so done with it all

I answered you in the Dr. Cobourn thread since you posted the same question in a few threads. Both are wonderful clinics, both offer great aftercare and follow up. I did consults with both and felt better with Dr. Cobourn so I went there. Pick the one that suits you best since we are all looking for different things from a clinic. You will be in great hands with either clinic.

I've been banded at the SWLC for almost 27 months now and the follow up has been A1. I can either go to the clinic for fills or to speak with the dietitian or my surgeon or I can do it all from home via phone or email. The SWLC has a monthly peer support group meeting in Mississauga that is run by an at goal bandster. They have an online support forum of their own. They have web seminars so that all their patients can benefit from the seminar not just the local people. They have doctors and nurses trained all over the country to do fills in case you don't live the GTA. I can't say enough good about them and I had consult at both clinics and I just went with the one that I felt the most comfortable with. Both are great clinics but you need to figure out which one is the right one for you.

Thanks Renewed, I'll be making it for lunch today. It does sound very good. My grandmother used to make creamed tuna on toast for us and I loved it. This sounds similar but without the toast and how can you go wrong whe you add cheese to anything.

I have a question about the cheesy tuna recipe. It says 1 small can but I'm in Canada and we have so many different sizes, I'm just not sure how small the can is that you are using. The one I usually buy is 170 grams with the Water and 120 grams drained. The whole can is 120 calories. Is this the right size or are you using the even smaller one? If you were to measure my can of tuna out, it would be rougly 1 cup. Do you think this would be the right amount?

Thanks, I want to try it today so if anyone can jump in and let me know I'd appreciate it.

Just curious - how long post surgery before you tackled a bicycle or treadmill? Now after saying that I've not been on either in several months due to a knee surgery - but have been trying to build back up to it.

Also - I started a food diary on the 1st day of my pre-op diet and am continuing. I mean I am documenting everything - even potty times. Have I become way to obsessive? LOL

I was banded on a Tuesday and drove home 6 hours on Wednesday then was back on the treadmill on Thursday. I had a knee injury as well but I started walking on the treadmill even before surgery to strengthen my knee so I just kept it up right after surgery. I went at a slower speed for the first few days after surgery then was back to my normal speed and length of time by the end of the first week. Everyone is different though so I say just start out slow and easy and you'll know how much you can tolerate.

As for the food diary, I still document my food intake daily. I don't think it's obsessive at all, it's just another way to be accountable to ourselves. It's easy to think we are within a certain amount of calories each day and we usually undershoot it so by recording every single thing that passes our lips, we have a better idea of what we are consuming. I use an online tracker and it takes a few mins every day to update it. When I stop losing, I look over my food intake and I usually can see why I'm not losing anymore.

There's a lunch somewhere near the GTA just about every month. There's one in Waterdown coming up as well and one in the Kitchener Waterloo area. I think the next GTA one will be in Ajax this time. They alternate between the west end and the east end. They area always posted on here. The Waterdown and Kitchener ones are only posted on Canadian Lapbanders yahoo group and on SWLC forum board.

I'm not sure what province you are from but lap-band is most definitely not considered cosmetic surgery in Ontario. It is jsut not a WLS that is covered by OHIP. I paid $16k over 2 years ago and I'm happy that I had it done in my own country.

You might get it cheaper elsehwere but the aftercare might end up costing you more than having it in Canada when you add up all the extras you might incur to travel back and forth to get fills/defills. And heaven forbid if you get a slipped band, you would have to go back to Mexico or overseas or whatever country to have it done.

As Doddie knows first hand, it's tough to even get a fill doctor to do your fills when you have been banded in Canada. Then there are doctors trained to do fills but they only do them for the clinic that has trained them. Do lots of research and find a fill doctor locally if you can and if you really want to go out of country to save money then I'm sure the surgery itself will not be a problem. The surgeons in Australia, Belgium and Mexico have been banding far longer than US or Canadian surgeons so surgically they are very experienced. It's the after care that is the MOST important aspect of banding. Your band will be of no use to you if you can't get the follow up that we sometimes need over and over again.

