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Congrats Dave, and welcome!!

Loriely, glad it wasn't your band! But it does suck that it's ANYthing! Let us know what the verdict is on tues re: the gallbladder. Good luck, and feel better! Mandi

me, me! At the fill yesterday, the gal asked me how much I weighed, cause she needed it for my chart. I said ____ (which is my old weight plus all I've gained since the defill), and she looked at me suspiciously and asked if I was sure, and I said yes. Then she said "You carry it well." :omg: That was nice. I guess I always have, but I never think so. So, yay for not looking your weight!

Whoops, sorry greenine: that IS awesome! Congrats! :myscared: So, now... back to me. Fill yesterday = fabuless. Anyone who will be going to Nova Scotia for fills with that lady, have no fear.. She IS awesome. I've never had a better attempt at a fill than my very first when Dr. Cobourn did it himself. Not attempt, cause she did it, on the first 'shot', no wiggling around or any gross-ness. It was awesome, and she was very nice. The roads were terrible when we left at 6am, but by the time we go to Moncton, they were much better, and we decided we would continue on. Got the fill, went and had some soup, and drank 2 bottles of water. An hour and a half later, after a trip to Penningtons where I found this awesome bra I've been searching for in a small size, which I can't get here (40C yay!) We left. I obviously forgot somewhere about drinking before lying down, and had some flashbacks of the choking on water episodes from my past, again last night, but... yikes. I won't do that again tonight. I have to figure out what a good cut off time is, though. Anyways, I have lots to do. So... I will. I'd love to go through and read all the posts I've missed the last couple days., but it'll have to wait til later!

I think you're slightly nuts (in the nicest possible way). I live 15 million PROVINCES away from my surgeon (as do ALOT of us). You don't need to live next door to your surgeon.... you don't need to be in the same city. It's nice, but not necessary. There's nothing band related that could happen that you couldn't have a few days of time to get there to see them. (any hospital would be able to do an emerg. defill, if you needed it ASAP) It's nice to support a new guy, cause yeah, all our surgeons were new once too... and someone's gotta go first... but like Yoda, I don't want it to be me either. Don't pick a surgeon cause he's the closest. I just checked to see how far Sudbury is from the TO area. 4 hours? Dude, I'd kill to be 4 hours from Dr. Cobourn. I drove 4 hours (8 total) yesterday for a fill. And several months ago, I flew from Moncton to Toronto for a DAY for a fill, cause I had no other options. 99% of us here are coming up with the money for this surgery on our own, so really, if you're worried, save, borrow, steal and extra thousand or 2 and put it away for the odd flight ($145 one way) to Toronto you have to take (and that only if you'd rather fly than drive). I'm not rich.... if I didn't have help (or full backing, rather), I wouldn't have been able to pay for this surgery.... if I didn't have a Visa, I wouldn't be able to spend $500 in one shot to go to TO. But I do it, cause I got an awesome surgeon who knew what he was doing, and all this pain in the ass has been worth it. So yeah, that's my comment, and the moral is: Go to someone we've all heard of and that you've actually heard good things from other patients about, and quit complaining about being 4 hours away from the experienced ones. :myscared:

Chatterbox: Good luck with the physical. Maybe your dr. does know about the lapband, but none that I spoke to did! (also none were supportive at all) If they aren't encouraging or supportive, don't let it faze you. You don't need his/her approval OR referral. Doddie: Buffie DID have a fill or 2 (last we heard) by her family Dr. in Saskatoon. That's not happening anymore? (I'd ask her herself, if she'd come back and fill us in!!) Let us know how it goes tomorrow... or are you just bringing the DVD, not trying it out for a fill?

Oh yeah, and as to WHY: As the body metabolizes fat during rapid weight loss, it causes the liver to secrete extra cholesterol into bile, which can cause gallstones.

Because I feel the need to do these things, here you go, CLOE: Are People on a Diet To Lose Weight More at Risk for Developing Gallstones? Yes. People who lose a lot of weight rapidly are at greater risk for developing gallstones. Gallstones are one of the most medically important complications of voluntary weight loss. The relationship of dieting to gallstones has only recently received attention. One major study found that women who lost from 9 to 22 pounds (over a 2-year period) were 44 percent more likely to develop gallstones than women who did not lose weight. Women who lost more than 22 pounds were almost twice as likely to develop gallstones. Yikes So I'd say most of us are in trouble

(same here... no regrets)

Hey Doddie, Actually the East Coast really IS the place to be right now for the kind of studio I'm working at (flash animation). We're practically begging people to come here to work, cause we need all we can get and it's like that everywhere (over here). EA (I assume that's what you meant) is great, and that's more geared to what *I* went to school for, but it seems very difficult to get into as a newbie, without any real work experience doing that stuff. :think Susan, sorry about your dad also. At least it kicked you in the butt to do something though, right? :hug:

Yeah, if nothing else, just make sure they have the non-coring Huber needles... it's not the complexity of the procedure (cause its not, at all), it's just that you don't want them to miss, puncture your tubing with a (reg. needle, which 'cores') and you having to end up getting it replaced. Check that too, what happens if you need repairs...who pays? Any different if you're going elsewhere for fills? Things like that.

