argon

It's unfortunate that she doesn't post more often, but when she does, they're usually pretty good. There's lots of other 'big losers' on there too. Thing about that site that sucks is that there's no 'built in' signature thing like we have here, so to hear how much someone has lost, or how they're doing, they pretty much have to say, or you have to ask.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/canadianlapbanders/ Here you go, good luck! LOL and since you're a Cobourn patient, there's this too: http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/cobourn-mumford_bandits/ Ooooh... so exclusive !

Hey Kim, I hope you didn't think that *I* thought you were insane, or would harass me! I'm sure someone's already gotten back to you about this, but if you still need someone to talk to on the phone, tell me. I'll have to give you my number, cause I don't have long distance! :omg: lol I'm wondering if you're thinking that you'll be able to lose all your weight, get your band 'deflated' and then go back to normal... is that what you mean? I can honestly say that I don't think you'd ever be able to eat like you do now, again, after you've been banded. It's very likely that if you did have your band defilled all the way after losing all your weight, that you'd gain it all or at least some back. Not necessarily FOR SURE, cause as I've seen here, some people who've lost their bands for various reasons are able to keep alot of the weight off. But don't count on that.. or plan on it. You won't be able to (or shouldn't be able to) get a complete defill, because you're going on a cruise or something, and wanna be able to hit all the buffets and eat as much as you'd like. Even when I was 'empty', I couldn't eat as much as I'd like to, or as much as I used to. But you know what, you don't need to eat alot... the amount you're able to eat after you get banded will eventually become the NEW normal to you. You can go out with friends, and eat! You just don't have to eat alot. You won't take hours to eat a plate of food, cause most likely after 20-30 minutes you'd be so full you wouldn't be able to eat anymore... you'll be full, and won't WANT to eat anymore. You are going to have to chew well... always. There's no getting around that one. I don't think you're setting yourself up for failure, but I think you need to know that it's not going to be the same afterwards... even before your fill. Even if you can eat more than you think you should be able to, you'll still have to chew everything, eat slowly, and thoughtfully ... or you'll have consequences, like getting something stuck! I hope that kindof clarifies some stuff. This is all up to you. Do whatever you feel is right. :hug: Mandi

Yeah, what she said! Give it a try!

You know what... I had originally contacted Marie, and asked her if she could contact/send my info to them. She replied saying that they had done that for another patient back in December, and were replied to by fax, told that Dr. Beausoleil was too busy with his own patients right now, and could not take any new ones. So Marie said that until she heard otherwise, she would not be trying that again. :|

So... I just got home, and had a message on my phone from that Dr's office. I've just finished having a good cry... It was his nurse, saying that she'd spoken to the Dr. and he "feels that I should continue my aftercare with Dr. Cobourn, and that he does the same thing with his patients, still takes care of them if they move away..." "So if I can continue seeing Dr. Cobourn, or find someone closer by, but Dr. Beausoleil will not do it." WHAT? He expects one of his patients who moves to Saskatchewan to come back to New Brunswick every time they want a fill?!??! Really?? He wouldn't want a lapband Dr. in Saskatchewan to take his patient? (not that there are any in SK, but if there was.) So, I am many things... MAD, SAD, and PISSED... all at the same time. WTF!? I am NOT the only person to ever request this, and he DOES have other patients that are not his own! I'm not seeing Dr. Cobourn... I haven't for months, and I'm not because I can't! I explained in the letter I sent that that I wasn't going to be seeing Dr. Cobourn for my aftercare, because I just couldn't.... that I was going to be going to Calgary for fills, because it was the most feasible. It's not like I've been seeing Dr. C, and just want something more convenient! AHHH! Oh man... what do I do??? I was going to call back, and try to plead my case some more, but I need time to think through what I need to say. I know I'm gonna cry on the phone, and maybe having the weekend to let it sink in will lessen that chance. AHHHHHHH! :eek:

