Time2live

I definitely feel better as the day goes on. I was not lucky enough to find good Protein powder on the first try...this stuff is gross...liquid chalk but I choke it back. I think I'll feel better in a few days....it is only day 3. Lean cuts of meat generally have no carbs unless there are other ingredients added to them so I'm not worried about that. I also started taking a multi Vitamin today. The extra shake a day should help.

My kids rarely whine that there's nothing to do but that's probably because there are always kids over. My DH was never allowed to have sleep overs so he is making up for lost time. We have a 13 yr old boy, 10 yr old boy and 7 yr old girl. Saturday night there were 12 kids sleeping here. The older ones slept on the trampoline(best money I've ever spent) and all the other kids slept in different places around the house. We always to tradzies..lol as we call it with a friend...you take mine I take yours. The kids put the sprinkler under the trampoline to cool off...I'd love a big enough yard for one of those huge pools. We take them to our little man made lake. We have computers so they go on that. They make huge forts in our basement. YMCA or the wave pool is another great option. Our zoo here only charges 10.00 for a seasons pass...stuff like that is fun though not on the really hot days. I dunno....I really don't get sick of summer break until mid August but by then they are just as sick of being around me and all my barking...lol... I let them have friends over so much I guess because I see how fast the time goes...before I know they will be gone and I will be praying for noise in my house.

Well Saturday I got in 57g and yesterday 61g. It's a low carb, high protein so I've been doing a shake, then a lean cut of meat then maybe a bar and then a shake again. I guess I should squeeze in one more shake in the day.

I love love love Freecycle. We have a pretty active board here in Calgary though the whining and bickering that can happen is quite ridiculous. There were many people who felt like people were using it as their personal shopping site and therefore felt the need to whine to the Mods. I could care less if the person who takes all the stuff I'm done with is reselling it or using it. Isn't the point to get rid of it? My DH finds people that surf the board and ask for excessive things rude but I really could care less. There was a guy on there bout a week ago asking for a big screen tv and lo and behold another guy was upgrading to flat screen so they made a match...I say lucky guy. Who cares? Anyhow enough venting...I still totally love freecycle.

Hey Sunshine, I'm going to Dr. Kuri. I spent 8 months scouring the net and everyone that went to him had awesome things to say. There are a few Dr. in Mexico that come highly recommended. Ultimately my girlfriend and I decided to go together after one or our friends went to him in 05. He has way more experience than any doctor I found with over 2000 surgeries done. His cost is 8700 US and that includes our stay and everything associated with the surgery. Flight is seperate. Jessica our patient facilitator is awesome. She calls me asap anytime I email her with questions. She's great and so so friendly but it probably helps that she has been down this road before..she has the band and has lost over 100 pounds. They were also able to book us really quickly with just over a month wait and I think I could have gone in sooner if my friend and I didn't want to be done on the same day and if we didn't request a Saturday. I started the pre op diet today which is low carb high Protein. I know that it won't be a walk in the park but if I'm going to spend all this money then I want every penny to count for something. I know your having a hard time right now...struggling over whether or not to go to Toronto and whether or not you can stick with the pre op. I've always known that the pre op was going to be reeeeeally hard for me because I can't SEE my liver shrinking and there is nothing forcing me to stick to it...EXCEPT for the fact that I'm paying for this...and when I'm white knuckling it that has to be the motivation for me. I know that you'll figure out what is the best choice for you...don't lose heart. If you need someone to talk to PM me and I'll give you my number. You have a whole support group here that are willing to listen and help you any way they can.

OMG I'm so jealous...is that a screened or glassed in sunporch? That is a beautiful house...Congrats!!:clap2:

Congrats on your upcoming banding Amy. I've paid really close attention to all your posts because I have a large apron too. I'm just going to have to deal with that at the end of my journey. I think that it's great that you are getting banded first..and I think it's safer for you. Do you have to do a pre op diet or are you going to just keep doing the Sacred Heart Diet? Thank God the financial stuff is taken care of....and good luck with your surgery!

