Babe

i just made the final payment today... there's no going back! omg, this is real now!!!

Ivernous, as someone who also deal with major depression, i completely understand how hard it is to do this. this pre-op diet has been challenging for me too. i've spent so many years using food to comfort me in my depression, that it's a difficult adjustment to make. i'm also attending OA. I know we can do this!!! hang in there hon!

iwalktheline... my surgery's being done at a private clinic in Tijuana, not a hospital, and i'll be spending the night there too. from what other bandsters have told me, it's a beautiful facility and very professionally run. i'm not worried about that aspect at all. the fee includes 5 star hotel accomodations from me and a companion for 3 nights. It's a great deal, and far more affordable than what i'd pay for here at home. how's everyone's pre-op going?

i'm not sure where you live, but have you tried Whole Foods Market? i know it's a pricy store, but i know they have liquid fish oils. Look at any natural health stores, or else you could order online.

i spoke with the pharmacist today about taking my effexor capsules. he said that as long as i don't crush or chew the granules, it would be ok to open them up and swallow with some water.

blaze, i totally relate to the money issue. it's a concern for me too (after i'm banded). i love clothes, but since i can't afford to indulge all that often I like to check out consignment stores. there are some suprisingly good quality clothes at decent prices. you need to shop around at first, and get to know your city's consignment shops. some are really bad or expensive, and some are just fabulous.

just wanted to wish all you Feb 2 bandster good luck! let us know how it goes.

i would call your doctor's office.

i read a post somewhere else where a longtime bandster did up to 300 pushups every other day and that really helped her tone her arms. to me that seems a bit much, but maybe you can incorporate push up into your routine. also, pick up a set of 5 and 10lb handweights. it's great to do various arm exercises while watching tv at night... do a youtube search on tricep exercises, bicep exercises and arm exercises for some how to. also, ask one of the trainers at your gym for some tips.

Ok, so I'm curious about something. Before the band, meeting men, feeling attractive, flirting, dating, and sex has been an awkward and uncomfortable thing for me. mainly because i feel so self-conscious about my fat and totally insecure and uncomfortable putting myself out there. Aside from all the health and shopping perks, I'm really hoping this dating and sex stuff gets better. For you single bandsters, or even not single, how did this change after band (if at all)?

wouldn't that be nice!?! LOL :thumbup:

DC: Welcome aboard! There are 2 surgeons in the GVA who do the surgery: Dr. Leung (Surrey) and Dr. Woodhead. Dr. Leung charges about $12K including 3 fills and $300 consult fee. He is known to be an excellent surgeon and has a very direct (some would say harsh) bedside manner). Dr. W charges $14K including all fills/post op care and $400 consult fee. He is less experienced, but equally good and is quite easy to talk to. I went for a consult with him in Dec. and posted about the experience earlier in the thread. Some people choose to go Northwest Weight Loss Surgery in Everett WA. They charge US$17,810 and include 13 months of fills and post op care, psych eval, nutrionist. Some (like me) choose to go to Mexico. I'm going to Dr. Ortiz at the Obesity Control Center (OCC). He charges US$7950 and includes airport pick up/drop off, 3 night hotel stay for you and companion, and nutritionist. He is very experienced and has an excellent rep. For the out of province options, you have to arrange post op fills locally. The local surgeons do not fill patients they have not operated on. Dr. Arseneau at St. Paul's hospital preforms fills for $150 a pop. Otherwise, there's a place called Northwest Fills Mgmt in Marysville WA (near the outlet stores) who do fill for upto US$250. Please read through all the posts in this thread, alot of your questions will be answered. Also, try and attend our support group next month at Lions Gate Hospital. It's organized by Canadagirl33 and you'll find info about it elsewhere in this thread. Good Luck with your decision Babe

i only told my boss. she's pretty supportive of doing anything to get healthy, and i thought it important to tell her in case i needed more than a week to recover.

Meet a good man and start a family Do a local mountain hike known as a real challenge and not feel like i'm going to die 5 minutes in run a 10K marathon go shopping with friends and let them wait for me while i try on a million gorgeous clothes in non-plus sizes take a hip hop dancing class be comfortable in my own skin

Froggin... welcome to the group. We're getting to be quite a few of us Feb 16th bandsters. It's so exciting. Also, i love your signature "behaviour is a form of communication"... so true (especially when it comes to food). BTW, any 16th-ers getting banded with Ortiz? So far I've met only one other person online going there, and i'd love to find out if there's anyone else.