I've only had 6 fills in 26 months but some people have that many fills in 4 months. You just never know how many you will require but you want to have access to them when you need them.

I'm not against out of country surgery but it scared me that I couldn't find a doctor willing to do my aftercare within my own country. That was my decision to spend the extra money and stay right here.

Good luck in your decision making.

You can claim all medical expenses including plastic surgery costs on your income tax return. You can claim mileage, meals, hotel rooms, whatever other costs you have incurred. They have tons of information on the CRA website or in the Guide about medical expenses. There are certain criteria you have to meet for the mileage and meals but as long as you are the distance away they set as the limit then you can go ahead. Just make sure you have receipts for everything they require receipts for and you shouldn't have a problem if you are audited.

I started a Atkins type diet last weekend but I'm not really doing the induction phase. I'm still trying to pick leaner cuts of Protein but if I want cheese, I eat it or if I want mayo, I use it. I am anxious to see my weight on Tuesday since I officially weigh in every Tuesday morning. Even eating all the fat I want, I still can't get in many calories

Jan 21st 666 calories, 40 g fat, 14 g carbs, 62 g Protein

Jan 22nd 978 calories, 50 g fat, 6 g carbs, 119 g protein

Jan 23rd 782 calories, 36 g fat, 15 g carbs, 95 g protein

Jan 24th 740 calories, 42 g fat, 15 g carbs, 76 g protein

I'm 2 years post op and here's how I set up my mini goals. I looked forward to each 50 lbs lost, I celebrated when I got under 300 lbs. Then I celebrated each 50 lbs lost again until I hit -150 lbs. Now I Celebrate every 10 lbs lost but am anxious to get below the 200 lbs mark. Once I'm below the 200 lbs mark, it will be a mini goal of 5 lbs at a time. It gets tougher and tougher to keep the big losses going so I set up realistic goals for a short term range for each stage of my weight loss. In the beginning, the pounds just fell off so 50 lbs was reasonable. I lost 100 lbs in exactly 8 months. Just keep your goals real and be accountable to them and you will not get discouraged.

I thought the same thing that I'd never reach my goal of 214 lbs unless the last 25 lbs or so would come from PS. I attended a PS seminar last week and the surgeon said that we shouldn't be looking to PS to lose any weight, it's to contour our bodies after weight loss. After hearing this, I felt a bit down for 3 days then decided that I'd get motivated again and do everything I possible could to keep losing to get closer to my goal of 214 lbs lost. I have a pannus that is sagging really bad and he said that most sagging tummies way between 3 and 6 lbs at the most so it's not a huge weight loss after PS.

I know a woman that lost 300 lbs without PS and then she had her PS to just tighten everything up. Invest in some good clothing that helps to suck you in so you don't feel so flabby and just keep moving forward. Look at how far you have already come.

We don't dump from sugar like bypassers do. I personally don't use any sugar products simply because carbs make me retain Water. I get all the carbs I need from my veggies without adding any sugar products. Every surgeon wants us doing different things post op even though the overall goal is the same. My surgeon suggest Protein, water and exercise as his most successful bandsters. I always eat protein at every meal and I eat it first then I eat my veggies. I do at least 30 mins if not more of brisk walking plus I do weight training and I drink 6 litres or more of water daily(that's almost 2 US gallons).

Add me to the 200+ club as well. The first 100 lbs dropped off in 8 months for me with very little effort or so it seemed. This last 50 is a bitch though to lose. More exercise and more focus on just Protein and veggies and lots of Water just like I did to lose the first 100 and I should be back on track.

My doc told me to aim for 200 lbs as my goal weight but I want to have a 1 in front of my weight. I picked 167 out of a hat since I'm not a huge BMI believer.

Good luck to all.

