Hi everyone !!

Just a couple of notes of interest that I wanted to pass along....

For those of you that attended the last North Vancouver meeting, you heard about Dr. Arsneau at St. Pauls Hospital doing fills for Vancouver Bandsters. I have just spoken to another lady that has seen him for a fill and he confirmed to her that he will take patients that were banded by any Dr. This means that if you are in the Vancouver area and are looking to have your surgery in Ontario or Mexico or the USA an finding a fill Dr was your big concern, it looks like he might be your guy !!! :thumbdown: I would probably call ahead just to confirm it for myself but I'm pretty cofident in telling you this news !!!

The sencond bit of news is that it looks like there will be another support group starting up for anyone that is interested. The lady starting it is named Geri and the first meeting will be Saturday, Oct. 11th at 11am at 3339 West 41st. It is open to all of those who are already banded as well as anyone looking into it, regardless of where or who your surgeon is. Her email is geri_webre@yahoo.ca for more info.

Quick add-on.....as usual our North Van support group will be on the 3rd Wednesday of Oct. (the 15th) at Lion's Gate Hosp. I'll post again closer to then to give you all a reminder !!!

All the best to everyone !!!

Patricia

yay me... i'm officially a bandster now!!!

dr. ortiz and his colleagues are all so friendly and capable. no regrets about who i chose. i've got a bit of shoulder pain but i've been walkin several laps of the ward every hour and massaging it. haven't needed to take the gas-x yet, but i imagine i'll need it eventually.

i'l post later with an update. feeling a bit groggy now...

I went for an unfill today thankfully. I couldn't even keep down liquids. I lost 6 lbs over the weekend. I now have 2.5 in my band instead of 4.5. I can finally eat soup and am starting to feel better.

Hi Babe,

Hey, you must be glad to have the surgery behind you. From here on out you will quickly lose weight which is great.

For me, recovery took about a week, but then again, everybody is different. Hopefully you have a speedy recovery and get back home.

All the best.

Gerdi

YAY Babe !!! I'm so glad to hear that everything went well for you !! Keep walking, that will definitely help. If the pains you are having are shoulder pain, forget about Gas-X...it only works for gas that is trapped in the stomach/abdominal tract. A heating pad usually works best....up high on your shoulder blade or collar bone. Drink lots and keep hydrated for your trip home !!!

I'm glad you went for an unfill mom, it doesn't sound like you had much fun over the weekend.

To everyone....don't forget that tomorrow night (Wednesday) is our monthly meeting in North Vancouver. As always it will be in Conf Room A and because of our guest speaker we would like to start right at 7pm. Please bring a pen and paper, you may very well want to take notes. There will be a Q&A session after her presentation so think about any questions you might have. Please remember that she is an expert in the feild of food addictions, eating disorders, body image, etc. She is ~NOT~ a band specialist, therefore she will not be answering band specific/related questions. She has said that the meetings can run over an hour because of the discussion time so keep that in mind when making plans.

Hope to see you all there !!!

Patricia

Patricia, thanks for the reminder to stay hydrated - that really helped! i'm feeling almost back to normal now... a bit tired, and my shoulder is occasionally sore, but no more gas or incision pain. i can't wait till i can eat solids again (i was never much of a soup person and i miss texture in my food).

btw, how did the guest speaker go? was it a good turnout? i'm sorry to have missed it.

babe

I'm glad to hear that things are progressing well for you Babe. I'm like you, not much of a soup person at the best of times, and 2 weeks of it almost did me in....soon it will be over and you will be back to enjoying chewing !! :party:

The meeting went really well, I was super pleased. I don't remember exactly but there was about 20 of us, including a couple from the bypass/sleeve meeting from Tuesday nights. Dr. Beach was really good and there were some excellent discussion points. She did allow us to tape the session, so Darren is editing it and we should have copies of it eventually. I'm not exactly sure if he's going to do 1 copy and lend it out or make multiples and sell them for a small fee. He should be at the next meeting so we'll find out, regardless, I'm sure you will be able to see the meeting.

