Yoda

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Roxanne!!!! I'm sooooo proud of you!!!!! *invisioning you doing the catwalk in your new bathing attire!* Excellent....and by the summertime you'll need another one!!!

Hey Maggie....I see Mandi responded to all your questions so I won't!!! I'll just add that every doc has their own version of the pre-op diet...and some ppl don't have one at all (ie. lower weight/bmi etc) while others have one for 1 week, 2, 3 or longer. For instance, my pre-op diet consisted of all the yogurt/cottage cheese, GREEN veggies and chicken (nothing on the chicken) for the first of the 2 weeks and the 2nd week was just yogurt and cottage cheese. I detest cottage cheese so the second week for me was yougurt, yougurt and more yougurt. As for your last question....once you are banded etc....and after your post-op period, you will eventually be able to eat anything you want....just smaller amounts and itty bites and lots of chewing. Some ppl will have probs with certain foods but the intent is to have the type of restriction where you don't really have probs with anything. Oh...and re. the vomit thing...I HATE vomiting to and would/will do ANYTHING to avoid it. I made sure they knew that I was prone to coming out of anest. vomiting....so I got some really good anti-vomit drugs during the surgery and when I came out, everything was fine. (note: you get an anti-nauseau drug anyways during the surgery but I requested a super duper strong version). Make sure you have liquid gravol (I could only find children's version) for your post-op; that as a big concern of mine (vomiting)....so I took the liquid gravol for several days (just in case) and never had a problem. As for future issue of vomiting (ie. flu or something) I just hope it will not happen!!

I tell ya man, put in the flavoured extracts into your Optifast and it will be vewy vewy vewy tasty~! (note: I did not do the optifast for my pre-op diet - just yougurt - but I did go thru the whole optifast program several yrs ago....2 weeks is nothin!!). The extract flavours are KEY

haha I hear ya Mandi....me toooo...it is like I'm a lil' kid all over again. I'll say to Mr Yoda..."look!!! look!!! I ate almost all my _____". Too funny! Re. the popcorn thing; yeah, I've also been told to completely avoid it. But, I've never been a big popcorn fan, so at least that is ONE thing that I'm okay with!! psssssssssssst Becca.....M&M Peanuts go down quite well!!!! LOL (ssssshhhhh)....:guess

I know Cloe....it IS stupid!! Re. the fluro thing...yeah, I actually feel fotunate that I need to have mine done by fluro....I always feel re-assured that they actually look at it and see that all is A-OK!

I am really well travelled but for some reason, I've never been to any of the Asian countries and I have no inclination to go there. That being said, hey, an adventure is an adventure. My only concern would be the length of time.....man, if that does not include the time when you will be on the plane, that is waaaayyyyyyyyyyy to short to make the most of it. But if you are prepared to be adventurous and on a whirlwind...why not. (keep in mind that you may find it difficult to enjoy after a horrendously long flight...it may take you 3 days to adjust to the jetlag). I have a very good friend who has lived in China now for the last 3 years (the remote areas) and he absolutely loves it. He retired young several years ago and just basically left Canada and travelled all over and after being everywhere found he preferred China......interesting enough...(after speaking about TO being the "Big Smoke") he says that the air quality in China is so bad he has no words to describe it....(even in the far remote conditions where he is....which is why he is there and not in the bigger towns/cities...due to the poor air quality). If you go...due to the long flight be SURE to get up and walk arond at LEAST every hour on the plane and also do leg exercises while sitting...AND even consider wearing compression stockings. I know too many people who developed embolisms from such long flights. It is a real risk that ppl don't think about....and so easily avoidable!

Victoria.....what is ironic about "did you eat the whole thing" re. your soup is that at this point you really should eat all of it to get your protein in (ie. via the beans!). Yup, you will need to tell him that you need to police yourself....thank him for his support but you need his support in other ways. BUT if you do this, be sure to be consistent.....you can't then turn around and ask him to remind you not to eat this or that ... ...or to remind you not to buy those chips/icecream etc. (I have learned this the hard way!!)