Are you guys serious? I don't know what you could have possibly submitted that wouldn't be acceptable... you're Canadian, and banded and/or what to be banded. That's all it should take. If you're still interested, you could PM me with your email addresses, and I could send an email or message to the moderator, and ask "what's up with this?!", and tell them to send you an invite or whatever. Devana, who were you banded by? IrishMist, I know you're a Dr. Cobourn patient... I'm just wondering if Devana and you are both Dr. Cobourn or Mumford patients, if maybe there's some bias to TLBC people only? If Devana, you're from TLBC, then I just don't know what the problem is, it must be a mistake. But anyways, let me know ! :eek:

Hmmm... yeah. Maybe I'll give drinking a glass of milk after my meal (an hour later, of course :eek:) a try, next time and see if that does anything.

I'm in the process of trying to get my laundry done right now. I'm living in a 4 floor apartment, that has a laundry room on each floor, with one dryer and one washer. That's pretty good, I think, cause the last place I lived had one laundry room for 4 floors with only 2 washers & 2 dryers. My problem is people who don't keep track of how long a load of laundry takes to wash, and how long it takes in the dryer. Right now I'm waiting for some dude to take his stuff out of the dryer, so I can start drying my 2 loads I've washed while he dries his one load. I KNOW that it takes about 25 minutes to wash, and maybe 50 to dry, so as soon as 25 minutes rolls around, I'm in there, taking my clothes out of the washer, and piling them on top of the dryer. I had to wait about an hour for this guy to wash his clothes, and get them outta the damn washing machine. Usually, if I'm in a huge hurry, and someones stuff is done washing or drying, I will take their clothes out, and put them on top of the dryer. I don't like doing this, cause I don't like the thought of someone else manhandling my underwear, so I don't think other people might either. I also worry that they're gonna catch me taking their stuff out! So, if you're someone in an apartment, and are in the same situation as me, please pay attention to how long stuff takes to wash and dry, and get your stuff out of the washer and/or dryer when it's done!!! (or it's gonna end up in a pile on top!) ok, I'm done. p.s. had to run and check if his stuff was out of the dryer while typing this, and it still wasn't (it's been done drying for at least 20 minutes) ... so I took it out! And I DIDN'T fold it! HA!

Happy Belated Birthday! Did I miss something!? Did you tell us?

Woo! Congrats! I think I can safely say I've gotten 2 x 30 minutes of exertion this week so far. As long as I do once more this week, I'll be happy.

Ok, maybe not famous, but to me, this one gal is. For those of you who don't visit the canadianlapbanders site, you may not know of her. She doesn't post much, which is a shame, cause I find her inspirational. (if you are a member, and don't know who I'm talking about, you can PM, and I'll tell you who's posts and pictures to look for on the other board) I won't name names, but she was banded a little over 2.5 years ago, started at 427 and is now at 138. From what I've read in previous posts, about 230lbs of those were lost in the first year. No comparing though, cause seemingly the higher the weight you start at, the faster it comes off in the beginning. But then again, there's another recent bandster, done in May who had 50-ish pounds to lose, and is very close to done. AHHH! Anyways, not that she's alone... there's lots of people who've lost huge amounts like that on here, and elsewhere (with the band), but it's nice to hear of people a little closer to home. :clap2:

Hey Patti ! Yes, it is a hard wait! Mine was about 3 months from the time I decided to DO IT... so you've got a bit longer. It sucks. Have you researched like nuts? Do you feel like you know almost everything there is to know? If not, start doing that. Read as much on this board as you can, get some books on it, start eating, or try to, like you were already banded. Practice the small bites and super-chewing. The time will probably fly by, if you keep yourself busy. I was lucky enough to have alot to occupy my while I waited, so it wasn't so hard. Then POOF! it was time ! And maybe by the time your see your family again you WILL be 60lbs lighter! Good luck :eek: Mandi

Have you guys seen this? I think this is a good thread for it! [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmgLOKRl5J0]YouTube - Fear of Girls[/ame]

No, not a Johnny Cash thread. Although... that would be cool! I'm wondering... is it totally abnormal to have some 'burn' whilst ... umm.. releasing the previous days very spicy food ? Ok, ok... burning poops! I always get this when I, say, have some 'hot' salsa the day before, or just anything that's pretty spicy. Is there anything you can eat along with spicy foods or soon after, or something, that will make following bowel movements NOT burn ya, or is this just something that's gotta go along with eating that stuff? Thanks in advance :eek:

Why you (I) shouldn't weigh everyday: Up 2 pounds !? In the morning!? What?! Brush it off, Mandi, brush it off.... stay away til next wednesday... it'll be ok. :omg:

Thanks guys, now I'm craving shrimp. Even a shrimp ring would be nice... hmmm....