Regarless of what your politics are, you've got to admit that today is a pretty spectacular day in US political history. I'm not even american and I was glued to the tube watching Obama's swearing in and his mesmerising speech (man, his speech writers are good!). I was really struck by his focus on taking more personal responsability for our lives in order to get out of this dark cloud we're all in right now. It kind of fits with my my decision to get LB - instead of focussing on why i'm fat and how I got ther and who contributed, I'm doing something about it. It's about working hard to get what you want, instead of relying on something else to fix your situation. As you can tell, i was quite inspired by Obama's Speech. Would love to hear other's reactions.

Congratulations Kristen! The shakes definitely take some getting used to, but eventually you'll be able to tolerate them. As for me, I'm through beating myself up over yesterday's slip. Thanks everyone for your support. Years of overeating doesn't disappear overnight; I don't know why I thought that I was immune. These things happen, right? I gave the rest of the lasagna to my mom, and i'm ready to start fresh today. Since it's snowing out, I'm going to climb the stairs in my apartment complex to help burn off all that cheese. I'm kind of glad this all happened, because I feel a bit re-energized this morning. I'm going to make my pre-op goals if only to prove to myself that I can do it!

i've been on my pre-op diet for 3 weeks now, and today was my weekly weigh in day. i'm down a total of 8lbs and have another 7 to lose before my surgery in 3 weeks. i've been following the pre-op guidelines fairly strictly (after the first few hellish days), but today i just lost it. instead of having lean cuisine for dinner as i had planned, i made a cheesy lasagna and pretty much inhaled 3 massive pieces. i feel sick and totally disgusted with myself. the worst part was that i wasn't even hungry. i was still sort of full from my protein shake earlier in the day. ughhhh. i refuse to go on the scale again before next monday. i don't want to find out that i've gained. omg... what if i lose it again? crap crap crap...

makula... LMAO! i totally relate!

Down another 2 lbs - only 0.3 left till i never see 300 again! Name___________StartWeight___CurrentWeight______Goal_________ToGo *****<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f" filled="f" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600">:cool2:</v:shapetype>***********:crazy:*************:tt2:***********:scared2:********** *** Babe...............308............300.2.......199.......101.2 Brandy.............198............194.........166.......26 Cappy..............240............239.........130.......109 Chocolate_Snaps....244............229.........175.......54 Clarebear08........192............185.........160.......25 Donna113...........183............180.5.......126.......54.5 Ebonie.............307............307.........200.......107 FalloutGirl........282............278.........165.......112 FeliciaLevy75......200............194.........140.......54 FlordiaPete........413............410.........300.......113 GratefulHeart......226............223.........135.......88 health4life........279............239.........150.......89 janesays...........225............224.6.......160.......64.6 kimaly.............194............191.........160.......31 Lindar172..........246............239.8.......150.......89.8 Linksmom...........234............234.........145.......89 LocomotiveEngineer.311............311.........220.......91 Long2BThin.........216............209.........169.......40 lotzasunshine......270............266.........180.......86 Loveislovely.......216............216.........175.......41 ltgordon...........284.8..........262.8.......185.......77.2 lucyavery..........205............205.........140.......65 Mair...............231............225.........140.......85 Mamanmidwife.......264............260.........200.......60 mdgarcia31665......220............220.........165.......55 MissNilsa..........180............180.........132.......48 Tabithan...........240............240.........200.......40 Under200...........242............199.........155.......44 vzghj3.............202............202.........150.......52 WOWOX7.............173............168.........125.......43

After reaching goal, how long have you maintained it (give or take a few pounds)?

i'm taking metamucil capsules to deal with pre-op hunger, but i don't if i should continue after banding. kinda curious to see how people answer this one too.

Hi guys, I'm a bit torn about fills and trying to decide whether to go to NW fill centers (where they'll do fluoroscopy) or to go with Dr. Arseneau (doesn't). How important is fluoro? I'm thinking of maybe going there for my first fill, and then continuing with Arseneau... but would it be better to stick with one fill doctor throughout?

just thought of another one... i won't miss all the bloody unsolicited weight loss advice that strangers and so called friends and family dole out. btw, i can't believe no one's posted on this for a couple months. i guess other threads took precedence.