hi, looking for anyone that has had or is intending to have lap band surgery @ Maples Surgical Centre. I'm hoping for early 09.

Anyone get bumped from a fill on Tues. Mar. 30th :thumbup: because the docs and Terri were not available? Now I don't have any appointment any time in the future and am living on sheer will power. Hoping for one soon...

Diva

just at one der:thumbup:land

Never got bumped ...the wife and ii drove in from regina had a 1:00pm...hope i didn't take your spot....

Hello y'all..... just trying to update my ticker :bored:

Pills pills pills - I HATE taking pills! Anyone else having big problems with them? Even when I cut them down, it's such a headache!!

Also - I wanted to share that I ordered a product called Protein Bullets and received them in less than a week from Texas. They say they're developed with the needs of Bariatric patients in mind, so I thought I'd get them and try them out - 42g of protein / shot! I got both the lemon lime and wild berry flavours, and I'm pretty impressed by them. They don't seem to taste too bad, although they have a strange texture, like Jello that hasn't fully set yet. I usually drink some on it's own, then add the rest into some water and drink it down that way. I'm not entirely sure how much of a difference they make yet, but if anyone wants to know if they're helping, I'd be happy to letchas know how they're goin'! I've known for awhile that protein is what makes the biggest different for me to keep losing, but have constantly been struggling to get enough in (and powders are losing their appeal already LOL) so thought I'd try this out.

Hope you all are doing well!

k.

Hey sk27, Those 'shots' you're talking about sound interesting ....let us know how they're working for you and how you found out about them.

Hi All, was banded in Mexico, Feb 12th, down 27 lbs. But am having to go all the way to Bismarck, North Dakota, for fills, as no one in Winnipeg will even talk to me. I have been in Contact with some of the people at CJOB (radio station) and they are going to do a piece on the difficulty that those of us who can't afford the surgery in Winnipeg are having finding aftercare. Why will a Dr. in the US take my money but not the Dr.'s here. If you have had similar issues and want to tell your story, we are looking for more people to join me in the Radio studio for the interview.

Hi All, was banded in Mexico, Feb 12th, down 27 lbs. But am having to go all the way to Bismarck, North Dakota, for fills, as no one in Winnipeg will even talk to me. I have been in Contact with some of the people at CJOB (radio station) and they are going to do a piece on the difficulty that those of us who can't afford the surgery in Winnipeg are having finding aftercare. Why will a Dr. in the US take my money but not the Dr.'s here. If you have had similar issues and want to tell your story, we are looking for more people to join me in the Radio studio for the interview.

Hi, i just started with my first consultation at" Maples" and it seems to be a slower process then I expected. What is the Deal with the Mexico Option? Was it worth it ? The price is right if the service is good. Could You help me out with Your opinion Please

I took two years to research my options and I finally decided to have the vertical sleeve gastrectomy in Mexico because when I researched the band in Winnipeg at the Maples, a couple of things hindered me. One was that if I had the band done in Mexico, there was no one local to do my fills because the Maples absolutely refused to do them even though the device is the same one Maples uses. As well 18,000 vs 4500.....that is a ridiculous difference if you ask me.

I went to Mexico in Feb. and had my sleeve and had such a great experience that I work now as a coordinator for them helping others get affordable weight loss surgery.

Anyways, when I got back, CBC did an interview on TV and the stupid broad introducing the piece totally twisted what I said and lied outright. She made it sound like I was fighting to have the government pay for my surgery...BOGUS! Of course they won't recant even though the reporter that actually did the interview apologized it caused a rukus nonetheless. I am officially done with the media.

I think that Maples shouldn't be so closed about doing fills if you have the surgery done elsewhere. What the heck do you do if you move somewhere and "have" to find someone to do fills.

The other thing I was concerned with is band slippage and erosion and possible revision surgery later on...don't want the hassle so opted for the sleeve...one time....over and done with.

Good luck with your decision.