I think they're *supposed* to use a Huber or non-coring needle, but I don't know what gauge.

Well... I think that's where the "PB" comes in. (when things are beyond stuck and wont go passed the band, so they come back up).. I've never had anything stuck bad enough that it doesn't just pass through on it's own. Granted it's a very uncomfortable, a couple times almost painful wait until it does, but it always has for me. I've read here, about people using a little dash of meat tenderizer in a little bit of Water, when they've had something stuck that doesn't want to unstick. I went and got some before surgery, cause I was so scared of it happening. I have only used it a couple times when it felt like it was never gonna pass. It actually DID help... at least I think so. It was always something meaty that I used it on, so I don't know how it works on anything else. I do keep a tiny ziploc bag in my wallet (you know, like what you'd get from a drug dealer!), just incase I ever need it. Hopefully I never get stopped and searched, cause I don't know if the cops would believe that those orange granules are meat tenderizer! Soooo... that might be something you want to consider getting. JUST in case. I don't rely on it, and I think it's good to suffer sometimes, cause it makes me be more careful.

oh, I don't mean once you've already swallowed it, spit it out... that's kinda be like pukin! For example, I had steak the other night, and I got a piece that was just not chewing very well, and I knew I wouldn't be able to break it up anymore enough to swallow safely.... so I spit it back onto my plate! And the pieces... well.. you're gonna have to gauge that yourself too. Maybe a 1"x1" piece? I've heard of people using baby forks and spoons, to make sure they don't take more than they can handle. I haven't done that, but it might be a good idea later on when I can't take as big of bites as I am now. You'll know when you've taken either too big of a bite or not chewed it good enough. I get the 'golfball' as they call it, if I do that. I don't get the golfball thing, I just call it 'stuck', cause that's what it feels like to me.

That was to what Yoda said about loving newf people AND dogs (I was guessing that's what she meant) and I said "newb' as in maybe that's what you would call a New Brunswickeronion ? LOL I dunno!

Hey Kim - that's one kind of band, yeah. There's a few different kinds. Don't listen to things like that.... like that you'll never be able to eat ___. I had some shrimp the other day, and I'm fine, and it went down fine. Same with bread and Pasta... I'd heard it was the devil, I was sure I would never eat it again.. but.. still am (or CAN, I should say) It's gonna be different for everyone. You really just have to experiement with everything (in very small amounts) and see if it's ok with you! Probably the one thing I have listened to warnings about is gum. Not that you can't have it, but I don't have it ever, because I'm a compulsive gum-swallower, and I'd do it without even realizing, and that could be bad. :eek: p.s. I should say... I *hope* another fill, when it comes, will make certain things harder to eat. Maybe the reason things are so easy for me right now is because I don't have much/any restriction. But still... you should still try things yourself to know what you can/can't have. Like if you're chewing a chunk o' shrimp, and it doesn't seem to be getting broken down enough by chewing... spit it out! I do that alot (not in public)! LOL

:omg: PM me too! Why's it a secret!?

But newbs are better, right? :confused:

Time2live: There is someone else for sure that I know of, Dr. Descouteax (or close to that), but I'd stick with Dr. Mitchell... he's the one I've heard about most. But like "luvulots" said, I know of someone who Dr. Mitchell couldn't find the port of after several sticks, but still had to pay. (they then had to go to the hosp. and have it done with flouro {which would be nice in the first place}) Yeah, make sure they pull out the Fluid they put in, after they think they've got it in... just to be sure.