Blue Cross has been through this fight before....always with a resounding NO!

My goal was to get to where my ticker is no longer a lie....I'm happy to report that I am now only 3 lbs away from that goal!! LOL.

Hi maggiec..... First of all WELCOME!! No, Ontario definitely does NOT cover lapband surgery. Re. the price....keep in mind that that is an "all-inclusive" price....in other words it includes the cost of lifetime fills/defills etc. Lots of folks in the US have to pay each and every time they go back for a fill. Don't let the possible side effects worry you. Firstly, erosion is a very slim possibility...verrrrry slim. Secondly, the "vomiting" doesn't happen to everyone and if you are, in fact, referring to PBing, it is VERY different from vomiting. People with the lapband do not vomit in the regular sense....they can't anymore....nothing actually comes up from the stomach itself and therefore there is none of that wicked bile etc..... Really and truly....ppl will only PB if they generally haven't done something they should (ie. chew enough, small enough bites etc). And even tho we may all really "do" the right thing it can still happen because the band is fickle and doing it one way one time might be okay and doing it the same way next time might not be "enough"; hence the PB. I did a lot of research too before I decided and to be honest, though I inofrmed myself of possible complications (ie. erosion, slippage) I did NOT read the "complication" threads at all....no need to....why bother unless it happens to you? All you need to be aware of are WHAT they are and the frequency (from your doctor)....not all the details that people who have suffered it are going through. (my opinion)!

Best of luck to you on your journey!!!

Doriana, TLBC will do fills via fluro if there is a "problem" but they aren't done at the clinic itself....there are scheduled times at the Scarborough-Grace Hospital wherein Dr. Y or Dr J go to do the fills. (ie. at the X-ray department there). Don't worry about the pain; your husband is likely correct in his diagnosis!! I can't really answer the "what are you losing now on average per week" question. I haven't worked out since early Nov (due first to a bad head cold and then to a knee injury) and as a result of the not working out, I have gained several lbs (7 or 8) and am trying to get them off so that my ticker will no longer be a lie. I have to work hard for EVERY pound I lose and if I'm not working out that will not happen (all related to the PCOS). But before that occurred...."on average" I was losing 1-2 lbs per week.....some weeks I would lose nothing for 2 or 3 weeks then drop 3 or 4 lbs the next week; other weeks I would lose 1 lb then 2 then nothing etc etc....it was never consistent. But that was okay, I was happy and the band was "working" if I was losing 1-2 lbs per week....AVERAGED OUT (ie. in 4 to 6 weeks). So be patient and keep with it and plus remember that your band isn't actually "working" the way it is supposed to anyways until you have proper restriction (not restriction itself but "proper" restriction). You'll get there!!!! Don't get discouraged!!!! If you want to know more about how long you will be at TLBC for your fill and if there is a seminar (due to it being your first time) call and inquire!

Hi Doriana, ummmmm....first of all....noooooo you will NOT get a numbing needle first (yeeeesh!!) and you do not need it so no worries. The actual fill itself will take less than 5 mins. You will do GREAT.....it's no biggie (& this coming from someone who has had fill difficulties and has to now get fills via fluro - in fact my next one is 12 Jan).

hello and welcome Atir! Come visit more often! How are you doing? I'm not fast either but figure slow and steady will work well for me!

Don't know if it will make you feel any better Bandiva, but it is COMPLETELY normal to be "irritable" for a few weeks post-op!!!

*hands on hips with stern look on face* Lila????? I HOPE the reason you "couldn't" get a defill was not YOUR choice but something else???!!! Ahem.....although I fear it was the latter! Mandi is completely right....this isn't the way the band is supposed to work, my friend....but you know that (right?) so I won't keep babblin' about it! Think things through...... .5 cc could be the entire difference! Tough love indeed!! :rolleyes Take care.