Sharon, the next meeting will be on Wednesday, March 18th at 7pm in Conf. room A at Lion's Gate Hospital. You can reach me at canadagirl33@hotmail.com anytime you have questions. It's a good idea to mail me so that I have your address if you want to be put on my monthly 'reminder' email list.

Patricia

Good morning everyone !!

Just bumping this thread up to the top so everyone will remember that this coming Wednesday is our monthly meeting. As always we will be meeting in Conf. Rm. A at Lion's Gate Hospital.

I have finally been in contact with Dr. Areseneau and will be going to see him at St. Paul's for a fill before the meeting. I still quite honestly don't know if I actually need a band adjustment or a head adjustment, maybe by discussing it with him I'll be able to figure it out. The scale is moving in the wrong direction lately and I need to put a stop to that....so hopefully a little tightening along with a mental tune-up will get things rolling !!! Time will tell.....

Hopefully I'll see you all at the meeting !!

Patricia

Update. We had a lively meeting, but only five of us attended with one new member. Sure hope after the spring break, we will see ourselves back up to 18 plus. To me, having individuals with the same issues talking really helps me. Canadagirl hope you can make the next one. We missed you.

Edited March 19, 200917 yr by Doddie63
typo

I'm sorry I missed the meeting as well....I always enjoy sitting and talking to you all. Altho I enjoy the large meetings, sometimes a small group can be a lot of fun.

I'll certainly be doing my best next month to get there. Sometimes when life makes things difficult, the distance just makes it impossible for me.

Patricia

I'm sorry to have missed the meeting as well. I was swamped with work and just couldn't get away. Unfortunately I'll be missing the next one as well, as I'll be down in Mexico getting my next fill.

-vangirl

Edited March 21, 200917 yr by Vangirl

My apologies everyone. The second part of my post was meant for another thread, and in my sleep-deprived mind, the two threads were warped into one, and I ended up responding to both with the one post. I've now chopped and pasted it onto the appropriate thread.

-vangirl

Hi all! Im from Vancouver and I am looking at having this procedure done. The one thing I really want to know is, what is the cost of this procedure and have any of you been lucky enough to have this expense covered by your medical plan....I Have Great West Life insurance.....anyone have any experience with them????

Hi Jackie....Welcome :tongue_smilie:

I would think that you should dig out your insurance policy (or read it online probably) and see if there are any clauses regarding weight loss programs or surgeries. If you can't find anything in the written policy, call them and ask. I have personally never heard from anyone who has managed to have any kind of insurance coverage with the band. That said...you just never know !!

A side note...if you have any interest you are more than welcome to join us for our monthly meeting in North Vancouver. A group of us meet at Lion's Gate Hospital on the 3rd Wednesday of every month (next meeting, April 15th). It is a casual group who get together to share our band journies and a few laughs. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or would like more info.

All the best,

Patricia

Hi: the costs vary with the surgeon and where you get the procedure done.

Dr. R. Woodhead in Ladner/Delta charges a consult fee and around $14,000. You could call and ask his assistant the fees.

Dr. Leung is another local doctor. You could call their office as well. You could go to Toronto or Winnipeg.

Then there is the possiblity of going to Mexico or the States.

I went to TLBC in Toronto 2 years ago and they offer excellent aftercare to patients in their Toronto area, the long distant patients are not so lucky. There is the SWL clinic in Toronto and they have a network of support throughout Canada, you could contact them as well.

Hope this starts you on the right path of choice.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you do your homework and emphasize aftercare. The procedure is a major change in your life. The surgey by itself is not a big deal but still major surgery. It is the care you receive afterwards for fills/defills/and other support.

Hi Jackie,

I have not heard before either that any insurance company would pay for that.

I had my surgery done by Dr. Leung in Surrey, the total cost was $12800.00 and 3 fills are free and then he charges $30 each. If you live here - it is quite convenient and I was happy with Dr. Leung as he has done many surgeries. He works out of Surrey Memorial Hospital and has his office across from there.

Any questions, please let me know.

Cheers,

Gerdi