Hey all, Okay so tomorrow I start the 2 week pre op diet. It's supposed to consist of High Protein and keeping carbs under 40g/day. They also prefer that you do as much as you can in liquid form so I am going to be doing Protein shakes and bars mostly. I live in Canada, Alberta to be exact and went out and about to find Protein Bars today. While there are tons of choices at Walmart, most of them seemed to have like 23 to 26g of carbs. It didn't break down the net carbs and such so I have no idea which ones to get. I ended up getting a couple Atkins because even though it listed 19g on the fron it said only count 2g. I was going to try the Pria bars because tons of people said that they were quite good but again it showed tons of carbs and I don't know where the breakdown to net carbs can be found. Am I just a dunce or what? If anyone (Canucks especially since the US seems to have a lot more variety than us) can suggest some good bars to try I would greatly appreciate it as well as any suggestions from Kuri patients who had to do the pre op. I'm totally stressing about this pre op diet. I've been queasy all day, though that might just be nerves.....anyways thanks all.

Thanks for telling me how to figure out the net carbs. I'm probably not going to use the bars a ton anyways but I'd like to have something in case a craving kicks in. I talked to my patient facilitator and she said that as long as you are staying under the daily carb count, that is what is important....and not so much the entirely liquid part though it doesn't specify how much Protein I should be eating in a day...I was assuming about 70 to 80g. Anyways I'm off to make a shake. Day one and feelin good!...lol

I gave up smoking and diet coke last year....*sigh*...two things that I loved most in the world. Yes it's true...I loved smoking and if it couldn't kill me I would have smoked till the day I died. But I knew it was bad for me so I had to let it go (with much bitterness) and in exchange I started eating more than I ever had. I ate whenever I would normally smoke and I've gained over 40 pounds in just over a year. I just knew that I couldn't keep doing this. I hate that I was able to quit smoking but I can't get control of my food addiction. I feel soooo incredibly weak. Ultimately I knew that if I didn't do the surgery now...I would gain another 40 pounds by next year. I'm already robbing my kids of all the mommy things that I should be doing, and my husband has worked his ass off for 15 years taking of our family....he deserves waaaay more than a fat wife. As for me...I've spent a lifetime living in self loathing, feeling worthless...I can't live like anymore...I need to do this, I matter enough to do this. Okieee....my TOM so I'm riding the emotional roller coaster right now...lol..plus I'm in Last Supper mode. Pre op diet starts Saturday. Bleh!

Why must all the posts that make me laugh till I pee take such a sad turn...we're making laws here not debating them. and for the record.,...Wheetsin you make me laugh!

I stumbled across this post this morning and sat down with a cp of coffee to read through it. I don't know why it surprised me to hear that many ways everyone's story is the same. Whether you were abused, neglected or had parents or grandparents who had the best intentions.....when you're 6 or 10 or 12 it all changes the kind of person you are. I like so many others hid food, cried with food, saved food under my bed for a rainy day, laughed with food...all of it. Food ultimately became my best friend. I didn't have to be perfect, or pretty, or popular for food to be my friend. It stayed with me when I was scared, it became my companion when my first love broke my heart. It helped stifle the anger when my husband was driving me crazy. Food never ever judged me and omg how freeing was that sometimes? Or so I thought. Ultimately though like everyone else, my relationship with food became a sort of bondage that I could never break free of no matter how hard I tried. I hope after the band I can be free from it....in my head I mean. I'm scared that I won't be able to get through the head stuff and that I'll turn to a new addiction. Geeez I'm emotional today...my TOM...lol...that explains it all. Thanks for the therapy session...who do I make the check out to?

I live in Calgary....we moved here from the Okanagan.

Hey Buffie, Hope you feel better hun. Congratulations on getting banded and starting out on the path to a healthier life. Take care and get tons of rest.

I'm getting banded by Dr.Kuri in Mexico on July 8th with my best friend. Sooo sooo exicted. 6 days left of last suppers before my pre-op. Just trying to get everything organized and ready for me so that I can be stress free afterwards. Good luck everyone with your surgeries! I'm sure we'll all need a cheering section in the coming months.

Hey there, I'm getting Dr. Mitchell to do my fills. He is one of the Dr.s that is going to be doing the lapband. He has been doing fills for patients who have gotten their surgery else where. He sometimes tends to be hit and miss so he said that sometimes he has sent patients on to the hospital for their fill when he is having a hard time. He charges 100.00. I was told that there should be a dvd ready soon, that is being made....hmm...I believe at the TLBC that they are willing ship out to Doctors if a family doctor is willing to learn how to do a patients fills...I'm not sure when it will be available though.