Hey sk27, Those 'shots' you're talking about sound interesting ....let us know how they're working for you and how you found out about them.

Hey mimi! I'll for sure give my full impression on them - but I'm going to wait until Friday, which will be 2 full weeks adding them in. I have ordered more, so I have to say I've got a pretty good feeling about them! (bulletnutrition.com if you're interested)

I first read about them somewhere here on the lapbandtalk website, although when I went back to try and find the original thread, I couldn't track it down. The search function seriously could use some work!

Also wanted to mention that I've been spending a lot of time reading and checking out products on bariatriceating.com - and was wondering if anyone else had tried anything from there? I did place an order - ok, I'll admit it, I **might** have an online shopping problem But hey, I'll guinea pig and let people know how it goes.

I haven't checked any of this stuff with Danielle, because I've really not had any contact with her since the pre-op diet, but if anyone checks the be.com website out and has any contact with her, it'd be interesting to hear her opinion about it!

Will check back in at the end of the week and report more on the protein bullets!

So for those wondering my experience using the Protein Bullets, I would have to say it made a decent difference for me. I'm coming up on my 1-year anniversary for having the band, and things have been slow overall for me, at least until I realized how key the proper amount of protein has been for me. I was probably slowed down to about 1-3 pounds a month - frustrating - sometimes less, sometimes a bit more. However, in the last 2 weeks since incorporating the P.B into my diet once or twice a day, I've lost 5 pounds. Now, to people that have not had any problems losing the weight quickly, that might not seem like much - to me it seems like leaps and bounds compared to what I'm used to.

Could I have used a different protein source and had as much success? Possibly, but at 42g a shot, I certainly feel like they have done what I've needed. Plus, I really like them a lot better than the powder. I usually take my water bottle, add the shot and then add some crystal light and fill it with water, as the texture got pretty old pretty fast! My husband has tried them though, and he has no problems with the texture, so it could be a personal thing.

As I mentioned, I ordered more, so I hope to find continued success with them. If, however, I find the results aren't as great as the last 2 weeks have been, I will certainly let you know.

Hope that helps if anyone was wondering, or if anyone else was looking for an additional protein source. Oh yeah - also - the shipping from Texas was FREE - so that makes it a bit easier to get them up here!

If anyone wants to know my opinions of my product from the bariatriceating.com website, let me know - tracking says they'll be here early this week, and I'd be happy to let people know about taste etc.

Hope you're all having a good weekend!

k.

Hi K, thanks for that info! I have noticed myself that if I don't eat protein, I don't lose. Weird huh? Would have figured it would be a calories in vs calories out thing. Can you down these protein shots in one gulp? I hate dragging it out. lol

Hi K, thanks for that info! I have noticed myself that if I don't eat protein, I don't lose. Weird huh? Would have figured it would be a calories in vs calories out thing. Can you down these protein shots in one gulp? I hate dragging it out. lol

Yeah - I agree - totally thought cal in vs cal out would be the trick. Although I do remember having it emphasized how important max protein was during my consultation, I kind of blew it off as unimportant. You know, wouldn't want to think the experts have ALL the answers :biggrin:

As for one gulp - that's the way my husband has done them, I've found it to be a bit too much for me to do all at once. They are 2.8 oz (82.6ml) so maybe back in my shooter-bar days I could have done it easier lol. My current fave drink is the lemon-lime shot with water and crystal light pink lemonade - add some ice - perfect little summer drink

It's been a while since I've posted but I've been on regularly reading. Thought I'd share that I too was bumped that day back at the end of March from my fill appt but it was really not a big deal since I didn't need one and just re-booked at whenever was convenient for the clinic. I ended up going this past tuesday and still didn't need a fill :thumbup:

As for weight loss I'm down an official 37 pounds from my surgery now most of which has come off in the past few months, as your might recall I had some trouble getting started with an un-fill and yadda yadda yadda.

