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

Dr. Leung or Dr. R. Woodhead

Both doctors are out in the Ladnery Delta area

Dr. Woodhead

206 - 4515 Harvest Dr.,

Delta

Phone 604 946 6500

Dr. Leung you will have to look in the telephone book unless once of his patients post.

Hello North Van Bandsters,

"I attended your meeting in October and had a really great time. It was so fantastic to meet everyone and I could really feel everyones excitment about the changes the banding has made in their lives. I really liked hearing your stories and the tall thin woman who chaired it was so down to earth and informative. I have since decided to self pay. I have my pre-op x-ray/ultra sound next week and am looking forward to meeting with Dr. Leung in Surrey. One test I need is the overnight oximetry. My doctor said she didn't know where to refer me to for that. Does anyone know? I totally can't afford it - but it is cheaper than a car and my health and future are certainly worth that! I look forward to hearing from you. Does anyone know of the meeting details for the meting in Vancouver? When should I start to attend?

FYI

Dr. Leung 604 581 2515

Suite 200 13798 94A Ave Surrey:thumbup:

Hi kbfi!

Great way to look at it!.. I am having a bit of an issue around the price as well, however being cheaper than a new car works for me. (Incientally, I am trying to sell my Lincoln Navigator to pay for the operation)...lol I have a tentative date for next month with Dr. Woodhead. And a visit with the anasthesiologist this month. A couple of questions for everyone else...

a/ Have any of you that have had the surgery been smokers?

b/ What did everyone have as a diet prior to the surgery?

Canadian Butterfly

It's all just so bizarre....

I just read kbf's post and my first thought was 'I wonder who she means..."tall thin woman that chaired the meeting"...' And then it dawned on me that she was probably refering to me !!! I have yet to think of myself as 'thin' or even normal weight and to see that someone else does is very odd to say the least. Thank you for the compliment...it's much appreciated.

I didn't have to have any special testing done so I can't help you with the oximetry test, hopefully someone else will post that knows more about it.

Vancouver meetings....if you are refering to the one in North Van, we will be meeting on Wed. Dec. 17th (1 week from today) at Lion's Gate Hospital and you are certainly welcome to attend !!! There is another meeting in Vancouver that has happened twice in the past although I'm not sure if there has been anyone turn up for it yet. Unfortunately I have no idea if it is a monthly thing and if it wil happen in December or not....if I hear anything about it I will post. Regardless of which meeting you attend, my personal opinion is that you should attend as much as you can before banding to learn and ask questions. After banding it becomes a support group to help you out, but we all still learn from it. I know that after having my band for more than 2 years I still learn from other Bandsters !!!

CanadianButterfly...I used to be a smoker but quit over 3 years ago. When my surgeon spoke to me about it he clarified that smoking increases your risk for complications and slows healing because it affects circulation etc. Wasn't an issue for me but I have heard that generally surgeons like a person to quit a month prior to surgery but this will vary Dr to Dr I would think.

As for pre-op, this also varies depending on your surgeon. I didn't have a pre-op diet at all and was only told not to gain any weight prior to my surgery. Others have had very strict diets before surgery ... it will depend your surgeon and what they recommend for you.

Good luck !!!

Patricia

Hi again kbfi. The oximetry test is simple and arranged by your doctor at the hospital. I just did one last month. You can ask your doctor to refer you to any hospital or doctor with the machine near you. It was simple and is covered by healthcare.

Very much looking forward to next week's group and hearing on everyone else's progress. Next Wed. is also my first day back on solid foods. Yay!

Hi: Congratulations BUT take your first solid foods nice and easy and feel your way along. Don't be afraid, just go slowly. Don't forget, you haven't had solids for some time and even without the band, you would have to reintroduce solids slowly. Good luck and hope to see you next week.

Very much looking forward to next week's group and hearing on everyone else's progress. Next Wed. is also my first day back on solid foods. Yay!

Hi Vangirl !!!

Your #'s are looking great !!! Doddie is right, take it easy on your first day of solids....altho that can be tough !! I remember planning my first solid meal for DAYS in advance....decided on moist chicken breast and ceasar salad and I swear it was the best meal I'd EVER eaten !!! I'm looking forward to talking to you and hearing about how everything went....

On that note...has anyone heard from Valley Girl lately??? Her surgery was last week and I haven't seen anything from her. Hoping she's doing well and let's us know soon !!!!

See you all next week !!!

Patricia

Hi Vangirl !!!

Your #'s are looking great !!! Doddie is right, take it easy on your first day of solids....altho that can be tough !! I remember planning my first solid meal for DAYS in advance....decided on moist chicken breast and ceasar salad and I swear it was the best meal I'd EVER eaten !!! I'm looking forward to talking to you and hearing about how everything went....

On that note...has anyone heard from Valley Girl lately??? Her surgery was last week and I haven't seen anything from her. Hoping she's doing well and let's us know soon !!!!

See you all next week !!!

Patricia

I'm looking forward to coming next week and spilling all about my experience so far. I'm thinking I might have oatmeal as my first solid meal that day. Mmmmm oatmeal.... :wink:

-Vangirl

Wait a sec....

Haven't you been eating oatmeal as a 'mushy'?? I had it every morning for Breakfast during my 2 week mushy stage !!! I don't think I could have lived with out it...

Patricia

I don't have a mushie stage actually. It's one week clear liquids, two weeks full liquids/creamy soups, and then solid food on day 22 onward. I'm just starting out with oatmeal because I want to test the waters first before diving right into the solids.

Oh hey Patricia! I'm here, I'm all good, I just go to my surgeon's forum most of the time....lapbandforum.com. I'm coming on Wednesday night and will tell you all about my Mexico experience...I'm down almost twenty pounds already! The last ten days of liquids will probably be tuff cause I am starting to get hungry and won't have any fill in my band until mid-January.

Dr Ortiz puts the band in empty so I don't think I really have restriction now that the swelling has gone down. I'm just so glad it's all over with- I was so scared before I went. Now I'm just trying to decide if I'll go back there for my first fill or go see Dr. Arsenau at St. Pauls. My docs were so gorgeous I think I'd like to go back just to get one last look, hahaha.

See you Wednesday.

Sabrina:)

Hi Sabrina !!! So glad to see you post and hear that you're doing well !!! I always worry until I see that everyone has come thru surgery and is well into their recovery I'm glad to hear you'll be at the meeting on Wednesday, I'll looking forward to hearing how everything went !!!

And to everyone else !!!! I'm posting to bump this up so that everyone is reminded that this week is our meeting. As always it will be Wednesday the 17th at Lion's Gate Hospital in Conf. Room A. I will already be in Vancouver so I should make it there by 6.30ish... Hopefully I'll see you all there !!!!

Take care and be safe !!!

Patricia

patricia, it's supposed to snow on wednesday so if it's heavy, will you reschedule the meeting? or just postpone til next month?