With my surgery 3 weeks away, I'm sooooo glad I kicked my diet coke habit or I might be white knuckling it. I was an addict though...I loved, loved, loved Diet Coke. I quit drinking it over a year ago and have had a couple since then but it just doesn't do it for me now. Everything I've read says no carbonation...maybe I'm mistaken....I don't think I'll test it though.

WAY TO GO CLOE!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Maybe it's because they don't want you to feel pressured. Like Oooo she knows that we know that she's lost weight...now what if she freaks out and starts gaining it back....I dunno...I always feel pressure when people notice that I've lost weight...cuz what if they next time they see me, I've gained it back plus 10? Then what do they say? It's not like they are going to say..."Sorry the diet didn't work out." But I would know they were thinking it...lol...I agree with Yoda....Damned if they do and damned if they don't. K I'm done...

Hey there, I live in Calgary and I researched Canada wide. I'm going to Mexico for my surgery. Alot of factors played into that reasoning for me. There is the Big center in Toronto that a few Canadians on here have gone to and they all have great things to say. There are a group of surgeons here who are hoping to be through all the red tape and doing surgeries by the end of the summer however there is a waiting list of 35 or 40 people at this point and they are planning to do 4 surgeries a month at first which means I would be waiting about 8 months and working with doctors who don't have many bands under their belt. I am going to use the doctor here for my fills. He is aware that I am going to Mexico for the surgery and agrees that the choices in Canada are limited. Ultimately when I evaluated everything I decided that Mexico was the right choice for me. Toronto is still a plane ride away for me so getting fills there is unrealistic. I weighed the cost of both places as well as experience. I'm going to a Dr. who has done a couple thousand lapbands so I feel confident in his abilities. The cost is 8700 and that includes Hotel and airport pickup and drop off and anything associated with the surgery. The facility is new. I have to pay for my flight to San Diego. Honestly when I considered everything the money was a consideration....not the only consideration of course and Toronto was out of my price range by about 6,000 dollars. Just my wo cents worth..8)

Hey there, I'm getting banded in Mexico by Dr. Kuri on July 8th. I'm glad you decided to use the money for the band. I spent about 5 months debating spending the money on myself. It seemed so selfish when there are so many other things that I could pay...but I finally got to the point where i realized that I am worth it! This is my chance for things to be different! Some times you just have to go for it. You didn't have that money a few days ago so it must be a sign. Good luck with your surgery!

http://www.snugglepie.com/smiley/smiley.php?text=Be Brave Buffie! You can do it!&smiley=thumb&fontcolor=000066&ss=1&font=&shadowcolor=&signcolor=&ext=.gif

I'm sure that it hit them pretty hard to lose Roloson. They need to refocus, get their morale going. They can still do this. Lanie

I had to walk away for a moment...this post was tooo funny...I prefer to abstain from that act all together though....Hub is lovin me right now. Lanie

Wow talk about being devoted to your fellow bandmates...I'm sure I'll be whining in bed for at least a week totally milking it purely for effect with DH..lol...anyways CONGRATS!! Get well soon. Lanie

"I was in Canada recently suffering from bronchitis and lived in fear of ending up in a Canadian hospital. It just seems to me there are a whole lot of Canadians trying to cross the border and get into our hospitals." Kind of a blanket assumption don't ya think? The lapband surgery is relatively new in Canada. Toronto has a major center that does this surgery but other than that and a few scattered doctors, our choices up here for this surgery seem limited. I did research a group of doctors here in Calgary who will be preforming the surgery. In the beginning it will be covered by our medical, and while that is a huge plus....the inexperience can make one a little nervous. There is currently a waiting list long enough that I would be looking at almost a year long wait. I can't emotionally handle waiting that long. The doctor that will be doing my fills encouraged my trip to Mexico but also wished that he could offer me other options. Ultimately I was left with Mexico or Toronto. Toronto came in about 6,000 more expensive but if Toronto was closer to me I would have went there. Both places are a 700.00 flight away so with complications I will still have to rely on my doctors here. I decided on Mexico because of their high level of experience and got a lot of first hand info from people who went to Dr. Kuri. But I also read information about people who had negative experiences with him. I think that in the end the best you can do is research your choices and be optimistic that you've made the right choice. PS- Just my two cents worth but from what I read...Canucks aren't rushing to cross the border and get into your hospitals, seems to me they are simply crossing the borders and passing through your beautiful country to get to Mexico. Lanie