Wowee green!! Lookit you!! Those tickers come in handy, I don't even remember where you started! What's your grand total then? Good job! Mandi

Congrats Laura !

Thanks guys.. she's been doing them for a few months, at least. She's super experienced with other types of ports, and says she's had no trouble so far! I'll definitely let you know what happens and how it goes. Oh, by the way... Dr. C called me tonight and said that 1.2cc would be ok, because I'm feeling so much better now. (and also restated that he had no reason to think I'd slipped! phew!) another thing... found out the bed I'm getting ISN'T a King!!!! NooooooooOOOOOOO!!! Oh well... I have queen size sheets and stuff already, and the bed frame will be cheaper... still disappointing though! New picture, since I have more choices of beds since I'm now looking at queens: It's ok, and cheaper... I think it will do!

Fills? What's that?! haha.. it's been so long I've forgotten! My first fill, I drove from Saskatoon to Calgary for. My surgeon was gonna be there training some people when I was due for my first fill, so I just drove there, rather than fly to TO. My 2nd, which was also my last fill, I flew to TO for, for the DAY! I needed one, and couldn't miss/afford more than a day trip.... and at that time, I had no options in the Maritimes (I had just moved here) Since then, there's now a lady (in Nova Scotia) who is banded, and was trained by my same surgeon, to do fills (she's a nurse, I believe), and I will be driving there (4 hours-ish), bright and early Sat. morning. I'm actually gonna get 1.2cc's instead of the original plan for 1.0cc. Hope it does a good job! Haven't been to Newfoundland yet... but maybe this summer. Seems like a looong trip to get there! I lived in Vancouver for a while too. (White Rock/South Surrey, actually) I liked it, and would for sure move back some day, if I can.

Mommy202, is it someone they've personally trained for fills, or do you know? Ahhh! Why does everything happen when I leave?! Don't worry about paying... soo many of us have to (unless you're able to fly back to your surgeon each time, or have your family dr. do it.) If it were someone truly connected to the clinic doing fills and charging, that would be 'complaint worthy', but since these are really just Dr's or nurses who are learning to do fills out of the kindness of their hearts, and in their own time (or at least in time they could be helping 'other' patients)... I can see why we pay. (I'm sure it's "under the table" too :nervous ) Keep in mind, though... one of the reasons that having your Dr. do it (by learning via DVD) might not be the best idea: they likely don't have the kind of needles that a 'real' fill Dr. should be using... non-coring Huber needles. If they DO have those type of needles on hand, maybe not so worrisome.

Not the job (animation), just the location in small town New Brunswick... moved here a few months ago!

haha, me too neenagh! Ok, so I have my fill set up for Saturday. I have since emailed Dr. Cobourn asking if I could get 1.2cc's instead of 1cc. My first ever fill was 1cc, and it wasn't too good. Since I was very recently at 1.5ccs, I think 1.2 would be just fine, no?! YES!! Cross your fingers that he says yes!

Oh man, oh man. My March goal, which will also end up being my ONE YEAR BANDIVERSARY, will be to get back to my damn pre-defill weight and/or AT LEAST 100lbs lost.... cause I ain't able to say 100lbs lost anymore. But I'm not changing my ticker!!!! Noooo way! I'll change it when I'm less than it says!

You'd probably be just fine with what they give you, and they'll make you hang around to be sure everythings good. If you're weird like me, and are suddenly tight after a few days, it's not like you're out in the boonies (me) and can't get help! BUT... you'll be fine! Tell 'em your worried, and maybe they will be a little more conservative with you

That's crazy. I wonder if they'd be able to do fills on the weekend? They really SHOULD do that anyways... it would be so much more convenient for lots of people.

Awww Neenagh! Look at me! I'm getting a fill on Sat, and I'm still gonna make a goal for March! I don't know what yet, and I think I'll wait til tell everyone til a few days after the fill, to tell how it's working first. When's your fill coming? C'mon... how about 4lbs?

Hey Mommy! Good choice, and congrats on your upcoming date. I was banded while living in SK as well.... do you have someone in Regina to do fills, or has Dr. Mumford said that there will be? That would be great. Doddie, you should tell Buffie to come tell us herself how great she's doing!! We wanna hear from her too

Not too late! Give it a try and see if you feel better!

I hope they post some pictures on the website or message board... I must see! It really makes me sick to think of the money some people make... uggg... why didn't I use that 10 years to be a Dr.!?