I bought one bottle of the children's just in case I needed it but never took it. They give you good drugs when you go home for severe pain and you might not even need those. You could also buy the Junior Tylenol chewables and ask the pharmacist how many you would need.

Most just take the narcotic pain killers if they need it then don't really need anything else. Good luck with your surgery.

Actually all the clinics offer service to their patients for life but it's not the life of the bandster, it's the life of the clinic. If any of the clinics were to close due to retirement or anything else, heaven forbid, you can't get your fills from somethng that no longer exist.

Some clinics offer lifetime fills but all clinics offer lifetime support and services. Usually after 5 years, most bandsters don't need fills or defills and if you do, $50 bucks is a small price to pay. Hell it cost me almost $1k just to go for a free fill if I go back to the clinic, so what would another $50 be after 5 years.

To me one year of free fills isn't enough because most won't be at goal in 1 year. Anything around the 4 to 5 year mark is still a decent deal. I'm more concerned with them being available for follow up of any kind not just follow up with fills. I've been banded 26 months today and I've only had a total of 6 fills, 4 my first year, 1 my 2nd year and now 1 in my 3rd year.

SWLC is very easy to find when coming from Hamilton. Take the QEW then exit on Hurontario South heading towards Port Credit and it's only a few blocks down from there smack dab in the residential area of Port Credit. Very close to the GO Station as well if aren't driving. The GO is just down the street from the clinic and it would take maybe 5 mins at most to walk up there.

Since consultations are free, I'd go to both clinics and then pick for yourself where you feel most comfortable. I thought both surgeons were great but just felt a better connection with Dr. Cobourn so I went with him but I will never say anything bad about Dr. Yau since he really knew his stuff as well.

No matter which of the 2 you decide to go with, you will be in wonderful hands.

SWLC doesn't charge the consultation fee any longer, they probably just haven't updated their website yet. I know Dr. Cobourn repairs hiatal hernias that he finds in his patients so when you inquire about the band you could tell them you have an existing abdominal hernia and ask if they can do both at once.

Personally, I'd do consultations with the 2 big clinics and if you really want to give CIBO a chance then do them as well as long as the consultation is free as well and you'll know almost instantly which one you want to with. I saw both Yau and Cobourn, both great surgeons, just had a better connection with Cobourn for myself but thought Yau was great as well. I'd not hesitate to tell anyone to go to either since I met both and had great experiences with both. In the long run, I went with the surgeon I felt the most comfortable with but know I would have been in great hands with either of them.

The email I have from them says fills are for lifetime and dedicated support for 1 year but that you will have access to the other support systems for longer than a year if needed. I then later asked what the additional cost would be if I needed support longer than a year and one email says a minimal cost and the other email sayd no cost. These emails are all coming from the same person so not sure how she can get her stories mixed up from person to person.

Slips, erosions, leaky tubes, flipped ports, leaky ports, faulty bands, are all potential problems that could happen no matter how careful you are, so you should find out what their policies are on that. If they will not replace free of charge then they are giving you less service for your money than the other 2 big clinics.

Offering their extended services for 1 year is not enough for a lot of people either. Very few reach goal weight in 1 year and need the ongoing support even while maintaining. I'd ask a lot of hard questions before jumping into this new clinic. Ask them to speak to previously banded patients as referrals and see what their experience has been and see how long they have been banded. Both big clinics have lots of testimonials and have people always willing to talk to new potential clients so if they can't offer you this then once again, it's really no service to you.

If you choose them, please make sure you let us all know of your experience with them.

You'll be told the extra 2k is for the extra services they offer. Well both other clinics have dieticians on staff that are available for as long as we need them. CIBO's package looks nice until you ask lots of questions and trust me they get their stories mixed up. I have asked under different names out of curiosity and got two different sales pitches from the same person. One time I was told they were lifetime and then in the next breath was told they were for a limited one year time. When SWLC started out they were 1k cheaper than TLBC since they were the new kids on the block and then after doing 1000 surgeries they are now the same price. Now that's a smart business move to get the customers over but starting 2k more than the 2 main ones, forget it. TCC charges 15k but you hear of very few patients and HRRH charges 17k and you hear of a few but not many but they don't do many either.