Sk, I'm super interested in the protein bullets you're talking about. What is the company name you purchased them from? The free shipping has drawn me in. I checked out the bariatric eating website and I'm really interested in trying out their lap-band formulated chewable multi vitamin as well as their isopure protein drink. I even went so far as to set up and order but the shipping was going to be almost $50 on $100 worth of products... maybe not. Let me know what you're trying out from them and in the future we could maybe order something together and split the shipping cost.

I too have an online shopping addiction that I have over the past few years managed to "control." iTunes and amazon make it way way to easy to spend money, and you don't even notice it until that darn visa bill comes at the end of the month.

Hope the everyone is doing well and enjoying this beautiful weather we've been having!

Hi Leslee!

First off, congrats on the 37 pounds down... it's quite a journey we're all on, and 37 pounds is something to be proud of :thumbup:

The website for the Protein Bullets is Protein Bullet - The Most Advanced, Best-Tasting Protein Drink Ever Produced! . I received my second order of them already today . I see they're looking for a Canadian distributer, I hope they find one, not that I mind ordering them from the US because it's quick, easy and the shipping has been free, but would be nice to have them available here. (Plus, I'm crossing my fingers that with this last, bigger order I'm not going to receive a FedEx brokerage bill in the mail!!)

As for the BE products, I haven't got them yet - fingers crossed for tomorrow! Can't WAIT to try them, but yes, their shipping cost was higher. If I decide to order more from them in the future, I will order them into the town just across the border in North Dakota - they do free shipping within the US and I can drive 15-20 minutes and pick them up without much hassle. Again, would be so nice to have a Canadian distributor for them... maybe I should start importing it all LOL

I Was going to mention tho, with the Isopure protein drink - not sure about Winnipeg, but in Regina you can purchase them at London Drugs. I just came back from the city with a bunch, I found them on sale last week - (i think it was a about a dollar off, but better than nothing!) So if you can get to LD - check there, back where they keep their other protein products/drinks. No sense paying for something to come all they way from the states if you can buy it locally! The taste of them isn't too bad, but I do prefer it mixed in with a bit more water. At LD they have the regular ones and also low calorie ones as well.

Hope that helps a bit - I will post again as soon as I find out about the BE products!

I got my BE shipment today - yay!

I ordered 2 of the variety pack of the premixed drinks, a pack of the Caramel Latte powder, a pack of the Pom Razz Sangria powder and a pack of the unflavoured powder.

So far, I had one of the premixed drink, the Mocha Latte flavour, and I have to say I'm somewhat impressed with the taste. It tastes like a diet version of those Starbucks frapacrapasnapacinos you can buy at the store. It does have a wee bit of a protein taste, but really not bad at all compared to some other products I've tried/smelled!! I just poured it over ice and drank it back, it was a nice little treat, although my sweet tooth wishes it had been a tad bit sweeter, but that's just being selfish now isn't it?!

Over the next week or two as I try everything, I'll letchas know how they go - pretty excited!!

Me again! Just wanted to update on the BE.com products I received last week.

I have been really impressed with the taste so far. The pre-mixed drinks really are a nice little treat in the afternoon, like having an iced coffee without all the guilt. The Pom-Razz Sangria protein powder is VERY tasty - I quite enjoy it. I haven't tried the other 2 powders I ordered, but I expect that they're going to be quite decent as well.

However!!

Today in the mail I received a bill from UPS for the brokerage fees on the package. Now, I'm not naive, I expected *something* - however I did NOT expect a bill for another almost $50 bucks! And in reading the breakdown, most of that charge is to UPS directly just for doing the work.

So - added onto the already high shipping prices, it was certainly a big chunk to swallow. Next time I order (and yes, there will be a next time, because I quite like them) I will absolutely be shipping them to the little town across the border in North Dakota and driving them over myself. I'll still have to pay the taxes on them, but nothing near what it's costing for a 2nd party brokerage to do it for me.