Doddie63

Hi Joann. You are obviously doing everything right so I would suggest your focus on the area where in you are having problems and that is at night. Number of reasons factor in such as triggers for hunger, watching TV, being alone etc. Many banders do not like having food after dinnertime because of the possibility of a reflux action during sleep. I would suggest you have some skim milk warmed with a bit of chocolate mix. If you factor these calories into your daily usage, a treat such as hot chocolate should be enough to squelch your appetite. Tastes good too.

Sue: All the advice you have received is spot on. The one area that seems to be missing is the frequency of eating. Are you consuming pure hard protein every FOUR waking hours. For instance, a cup of tea, low fat biscuit with almond butter at 3:00 pm. My clinic has told me I can eat anything I want. Small portions of protein is what keeps you from becoming too hungry. Many try to get by the day with 3 squares and that is not always the best way. I find by having the meals a bit smaller, eating five/six times a day is not a hardship. Also, I try to have 3 oz of pure protein each meal.Also, try sipping on some warm liquid when hungry. My favorite is chicken broth. Good luck on your journey, you seem to be well on your way.

The band is wonderful and I wouldn't change my decisioin under any circumstance. Just remeber the band is only a tool. You still have to watch what you eat, exercise and all that wonderful stuff. Only, you do not diet. You can eat most things just smaller amounts. After a short period of time, you will look at a restaurant meal and super huge and marvel and the huge portions people consume. Suggest you try one of two clinics SWLC or the TLBC. Both clinic have excellent after care for Ontario patients you just have to pick the doctor or clinic that fits you as a person. There are course other clinics but these are the only two I recommend. Good luck in your research

I have just been advised that the TLBC will be in Victoria British Columbia next month doing fills for not only their patients but others as well. For a fee of course. Just contact TLBC and enquire as to the fee and arrangements. Hope this helps anyone looking for a fill nurse/doctor.

Any BC resident that has gone to Mexico or any long distant clinic may be interested in knowing that the TLBC from Toronto is sending a fill nurse to Victoria next month (August). I am advised fills will be provided for a fee to anyone. Just contact the clinic and make an appointment for when they are in BC next month. Hope this information will be of assistance to anyone looking for a fill.

Congratulations. Keep posting as you will have questions that we may be able to help. Also, my BD is the 12th, we Leos should stick together LOL

Yes the band is a wonderful tool. Some think it is a magic wand and they can continue to eat large meals. The thing is you can eat normal just not as much. Better choices are encouraged but the biggest thrill I have had is the feeling I am full. Never in my life have I felt full. If I did, it was for a couple of minutes and I was looking for food again. Being 65, I am not looking for an immediate weight loss because of my skin. I am averaging 2 lbs per month and the skin seems to be slowly shrinking as well. I will need PS but not for some time. I certainly hope you find a reputable clinic to give you the band. The weight loss will be great for your health all round.

Krosmon: Welcome from me to you. There is also a link for people over 70 as well. I can't see why you can't be banded when others in your age group have. Perhaps they will know of a surgeon that will perform the surgery if yours won't. Good luck, as a band is a terrific tool to have.

sunshine I found this information on another link. Hope its helps answer a few questions. Originally Posted by Wendell Edwards This may help you in understanding the restrictive mechanism of a Lap Band. The ALLERGAN protocol for Lap Band fills calls for a six-week delay after surgery, prior to any fills. The purpose for the six-week delay is for the patient’s stomach to heal from the surgery, as well as allowing time for the Lap Band to “Seat” or “Nestle” into the fat pad between the stomach wall and the interior wall of the Lap Band. Prior to receiving an EFFECTIVE fill, it is VERY uncommon to have any restriction from a Lap Band. Some patients will NOT lose weight, or may even GAIN weight until they have received an effective fill in their Lap Band. Normal weight loss with a properly restricted Lap Band is between 1 and 2 pounds per week. The normal cycle of fills, restriction and weight loss is as follows: 1. The patient's Lap Band constricts when the patient receives a fill. Swelling for a few days after receiving a fill is very common. Many doctors require a patient to go on a liquid diet for a day or two after receiving a fill. A fill may have a “Delayed Action” of up to 4 weeks. A “Delayed-Action” means that the fill may not become effective for up to 4 weeks after the fill. That is why the ALLERGAN protocol states that fills should not be performed on patients who will not have access to medical care for at least two weeks after a fill. 2. The patient's stomach capacity is lessened as a result of the restriction caused by the Lap Band. 3. The patient loses weight because they cannot eat as much food. 4. The residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap Band and the outside of the patient's stomach reduces in size because of the overall weight loss in the patient. 5. The reduction of the residual fat-pad causes the Lap Band to become loose again. 6. At that point, the patient needs another fill, because the Lap Band is loose, and the patient has a loss of restriction, which allows the patient to eat larger amounts of food. 7. The patient receives another fill and the process starts all over again. Most Lap Band patients receive several fills to adjust the Lap Band as their weight loss progresses, and there is less and less residual fat-pad between the inside of the Lap Band and the exterior of the stomach wall. Once a patient has lost all of their residual fat-pad, fills become less common. As the Lap Band patient progresses in their weight loss, the effect of very tiny fills (Less than .2ccs) becomes greater and greater. It is not uncommon for a late-stage Lap Band patient to experience a significant difference in restriction with as little as .05cc of fill.

