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

I am in at the end of this month. I see you are in mid Feb?

Canadian Butterfly

Oops!... Going in Delta.

Hi: Try making your own. You know, buy a magic bullet then take a protein drink and add fruit or whatever strikes your fancy. I am not much help because my pre op was cottage cheese and/or yogurt for 30 days. I would also search the web for ideas. There are amazng suggestins available.

And....congratulations on your decision. Is the surgeon Leung or Woodhead?

Hello

I'm doing research into possibly having the lapband surgery and I would very much like to attend one the North Vancouver's support group meetings.

Can you please let me know when, where and how often you meet, as I would love to come and meet and speak with you all and I'm also a resident of the North Shore so if I decide to go ahead with the surgery the North Vancouver support group would be a huge asset.

Thanks you so much for your time.

Regards,

mirukan

Hi there,

I had the lap band surgery with Dr. Leung in November 2007. It was a great decision but it is also hard and not that easy to stay on track. I think the next meeting is on January 21 and I will also attend. I am sure there is a lot of information from different people.

Cheers, and hopefully see you then at Lions Gate Hospital.

Uli

Hi: We meet at the Lions Gate Hospital every 3rd Wednesday of the months (Jan. 21st). Someone is there from around 6:30 pm but we post the time as 7:00. It is not a real formal meeting just a get together to talk about our experiences and have some laughs.

Enter from the 15th street (main entrance) entrance. Walk past the coffee stand on the left towards the gift shop. Turn right at the gift shop and go thru two double doors. Walk down a short corridor and turn right. We should be in conference room A.

I would suggest you watch this site for the posting or contact Canadagirl33@hotmail.com. She will put you on her notification list.

Can't wait to meet you.

Hello

I'm doing research into possibly having the lapband surgery and I would very much like to attend one the North Vancouver's support group meetings.

Can you please let me know when, where and how often you meet, as I would love to come and meet and speak with you all and I'm also a resident of the North Shore so if I decide to go ahead with the surgery the North Vancouver support group would be a huge asset.

Thanks you so much for your time.

Regards,

mirukan

Happy Monday Everyone !!!

This is my monthly post to let you all know that our support meeting is happening this coming Wednesday, January 21st. The weather is supposed to be good so I'm hoping that all of you who were snowed in last month will be able to venture out. I'm very much looking forward to talking to our new post-ops to see how they've been managing and dealing with their new lives as Bandsters !!! We should also have a couple of ladies with us that are scheduled for surgery very soon that I'm sure will have some last minute questions.

I have some exciting news for all of our group members !!! Lizanne has been working hard on the phone trying to line up a 'guest speaker' for our Febuary meeting and I am happy to tell you all that on Feb. 18th Dr. Barbara Beach will be joining us. She is a psychologist that specializes in eating disorders among other things and will be coming to speak to us about food addictions, dealing with life on a limited diet, body dysmorphia/perception, etc. She normally charges in the neighborhood of $160 an hour but has agreed to forgo a fee to our group because we are a non-professional peer support group. However we are going to be doing a 'collection' to pay for part of her time, so at this months meeting (January) I will be 'passing the hat'. I realize that times are tough for a lot of people and if you can not donate I understand, and if you can, we are not asking for much....whatever you can afford is fine. My hope is that if we can come up with some money and make it worth her time she will agree to come back again. That said....PLEASE do not think that if you can not donate, you're not welcome to come !!! It makes no difference and we will ALL be able to benefit from heaing this woman and asking her questions.

I'm looking forwand to seeing you all this week !!!!!

Patricia

Edited January 19, 200917 yr by canadagirl33

As the meeting yesterday was my first one, it was really great to see so many people with similar experiences but also to find out that everybody has such different stories to tell, wow, I am amazed. That shows you that not one body is like another. I am finally on track again without eating any sweets, which still takes a lot of willpower, but it sure is worth it as I need to lose another 50-60 pounds which I know won't be easy. I am sure we all get to our goal eventually. Just never give up, as I keep telling myself. My goal is to fit into a size 10 or 8, then I am really happy.

Thanks,

Gerdi

Gerdi, I have to agree 100%. The variety of experiences and various stages of the band is truly a great experience. 19 bandsters all contributing thier experiences. I missed a couple of months and was really very happy to get the interaction with the group. The web is great, but nothing can replace a group getting together.

So anyone out there that have the band, thinking of the band, at goal whatever, please come out to our meetings. You would be so welcome.

PS: There are no fees. Just bring your sunny smile.

I was thrilled with the turn-out for last nights meeting !!!

It was so good to see a few people who had been before but hadn't been able to attend for a while....and seeing all the new faces was completely awesome !!! :thumbup:

I remember the first 6 or so meetings when it was just the three of us and I wondered if it was worth my while driving all the way down to Vancouver...almost seemed like a waste of time. To see you all last night, to hear your stories and to know that even 1 person learned something new or was helped in some way makes it all so worth it !!

I'm really looking forward to next months meeting, I think Dr. Beach will be awesome to hear speak on some of our issues....and I certainly look forward to seeing you all again !!!

Take care and if any of you have questions or just want to chat, feel free to email me at canadagirl33@hotmail.com or leave me a private message here.

Have a great day everyone !!!

Patricia

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?

I have never had a fluoro and my personal opinion is don't bother. I think it is necessary if you are having problems, but on your first fill, no. I would go to Dr. A.

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?

Sooo.. curious? I am likely confirming this too late since I am going in right away but...Many of you have had the lap band for a while. Other than amount of food consumed, are you eventually able to eat almost normally? Anything you absolutley can't eat? Any "don't go there foods"? I know of a few, but was curious what others had to say that have had a lap band for a while...

Thanks

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?

I don't think it makes any difference sticking with one fill doctor. Doing fills is a very simple and virtually painless procedure, as long as they can find the port. If you can easily locate it, the doctor or nurse can.

As for doing it under fluoro versus not, I had my first fill with Dr. A and not under fluoro. It was not as quick and easy as it is for most people (my port is very hard to find), and I would have liked some reassurance that everything was working the way it is supposed to. For me, the fact that everything is internal and cannot be seen (and therefore you're relying on just how you feel to determine if something is wrong), I'd have felt better having something I could see on a screen and someone telling me everything was A-ok. For this reason, if I were to do it again, I'd go back to the clinic I went to in Mexico for the 1st fill, and then subsequent fills to Dr. A.

However, the advantage of going to Dr. A is that you can go for any subsequent adjustments (more fills, unfills) within a two week period without having to pay extra. I've discovered that my fill is insufficient (I'm working WAY too hard to keep the portions/calories under control) and so I'm able to go back to get some more fill. One thing is if you do go to Dr. A, you need to get a referral from your family doctor, so get that done before your surgery. You can then choose after the surgery what you want to do. It will be much easier to choose at that time, because then you will have had some experience with the band and recovery and will have more information with which to make your decision.

Also, another fellow bandster recently went to NW fills, and they did not do it under fluoro. I don't know the reason why, but it sounds like there is no guarantee that they'd do it under fluoro there either. I would really like to hear from someone who has had their fill done under fluoro to see if it really makes a difference or not. I'm still considering doing the fluoro myself just for that added bit of reassurance.