Doddie63

holty: Congratulations and welcome to bandster land. Your journey is well on its way. I am not familiar with endura, but my experience has been to read what a serving is. If endura is a powder, it may say 2 tablespoons in a glass of water. That means usually 2 T in 8 oz of water. If it is a liquid, it should say what a serving is on the label. I am sure someone else will have a better response, but for the time being, I suggest reading the label closely then follow up with a telephone call to your clinic/doctor. Good luck.

:thumbup: I hope Optifast tastes good, sorry I know it is a strict diet and I am sitting here chuckling,because oh,boy, do I know what you are talking about. I was on cottage cheese (nothing else) for 30 days. Even the fruit wall placks were starting to look good. I found myself halucinating over anything and on top of that I had to cook regular meals for my other half. My total support and sympathy goes out to you, but don't give in. You know why you are doing this strict diet. It is so important to shrink your liver as it is so fragile the less it weighs the easier it is for your surgeon. Plus the added bonus of huge weight loss. It is not far to June 24th.

:thumbup:thanks mzreeda. The only advice I can give you is boring. Stick religiously to your doctors orders on how much to eat and what. Make sure you chew, chew, chew your food and don't rush your fills and defills. Go slowly. To tight a fill can cause issue you don't want such as vomiting, slipped band, band erosion, etc. You have the rest of your life to lose your weight so on the advice of your doctor set goals for yourself. If you hit a plateu then try small fills not large ones so you gradually work up to a good restriction. Hope these h ints help but the journey is yours and you must make your map that suits you. Keep posting and you will get a lot of ideas from fellow bandsters. I am at 5.5 cc out of a 10 cc band and I still vomit from time to time when I forget to chew. If you are excessively hungry make sure your protein choices are hard protein such a chicken, beef, fish (preferrably). These proteins take longer to chew and stay in the pouch longer than say soup, or yogurt, etc.

it is hard. no doubt about it. But by trying all the tricks you know to keep yourself occupied you can do it. Some things I found I could do, was make warm tea or a warm drink to sip on. Many times I sipped on chicken broth really diluted but warm. It seems to fill up the spaces. I don't know your diet your clinic put you on, but mine was cottage cheese and yogurt (unflavored) Yuk! Anyone else out there no some tips for zoltrix

KJillCarr: My mother in laws name was Carr. So glad you have made the decision to have the band and hopefully that slight fever will go away quickly. Are you a type 2 diabetic or insulin dependent. For me and many others, our diabetes is well under control. I no longer am taking 5 metformin a day but am down to one. I am told my Doctor will be taking me off the last one in July. My BP is also well under control. So you have something to look forward to besides weight loss. I think they call it NSV (non scale victories). Have a great journey.

Is it just me or do others feel offended by the words "friend (0)" under our pictures and names. I have friends just not on the website for the public to see. Makes me feel "woss".

wishes 100+ lbs now lost is no small feat. Congratulations. You are on the downside of the mountain now. Is 179 you ultimate goal or is that an interim goal? I had my own little victory today - found I can get back into my size 22 pants. From a 5X to a 22, slowly VERY SLOWLY, the weight is coming off - 1/2 lb per week on average. Sigh! someday I will make one hundred.

zoltrix. Congratulations on your decision and continuation of your journey. Let us know what you think of the Manitoba clinic so others in the area interested in banding can make some informed decisions.

wishes44 - congratulations on your milestone. Keep up the hard work. Canary Queen I love the "time out" what a terrific idea. I don't have children but I think it might work for me too.

well done sunshine. It is great to hear you are following the rules. Then all I h ave to suggest is relax the weight will start rolling off as time goes by. Try not to be impatient as your brain will try every trick in the book to get you to fall off the wagon. For what it is worth, I don't exercise much at all (I am retired and just don't like formal exercise) and I still lose 1/2 lb a week since last Feb. 07. Keep posting we love to hear how you are doing in your journey.

On another link, there was a great deal of discussion that went on about the after care that people experience when going to Mexico. Someof it heated so I don't want to get embroiled in that again. However I place this caution - research your after care and be sure it is in place before you have surgery.

happy at last: Try D. R. Woodhead in Delta for a $400.00 consult fee and $85 per fill that is still better than the costs to fly to Mexico. However, I don't know if Dr. Woodhead will do fills for Mexican patients but you can try.

sunshine. congratulations on getting the band. I note a few underlying misconceptions. You have gained 4 lbs back - what are you eating? You must still be on mushies and your choices may be too hight in calories. You probably won't find much difference in your first fill (depending on what your fill doctor/nurse gives you). Normally it will take you about three fills to start feeling constriction. May I be so bold as to remind you that the band is not anything but a tool for you to use. It will not make you lose weight if you continue to eat unhealthy high caloric food. You must work at losing weight. My fill is 5.5 ccs in a 10 cc band and I have restriction to the point I can't eat any more than 3 oz hard protein and 3-6 oz of veggies/fruit. Unfortunately, doughnuts, chips, etc. go down to easy to I have to stay away from them. So, as you are just starting off, start off right by selecting exactly what your doctors tells you and chewing the living daylight out of it. Exercise and you will soon see progress. Good luck

Andi10: Dr. Woodhead is a very nice young doctor. Go armed with your questions and he will take the time to explain them to you. I did not have my band with him, but I do go to him for fills. Even though I am not his surgical patient, he still wants to see me every few months. And if i haven't invited you to the Lions Gate monthly meeting, we sure hope you will come out and meet us. You can get a variety of answers and thoughts from us.