Hi Everyone. We had another great turnout to our support meeting at Lions Gate Hospital. We don't have a structured meeting just everyone telling their journey and lots of laughs. Anyone contemplating banding, pre op or post op and support person please come out to the meetings every third Wednesday. It's free and fun.

I am not your doctor, but I would suggest you need a fill. For instance, I have a 10 cc band and am at 5.5 ccs. I have mild restriction but able to swallow my medication and when I forget to chew thoroughly, I don't vomit very often. My doctor had put my band on fairly tight so I had a natural restriction as well. Ask your doctor what the average restriction for your band is, when you reach that level you should have restriction. However if you have to go higher than the average, go slowly in the amounts such as .5 ccs or less. I have been taking .5 ccs but now I will go now to .25 ccs. My band's average is 6 or 7 ccs. Hope this assists you.

sunshine when were you banded? and what is the size of the band. Some people have to have 3, 4, etc fills before feeling restriction. Take your time about fills, but when you are eating over what your surgeon wants you then get a fill in small incruements. The other question, if you are swallowing pills whole, are they a horse pill or a tiny pill? If horse pills maybe you should ask your doctor for a alternate like liquid or cold you halve the pills. Having pills sitting in your pouch could cause problems to the lining of the stomach (or so I am told).

Nurse: LOL, I trust everyone to know what they can or can't do. As you can see, I had now have a lot to lose. I have gone from morbidly obese to obese - one point for me. You mentioned you were a slow loser but intended to lose 3 lbs a week. I was just trying to encourage you to accept whatever lose you do get as a wonderful goal and not put your sights too high for a weekly weight loss. You could become discouraged if you don't attain the lofty goals. Many cannot step on the scales at all because of the water retention we all seem to suffer. I am a joke in that field. I start out at 232 and in the 3rd week I am 238 then drop down to a lower weight in the 4th week averaging out to 2 lbs per month. Anyway I will cross my fingers and wish a mighty wish you meet your 3 lbs goal each week. Let us know how you are doing so I can envy and admire your success at the same time.

Hi: You may be cutting your calories too low. the recommended weight loss is 1/2 to 2 lbs per week. By having to cut back 7,500 calories a week consistantly until your goal will discourage you. Don't forget, the band is the tool to teach you to eat differently. It sounds to me like you are on a diet of starvation. Does your clinic give you a recommended protein intake. For instance. 3 oz hard protein and up to 4 oz of vegetables/fruit every four waking hours is what I am to do. As for exercise I don't. Up until now, I occasionally went to aqua fit and a bit of treadmill but my limbs won't let me do too much yet I consistantly lose 1/2 to 3/4 lb a week. I point I am trying to make is take it slowly. Slow is frustration at the best of times, but you do have the rest of your life. We all know diets don't work. Having said that, I have been having a Nacho weeks - back to the drawing board. Good luck

I am sorry you are feeling ripped off and that is something you should take up with your clinic. We all know the band is supposed to be a tool that restricts the amount of food that is eaten at any given time so if you are eating the allotted 1/2 to 1 cup of food with 3 oz being hard protein and eating every 4 hours some sort of protein and not losing weight, it is time to go to your GP. See if he/she would refer you to an eating disorder clinic and have you monitored as to what you eat and whether or not you are doing the best exercises for losing weight. I am sure there are a battery of tests that would eventually find your problem. We certainly don't intend to preach, as we all have similar issues but when giving advice, all we can do it tell you what the health authorities tell us. Calories in must be less than calories burnt. You problem is to find out why this isn't happening. For instance, I have been sabatoging myself by having 900 calories a day but I either don't exercise my 30 - 60 minutes/day or I get into the tortilla chips and sauce. I log everything and I soon am reminded I am eating 1800 to 2200 calories. I also graze and that is a disatrous thing to do. My point is if you can't find your own solution by tracking your food intake and exercising then it is time to bring in the GP and experts in obesity. Good luck

Hi: I have just heard from Nancy the fill nurse from the TLBC that she will be in Victoria to give fills. Contact the clinic if you don't hear from them if you are interested. yes it’s true I’m going this weekend to Victoria to do fill. i will confirm the hotel by Wednesday and let you know for sure. I will be available Friday between 6 and 9pm and Saturday between 8 and 1pm for fill. I hope I will see you there! Rosane will contact you probably today to give you all the info. I should arrive Friday afternoon. My check in is at 4pm so as soon I have the suite number I will send you an e-mail.

email Nancy Coulombe at ncoulombe@tlbc.ca telephone 1-800-409-8151 extension/local 337 Also, Roseanne will have the informaiton.