Doddie,

Full is different for everyone. For me, it's a total loss of interest in the food in front of me, for some it's a sigh, for others it's a sneeze, for others it's a runny nose. I measure out 4 ounces of Protein and 1/2 cup of veggies. If I eat all that and still don't feel disinterested then I put a bit more on my plate as long as it's within the 20 minutes of eating. If I get that loss of interest before I'm done that, then I stop as well.

The food stays in the top part and slowly starts to seep through to the lower part so that's why sometimes things get stuck while we are still eating. It doesn't sit in the top part for 4 hours. It actually starts to go through immediately but it takes some time for the food to pass through. The receptors to tell your brain that you are full are in the top part of the stoma so as long as you fill that then it tells your brain you are full and then you stop eating.

I spoke with Nisrine as well and she says Dr. Misra has done 150 lapbands but I belong to just about every WLS board there is to belong to and not one person on any of the boards were done by her so who are these 150 people and where did she band them since this is a new clinic and she didn't work for any of the other clinics. I think someone is blowing smoke out their ass to make their clinic look good but I'm sorry when not one person on any of the boards was done by her, I don't think she has done anything more than do the lap-band training that the makers put them through. She might be a good lap surgeon and she might train other doctors but I'd still be nervous of being her guinea pig and paying more than the clinics that have done over 1000 bands and have proven themselves as having good follow up.

In the beginning, I could never lose 3 weeks in a row. I'd lose 2 weeks, gain 1 week then lose big for the next 2 weeks then gain again. I have always weighed weekly but I take my month over month weight as my actual progress and that way I don't get discouraged. Sometimes the smaller measurements are a good way to stay on track but the bigger picture is the way to stay motivated and not get discouraged. As long as I always have a month over month loss, I'm happy.

I have had many plateaus in the past 2+years since I've been banded. The first time I was wondering what was going on but now I know that when I stop losing for up to two months that my body is just catching up to the weight loss and I keep losing inches. Instead of just going by the scale, go by your measurements as well. I have been measuring myself every 2 weeks since I have been banded because if the weekly weigh in doesn't move, sometimes the inches move.

Having a good fill level will keep the weight off and help you to keep losing but sometimes a plateau is a good thing then all of a sudden, your weight starts moving down again. Don't despair, plateaus happen to everyone.

Peaches,

You are absolutely right about what he is facing but nobody is questioning his surgical abilities at all. I just don't think I would want to have a surgeon that might potentially lose their licence. Banding requires far too much follow-up and a lot of people know that you just can't find another surgeon to take you on as a patient if yours is no longer practicing. We don't have the luxury of having fill centres all over like they do in the US and that would just be for fills. If he is found guilty and loses his licence what happens if someone has a slipped band that he implanted after he left TLBC.

Until everything is settled, I just don't feel he should be doing bands because of the extensive follow-up. If he is found not guilty then by all means he will be highly recommended once again.

Of course there is no reference to him on their website. They aren't that stupid but they are stupid enough to not realize just how small the banding community is and how quickly stuff gets out. I've known for many months about CIBO when they were still in the developping stages of starting up and I knew about their association with the other TLBC surgeon for months now.

Anyone who uses him for RNY have already found out that he is now seeing them at the CIBO location. If you ask CIBO, they say she has done over 150 surgeries but I've yet to see her name mentioned by one bandster and I belong to many international boards and researched her name and never got a hit on any of them so I think she's probably just starting out banding and he will be her coach and mentor.

I'd not go there for many reasons including lack of experience on the main surgeon's part but also if they would associate themselves with someone that has pending allegations, I'd wonder what else they'd do. This has shot up huge red flags for me from day 1.