ago and her surgeon never asked her to do a preop diet. She's doing great! I guess different doctors have different approaches. I would say listen to your doctor. I'm listening to mine although I know that my sister did just fine without a preop diet.