Kero you have made some excellent observations, some of them I subscribe to. I do understand there is now a psychologist on staff but I don't know how you get to him before or after surgery. I live in BC and know firsthand how long distant patients can get lost at TLBC. The aftercare support is second to none for Toronto and area patients. However, anyone long distance must give heed to support very carefully. For instance, for me to have a FREE fill, it costs me roughly $1,000 to fly to Toronto. Also, not being able to attend the "Boot Camp" and other support meetings can leave a long distance patient very much alone. As everyone knows the first few months everything that is unusual such as pain, vomiting, etc. can be very frightening. Not being able to get answers locally can equally be frightening. Where one clinic supplies fill nurses/doctors throughout Canada, TLBC does not do that. They rely on a DVD which has never been accepted by our ER or my GP as a training tool. BC now has a Dr. that does banding trained by Dr. Yau but he will not do fills for any patient other than his own. Mercifully, I was accepted as his patient before he stopped taking on others. All my points are yes TLBC is an excellent Clinic and Dr. Yau is the most experienced. Their aftercare is second to none, except for long distant patients, which can find it a bit tiresome getting help. Zena probably would back me up on this. As for comments on Nancy, I don't think it is the language barrier at all. I I had arranged a surgical date to have my port corrected but she was the direct cause of the surgery being cancelled. She used two needles and 5 tries to get the saline in as a test and told Dr. Yau there was no need for surgery. As a result I lost $1,000 for that trip only to make it a few months later AGAIN and this time I had it corrected. Nancy knew I was from BC but that didn't stop her from "advising the doctor" there was no problem putting in saline. Even when I told Dr. Yau it took 4 needles and twenty minutes to get in a fill. I thought the next day I would get anoher fill before going home On this trip, I told them I only wanted the band corected not moved. In the dressing room, Dr. Yau asked where I wanted it moved to. I was furious and told him to fix the damn thing I didn't want it moved. I really wonder if they talk to each other! FLASH! I just have received word that Nancy will be coming to Victoria, BC for fills. TLBC never told me. Communications anyone?????

zoltrix I wonder if you should be seeing your doctor for tests concerning your lungs for either asthama, infection, whatever. The cough may not have anything to do with banding surgery and is only coincidental. I am particular about coughs because I was diagnosed with TB when I was 11 years of age, caught from a family that did not follow up on one of the children's coughs. I also had asthmas for a long time before being tested only to find I have asthma. The other is a viral cough. Best to check your cough out with someone that is expert in lungs.

My intention was not to slag you Andrew and yes my aftercare was a huge problem. That is why I am making a big deal of it before others fall into the same trap. I have answered 5 recent posts about Mexican patients of Dr. Ortiz who are looking for aftercare. SWLC is setting up fill nurses/doctors across Canada, and TLBC is also trying. With all due respect you are not the only one referring patients to Mexico. They may not be as caring as you are. Also, I am trying to point out the importance of researching after care of ANY long distant patients. For instance, my free fill by TLBC costs me roughly $1,000 per trip and I am very fortuante that Dr. Woodhead took me on. He is no longer accepting any patients from other doctors. Long distant patients may feel they can afford to fly back to the original province, state or Mexico but what about in the future. All these things have to be thought out carefully. Many people don't see past the band and even if they do, they don't always see the questions they have to ask. Critisize me all you like, I will continue to post the importance of after care. Then people can make their own decisions.

In case Phyl doesn't see this, try going to the forums home page and scrolling down to Suggestions, feeback and Questions. Click on that then look for "howe to get a ticker in your signature". This may help you.

Oh, check your security program on your PC. It may be thinking Fitday is a virus if you haven't used it before. Turning off the security may help

Hi: Basic questions. Did you join and get a password? You may have to exit out and resign in. Once you sign in, there are two custom foods. One is "new custom foods" which brings up a blank form and the other is "custom foods" which retrieves custom foods you have entered. Click on "new custom foods" and when the blank shows up, give it a title that is unique. Fill in all the blanks from the can or bottle or your favorite frozen food, then you must save. The save button is at the bottom or top of the form. There should be no problem. I liked Fitday so much, I purchased their download software. For $20.00 I find the program so much easier to handle and I get a lot more charts. I hope this helps you. Doddie

For any BC bandster looking for a fill nurse, the website is www.northwestfills.com Phone 360 512 4220 If you go to their website they are by appointment only and they give their rates. Vanman, thanks for the compliment. Glad to have helped a bit.

Try www.northwestfills.com phone 360-512-4220 Two fill nurses by appointment only. They are in Arlington, Washington state