Donna

Thanks Nume and Don for the well wishes! Don those pink grapefruit look sooo yummy! Unfortunately I am on a type of blood pressure pills that doesn't allow me to eat grapefruit anymore but it looks good!

Hi all, it is so great to finally be at goal this last 10 days or so. I have been fortunate to reach 126 lbs. finally and even got down to 123.8 lbs. Was a little worried over the Christmas week because the treats and appetizers are tempting but this morning for weigh-in I was still 2 lbs. under goal at 124.0 lbs. I haven't weighed this amount or less since July 1995, and I am so indebted to Dr. Cobourn and my band. There is no way I would be in control of my weight without this lapband and having good restriction. I wish everyone else here as much success in reaching their weight goals in 2008, if I can do it anyone can because I was totally out of control before I started this band journey. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year's and all the best.

Hi Great North, yes people who are interested in the lapband are welcome to attend the luncheon. I know of hundreds of people who are banded and in Ontario I have never heard of any private medical plan covering the surgery at this time.

Hi Gaff, yes when I gained weight I had to start buying wide width or size larger shoes and boots and now I am back to regular width.

Mandi the measurements are awesome! I never took mine - still haven't! But I got to chuckle at the head measurement going down an inch, didn't know we gained fat there. Are you sure it wasn't brain matter? Make sure you email Dr. C when you reach goal!

Hi Mandi, congrats on almost being at goal - me too! I haven't been on this site in a few weeks but I remember we were pretty close in comparison. We must be crazy to be wanting to reach goal right at the Christmas season - go figure! I might of hit goal this morning except I went to the neighbour's annual Xmas party last night and had nibblies. My long term goal is to slowly loosen the band after I have maintained at goal for a year or so, not completely but enough to hopefully have to worry less about any long term complications in the future. Best wishes for a wonderful Xmas,

You are in my thoughts at this sad time, luckily we will always have our memories of our dads.

Happy Birthday Donna! Hope you have a lovely day celebrating and don't do anything I would do!

Lisa I look forward to meeting you Saturday nite! Feel free to bring a guest also if you wish, I usually drag my friend Debbie who had the gastric bypass in June.

Hi everyone for those with a sweet tooth I looove these low fat cheesecakes that are only about 70 calories per serving. To find a store that sells them near you go to their website Cravings Low Fat Cheesecakes . I found them at the A&P grocery store in Brampton and they are 3 for $5. All were yummy except the key lime cheesecake flavour. Also Kozy Shack makes delicious no sugar added low calorie Tapioca pudding (among others) and now they also have Cherries Jubilee that is to die for! I also still love Cadbury Thin Chocolate bars when I go by the cash registers at various stores... :biggrin1:

Welcome to being a bandster! Dr. Cobourn is my surgeon and he is absolutely fantastic! Unless you specifically request him, he has two nurses that do fills that are great - Tammy and Sue. If you haven't already come and join the Surgical Weight Loss Centre's patient support forum (messageboard and chatroom) at Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass and then to the left click on patient support forum and register. I know of several other of his patients who live out near you. If you can make it why not come to the Bandster Christmas dinner being held this Sat. Dec. 8th, at 6 pm in Unionville for bandsters from all the clinics. For more info see the thread regarding the Christmas dinner on Lapbandtalk.

As long as there is no snowstorm I will be there with my buddy Debbie whose the RNY (gastric bypass) mascot. :clap2:

Sue no sooner did I post my reply to you then I went and ate 3 bites extra of my slice of pizza and slimed for the next 15 minutes which is very rare for me. Nineteen months out and I still screw up at times - when I definitely know better!

Sue hope you are feeling better today. As you have now found out there is a reason why it is recommended that after a fill you stay on liquids or pureed food for around 24 hours. Even though we don't always notice it our stomachs are under some stress from the fill and need time to stabilze also a fill can kick in anywhere from immediately to up to 2 weeks later. Take care and let us know how you are doing.

Thanks for the kind words, I bet you all had a great time at the TLBC Open House!

Oh those chocolate desserts are scrumptious too! :biggrin1: The only problem is my craving for these cravingscheesecakes and chocolate desserts is fast becoming out of control. I have had to stop buying more than three at a time because I want to eat them all. The other day I ate 7 over a course of the day - so I had to cut back on healthier food to make up for it. :rolleyes