Hi 2bslimsherri: Thank you very much for your support. I was put under with a very light anethestic. I have had no pain and picked up my life where I left it. I still have a good restriction at 5.5ccs (can't eat more than 1 cup of food which includes 3 oz hard protein). I too hope the port remains as is. I hope it is the end also, but my journey is one step at a time solving any problem on the way. I get overwhelmed when I think of what could go wrong so try to focus on today. How are you doing? Is your port sewn down? Your chart indicates you are doing extremely well, What fill amount do you have?

Well said Canada girl, you said it better than I could say it. Your clinic could also be considered as there is no flight time involved.:smile2:

clg. Are you sure Dr. Woodhead's list is long? Most I know is that from consult to surgery is a couple of months. As for Dr. Leung, he should be under the P&S list in the yellow pages or you can go to his website and get the phone number and address. You can't use the bandsters portion of the website but you can ask questions. If you decide to go out of Province, give considerable consideration to your aftercare. You may wait a few months from a Vanc. doctor but the aftercare can be expensive. IE: I just travelled to Toronto to have my port position corrected and travel costs plus hotel came to just under $1,000.00. If you go to Calgary for instance, you will have flight costs there and back plus accommodation. You will need at least three fills and probably more as well as defills, plus the unexpected like my flipped port. So factor in the wait time for surgery and aftercare and you may see the wait is worth it. Hope this information helps you

Good luck Buffie, I hope your problems are solved. You have done so well to date and soon you will be able to continue your journey. Letus know how you make out.

Hi Peaches: Yes, I flew to Toronto on the 4th, on the 5th Dr. Yau and I discussed what I would like - to have the port sewn or moved. I chose neither. I just wanted the port turned to make a fill easier as I am just about at my sweet spot at 5.5 ccs. By having the port sewn, it creates different challenges. The sewn port can cause the tubing to wear and break where a free floating port does not do that. However, the free floating port (my words) can twist. I took the chance on the free floating port and hopefully the port won't twist again. I am feeling great. A bit bruised and stitches yet to come out but no pain and I can feel the port down a bit from the old placing. I sure hope this works for me but if it doesn't, I will then have the port sewn down. Thanks for asking really appreciate your support.

Hi Anita. Know exactly what you are saying about your impatience. I think we go thru this. Even now I get impatient with the slow weight loss although I know this is the best way for me. You are full of excitement and anticipation. Now you have made the decision, you want to get on with it. Wonderful attitude to have. See you at the next meeting.

Hi: glad you are seeking out a support group but I hope you remember that gastric bypass patients have different issues. I went to a gastric bypass support group and I found I really didn't have the same issues. Their weight loss is fantastic whereas mine was slow and steady and still is. I found myself wishing I would lose weight faster and it was getting me down. Silly me but I did feel that way and finally dropped out. I now go to a meeting for gastric band patients. I hope you can find a group that has the band

Hi: TLBC does has their own website that has been upgraded to include TLBC bandsters. They have also included a Q&A section that they actively answer. This is how I got the appointment to have my port corrected. I flew into Toronto on Wed and back home on Friday. the website is not actively used. I think because the TLBC has so many local support group meetings. Long distance patients for some reason chose not to use the site.

Hi Anita: Best thing to do about your questions is ask Dr. Woodhead. I go to him for fills and the procedures in my mind are important decisions but not as important as the after care. He is excellent providing aftercare. Although I did not have my surgery with him, he still wants to see me every few months or so. I like his interest in me and I feel safe and secure as I go forward in my journey. The sleeve is relatively new and if you join the CanadianLapBanders on Yahoo, there are some intereting comments made about the sleeve. This site is also a good place to research the sleeve. Personally I like the band. Have you been invited to the Vancouver support meetings? If you are interested contact Canadagirl33@hotmail.com. She started and organized our support meetings and will put you on her list for notification when and where the meetings will be held.

Hi: You and just about every other bandster has had second, third, fourth, fifth thoughts. Fears of not eating favorite foods, fears of the unknown. This is a major lifestyle change you are making and no one can help you but yourself to make this decision. All I can say is, I went through all the doubts, fears, excitement, etc and one year later I am wishing I had done it sooner.