Roxanne: I lived in Germany as a kid and I went back again 12 years ago to meet all my German relatives for the first time. When I lived in Germany they were "stuck" in Russia but once the Wall came down they all were able to migrate back to their homeland in Germany. The Canadian gov't wouldn't allow my Dad to go to Russia to seek them out when we lived there so we never got to see/meet them. My Grandpa was the only one of the family who "got away" when the Russian Revolution broke out and made it to Canada....all the other famiily members got "stuck". So, me and one of my cousins (2nd cousin) got in contact about 16 yrs ago now and he and I started the ball rolling. It was difficult at first as all his letters were in Russian (& eventually German once he learned the language) and mine were writen in English. When I went there 12 yrs ago I was welcomed with amazingly open arms and had this HUGE family I didn't know about. I fell in love with everyone so much that I convinced my dad (& mom) to go...they did and now they have been 3 times. So, I'm itchin' to get back there and see everyone. Since then, a few of them have learned English.....which is GREAT....I promised to learn German...and unlike them (who kept their promises to learn English); I didn't (sigh).....but I miss them terribly and I want them & Mr. Yoda to meet! By the way Roxanne.....ummmm....do you go to the pool that I think you go to??? I've already been at work for 2 days already!! But, admittedly it is very quite.....only 4 of us in the entire bldg...next week the grind will start again!!!

Well, THAT I know about all too well first hand!!! LOL

Hey Time2Live!!!!! Long time no see!!! Good to see you. You are doing FANtastic!!! JLB: I live about 2 hrs north of Toronto....so yes, I do go to Toronto for my fills. I don't go to the actual clinic at TLBC though....I go to a hospital in TO where either Dr. J or Y do fills by fluro for those who need it done by that method. Unfortunately, I am one of those people....but actually for me, it works out better...the hospital is a bit easier for me to get to than the clinic downtown. If you are wondering why I get my fills by fluro...it is merely the manner in which my port is positioned that makes it difficult for the fill nurse to get me on the first couple of tries (I have some stories about it that you can find if you do a search) and though both Docs got me that way...it still took them "too many" tries....so by fluro it is a snap...(plus I will admit it is realllllllly kewl seeing my insides....when I saw my heart beating it was verrrrrry kewl indeed!!!). My experience at TLBC was excellent but likely everyone will the say the same thing about their surgeron and clinic etc. My advice (especially when paying that much money) is to visit and have a consult with at least 2 clinics (an easy thing to do in TO since there are a few in the area). That way, you get a personal "feel" for the people (ie. pre-op and post-op staff), the surroundings etc....nothing beats the first hand experience. Afterall, you wouldn't buy the first car you look at on the lot. Different things will appeal to different people...at least if you literally check out two places you can make an informed decision for what is "right" for you, for your own personal reasons. All that being said, whether you go with TLBC or Dr. C, you will be in good hands!! I'm excited for you and everyone else just starting their journey!!!

Hey JLB: sounds like you are doing it all for the right reasons!! It's too bad this wasn't an option several yrs ago, eh? Investing in our health is one of the best things we can ever do!! And....we deserve it!!

Well, congrats Hugi...this will be the first step and that is all it takes!! Well done!! :clap2:

ooooooooooooooooooo, *biting at the bit*...I will refrain from making a comment....because we play nice in our Canuck Sandbox!!!! But there are so many comments I would love to make here!!! LOL I'm sure my fellow Canucks can imagine them though, so no need!!! :nervous

So, why is it called the "Big Smoke" anyways? Where is that derived from?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm *raises eyebrow*. I hope newbies on here or lurkers don't get the wrong idea about that statement. This is only one of several lap-band support sites.....I've ONLY heard good things about all surgeons doing the surgery in Toronto area. I won't make a judgement about the others. I know one thing.....Dr.s J & Y were the first two surgeons in Canada doing the surgery....so very experienced indeed. I would (& in fact have) recommended Drs J/Y AND Dr. C to people who ask. I just don't want anyone to get misinformation here. :phanvan

aaahhhh *remembering the days I was a PB virgin*..... Really though, it hasn't happened that often to me so I'm fortunate. But when it has happened....Oooooooooooooo migawd...the PAIN!!! (thankfully short lived in my case!).