Hi everyone, haven't been in here lately but thought I would check in with happy news! Today I almost cried when I did my daily weigh in because I am finally in the 120's! I started at 251 lbs on the day of surgery on April 18th, /06 and this morning I was 129.6 lbs. My goal is 125 lbs. and I was feeling very down on myself lately because I had been dealing with some heavy medical issues (not band related) and was up and down between 132 - 133 lbs. Yes I know that to some of you that are still a long way to goal it may not seem like I have much to complain about BUT I have been on this journey for almost 19 months. I have a lot of bandster friends but I also attend support groups where I am sometimes one of only a couple of bandsters and it can be hard seeing people who have had gastric bypass or more drastic wls like duodenal switch drop their weight soooo much faster than us. Also I previously had weight loss surgery 20 yrs. ago (VBG) and after going from 260 down to 113 lbs. it was devastating when I experienced staple line disruption and became morbidly obese again over the years. I actually am more terrified of when I reach goal in some ways (though will still be thrilled!) because the old wls failure will be triggering me. I am definitely still a compulsive eater and food addict and probably will be for the rest of my life. (Though miracles can happen over time!) I don't mind admitting that I am also worrying that I may develop band problems that will result in weight regain but I know it is counter productive to fixate on that. The best advice I can give other bandsters is that we are all different and try to find what helps you succeed as a bandster and stick with it. For me the key is having GOOD RESTRICTION, I just can't do nearly as well without it. I am blessed to live only a few miles down the road from my clinic that is in Mississauga but even if you don't budget for trips back or find a good fill doctor with your surgeon's help you can get to. Also support from fellow bandsters and other types of weight loss surgery patients. I am THE bandster socialite! I love emailing, meeting for coffees, lunches, dinners and attending support groups in varying cities to give and receive support. As a stay at home mom it is especially meaningful to me as I need that connection. Last but not least do be your own best advocate and when you are struggling reach out to your surgeons, clinics and others. We paid top bucks for this lapband and we know best when something is wrong or we need help. We all relapse at times, and we all have bumps along the road (sometimes even hit potholes!) Never feel ashamed to say you are struggling and need help to get back on track. I remember being about four months out and still waiting to hit my sweet spot and almost gave up on this whole band, thank God now that I did not and soon hit good restriction on my 4th fill. I know of a few other bandsters done around my time from the messageboards that did get discouraged enough that they just drifted off never to be heard of again and I always pray that they at least will sometime return to their surgeon and find success. I know my band surgeon Dr. Cobourn is always telling me when we discuss this that he wants to know when we are struggling and please tell them to call the clinic if any problems. I know from what I have heard that TLBC is the same. I remember when I had a breast lift after my first weight loss surgery years ago that the plastic surgeon wanted to do a lift and for optimum results add small saline implants. I said no way! I do not want any silicone or plastic in me! (It was enough I had staples!) Well here I am with a gastric band in me that is a type of silicone and filled with saline and loving it! :clap2: The irony is not lost on me! (Still glad I didn't get the breast implants though )

Thanks for your kind words everyone! Donna D I still have to get out and buy some dress pants but will wait till the week of the event. Can't wait! Lizzie if you knew how unphotogenic I am even when thin you'd understand why I am camera shy! :phanvan

Congratulations! I am not a patient of TLBC but I believe it is only a few short weeks to get surgery date.

Hey Mandi, I never realized how close you too are to goal! Well considering I have a bunch of social bandster get togethers coming up you will probably beat me - but what the heck, sure! By the way I am a little shrimp of 5'2 and very small frame so every pound shows. :rolleyes

It really depends on the exact medication. I had stomach stapling 20 yrs. ago and ever since then I cannot tolerate any type of medication with codeine in it. Now as a bandster I can take Demerol or Percocet but need to take a lot of gravol with each dose. Please discuss this ahead of time with the band surgeon and the doctor following your medications, I know we are told not to take anti-inflammatories.

Susan - I'm glad you came back to the site and went to your clinic. Trust me we all struggle at times but we CAN get through it. :clap2: Aza - It was 4 fills and 4 months for me to reach my first sweet spot and it drove me crazy when friends would post great restriction at 1st or 2nd fill! Sue - No I did not knock over scale - it is my best friend (at least today! We have a love hate relationship.) By the way you are doing excellent! I was only down 50 lbs. for the same length of time you are now banded. :biggrin1:

Try checking out the Surgical Weight Loss Centre website messageboard and chatroom too. You can access it at Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass and then click on the left side on Patient support forum.

Yes I too was banded 18 months ago at the SWLC by Dr. Cobourn. I personally feel we are better sticking to a clinic like mine or TLBC where they have a proven track record, you will meet and get support from fellow patients, etc. I know and have met many many bandsters and while I am aware of Credit Valley program I know of no one who has gone there and they do very little at this point. Lapband unlike other weight loss surgery very much involves intense aftercare and you can't go wrong with the top clinics like Surgical Weight Loss Centre and TLBC.

Don't forget anyone can arrange to set up a luncheon or dinner, there is no rule that it has to be a certain person(s). If you can't make a certain bandster meeting and want to plan one feel free to arrange one and then post details - the more variety and flexibility the better! :hungry: