Doddie63

suzpat. Those are very medical questions you should ask your clinic doctor. The band is not well know to many doctors and could cause issues when taking tests. You may have to have defills but only your lapband surgeon should answer that. Some people suffer acid reflux during sleep but I understand this can be solved by not eating after dinner and drinking water to flush the pouch. I have lung problems and the band does not interfere with treatment. Hope this helps

fatme: (maybe you should change your web name). Losing weight slowly is a wonderful to lose. You remain healthy and your skin shrinks back more easily and your hair doesn't fall out. I hope my weight record may encourage you. This week 233 on Saturday (official weigh in), then 235, 237, 238, 239, 240, 238 and today 238.2. I have faithfully counted calories with an average of 1,250 per day and exercised at least 3 days and I still gained weight. But I will not give up. Try not to look at other weight losses negatively towards yourself. Their bodies are not your body. The only one you have to satisfy is yourself. If you lose .25 lbs per week or remain the same, take that as a victory and reward yourself with something that is not food. If doctors put unrealistic goals for you don't accept their suggestions. Take a look at what you have accomplished over the years, pick out the times you were successful and try to bring that standard back. You will be successful and most of the fun is getting to goal. Maintaining the weigh can be boring. :tt2:

Thankyou, pleased I was of some help.

Well done. Congratulations and I know your journey will be exciting.

hi: canadagirl is usually there at 6:30 pm. But the meeting is 7:00 pm to approximately 8:00 pm, but sometimes we are having a good time and it goes later.

The more the merrier. You will be welcomed with open arms. Bring your questions or bring just you. Our meetings are open, sometimes there was just one the last time 13. Canadagirl33@hotmail.com started the group. I am pretty certain she will see your post but if not contact her and she will put you on the reminder list.

Zoltrix. Really great to hear the clinic is turning out so well and are giving you support you need. The band is wonderful, but for the first number of months, I felt every thing and worried. A lady on Canadianlapbanders let me verbalize my worries on private e mails. She has gone thru a lot with the band including a leaking band and had to have it replaced to having a baby with the band. If you have any worries post, and someone will help you but of course the best course of action is to call your clinic no matter how small an issue.

hi zoltrix. Congratulations and am very happy you are doing ok. The cold is a real downer though. If it is any consulation, I was told after the surgery to get up every hour and cough for whatever medical reason I don't know. Guess your cold is ensuring you are coughing if you can see any humour in this irony. Take care and keep posting how you are doing.

Thanks fousilly for responding.

best wishes plevy. I don't have children but the band has given me a life of energy and happiness which has translated into better health to enjoy my retirement. I know you will find you enjoy everything so much more. Again best wishes

muckstack. What a wonderful son. Now you can relax while on the liquid and mushies stages of your food intake. I had to cook for my DH and I admit it wasn't easy. EL will be thinking of you on the 3rd. My best wishes go with you

becca: I am glad you made this statement. It is common to read some individuals think that once a doctor is trained, they will do fills for anyone. NOT!

frypan: log onto canadianlapbanders.com website. That is a site that the TLBC and SWLC patients use. Others are of course using it and are welcome. But if you want to learn about the support groups that is the place. Good luck on your journey.

Oh, I agree with you 100 Per cent. You have hit all my points on the head. That individual had a local surgeon after the ER hesitated in helping. Long distant patients don't have that luxory. I experienced the fear of not having a local surgeon to call as you can see by my Ticker. But TLBC referred me to Dr. Woodhead and now I have help if I should ever need it. Any long distance to travel for a potential bandster should be researched and backup planned and ensured. I am not trying to disuade anyone from going to Mexico or any long distant clinic.But I am hoping to point people into looking carefully at their aftercare before surgery, based on my experiences. Why should they experience what I did if I can help then not to. I wish you well in your journey and I hope you continue to be proud of your clinic and promote it with the caveat that you tell them to ensure backup.

congratulations on the start of your journey. It will be worth it. You probably would get the best answer to your question if you ask your surgeon what he does. The practice of stitching the port or leaving it in a pocket of fat next to the skin is a surgeon's choice. Mine is the second and it turned on its side. I had it corrected, but there is no quarantee it will not turn again. Stitching causes more pain after surrgery and there is more chance, the tubing will break. Example take a metal object and a plastic tube and bend it back and forth. It will probably break at the connection. Apparently turning the port or fixing the tubing is not too serious. There are a variety of bands on the market, and your surgeon is the only one to tell you what his choices are.

Dr. Leung is the Gold Standard. Not good bedside manner for some ve people but an excellent surgeon who has been doing the surgery for some time. The other is Dr. R. Woodhead, young and just starting out. I personally go to Dr. Woodhead and like him very much. I know of a few others banded by him and like him as well. He was trained by Dr. Yau of the TLBC and went to France for further training in the Fr. Midband. You can check the Professional Registrar to see if there are any complaints against either one. Hope this helps.

sphyxmomma. You indicated after the band the medical profession is responsible for us and have to treat us. Please go to the canadianlapbanders.com site and read the posting of someone who went to the Ont hospital and sat there for 5 hours. They would do nothing. Then had to go home and try to contact her surgeon for help. Also, a GP is not obligated to help you if you are not their patient. In fact, GPs "fire patients", which shocked me when I saw it on TV a few weeks ago. I am all for people going to Mexico and getting the band. In my view anyway they can get the band the better. But they had better go with all the information they can gather.

You are more than welcome. I am turning 65 next month and I can't believe how the weight loss has given me so much more pride and energy. The bonus of course is the band keeps me from sliding to far back. I can't understand by the medical people in our province are so dead set against the band. Anyway, I sure am glad I have it.

Hi: My doctor recommend Tums ultra 1000. They are fruit flavord and chewable. I take two in the morning. I understand there are other calcium products out, but Tums for calcium are the cheapest and do the same thing. But there is a warning with any calcium product. Do not overdo as you can develop problems. As for the sticker Deb go the the home page and scroll down to Sugestions, Feedback and Questions. Look for "How to get a ticker in your signature". The instructions are very good. They worked for me and I am a real dunce when it comes to computers.

smsmithart: I have 5.5 cc in a 10 cc band also and have ample restriction. If you are having pain, you are not chewing enough. The natural chewing is approx. 12 bites before you swallow. So the trick is to take small bites and chew at least 20 times before swallowing. If you take normal bites, more than likely you are swallowing chunks too large to go thru the opening. Also, are you weighing your food. One cup of food is hard to eyeball with some. Me, for instance. I was having vomiting and pain every time I ate until my doctor told me weigh and measre my food and to take bites the size of a pea and chew it until it is liquid. then he told me to down my fork after 20 minutes and eat no more. The pouch will be full and so will you. No liquids with the meal to make the large chunks go down easier. The key is to chew.

pamperedmoon. Hey, it is great. Your starting weight doesn't have to be different for any other weight loss. You are well on your way and it sounds like you can cook too. Not my strength.

You were deadon Phyllser. The doctor cut the stitch just below the skin, put on a antibiotic salve and told me to keep it clean to watch for infection. It feels a lot more comfortable now.

pamperedmoon: You 3 week stats look great. Congratualtions.

re slippage, only an experienced and surgeon can correct that. Again, I urge you to talk to your GP and make enquiries as to a qualified surgeon in your area taking on your case. Better to be sure now than sorry later.

wherever you live, you must ask your GP. Every province is different and not every doctor will take on another surgeons patients especially corrective surgery. Emergency is another matter, but once you go to an ER, some medical professionals want to either defill completely or remove the band completely. You must check with your locals and who better to ask is your GP or the person doing fills. You could ask the Mexican surgeon who he has to represent his clinic in your area. Just some ideas.