Doddie63

speed racer. You may need a complete defill for a few weeks to allow your pounch to rest. You may have inflamed it in some manner. I would go back to your clinic and see if a defill would help. It is worth a try. Others have had success with defills. Doddie

Thanks athinnerdenses. I have to keep looking at that stat to keep my sanity. Only 1 lb down for all of March (easter bunny was good) now I am busy trying to loose my usual two - three pounds per month.Doddie

Hi Everyone: Just advised by Jill that her new CEO and her will be going out into the wilderness and setting up fill and support people. At long last the long distance patients will soon be getting some contact other than telephone or long flights. Yahoo! Check their website if you are a patient of theirs for the announcement. Doddie

andreerichards: Sorry you misunderstood what I was suggesting. If you contact the manufacturer, you may be able to find out if any stores in Vancouver are their distributors. There are many mail order stores on the internet, but they also supply specialty stores. You may be able to get a name and address to visit. Doddie

I too recommend the TLBC. They are a great clinic for not only the banding but for support as well if you live in Ont. They are working on the support for long distance patients. As for the ER rooms, there is definately some doctors that have less than good PR when it comes to banders. I think the fact they are not trained in the simple procedure of removing saline is the major reason. I believe in our province the band is not recognized by the Medical Authorities so no training is given. In any event, the TLBC is a great choice. Doddie

Kaya I don't blame you what with all the skytrain muggings go on. I ceertainly would not venture out your way. I wish you luck in finding a group. As I said I know the BC WLS groups meet all over Vancouver LM. Doddie

If Ramona messes up again, I would report her to the SWLC. She may need further training and the clinic would want to know that she was representing them properly. As for Dr. Woodhead, his application is lengthy and he does not take on other doctors surgical patients easily. If you decide to go to him and he accepts you, I am sure you will like him. Doddie

North Vancouver group has a total of four. Two from North Van, one from Pemberton and one from LM. Wish we could get more but we don't even get a nibble. Guess people think they can do it on their own, unless of course they attend a mixed gastric bypass & banded group. These groups are great but I found the gastric bypass patients lose weight so rapidly that their needs were different to mine. I sure hope the N.V. group holds up. Doddie

There is one fill nurse in Vancouver Medical and Dental Building that is on SWLC list. Don't know if her name is Ramona, but I know she does them because she turned me down. Doddie

After curves give yourself a treat (not food). ie get your hair done, buy a new bit of clothing, get a manicure, whatever it takes. Doddie

sorry andeerichards. I am not sure of your message and what you are trying to say? Doddie

Exercise is not my strong point either. For years, I look at the piddly amount of calories expended on 30 minutes and got discouraged. Still do actually. There is an article in our local paper about exercise and the harm people are doing to themselves because of over exercising. Joint damage, etc. Now I exercise moderately by walking on a treadmill and view it as a good cardio workout and not a weight loosing workout. I view my 1 cup of food per meal as my weight loss program. So far the distinction is working. Slowly, but working. Doddie

Sheri: There is always hope. If I were you, I would contact the Head Nurse and request an appointment with Dr. Yau. I really like her. See what Dr. Yau says about putting the port properly. If he tells you, what he told me, I will get Nancy to check your port by doing a fill, let her do it. Then demand to see Dr. Yau again. Even if Nancy gets the fill the first time others won't in all probablity. My Dr. Woodhead blunts three needles and takes 25 minutes. He gets so upset and I have to calm him by saying it is OK, better than going to Toronto. He is very concerned about damaging the tubing. All I can hope for is if he thinks the tubing or port is damaged he will send me back to Toronto with a letter to Dr. Yau. Not much else I can say. Good luck. Doddie

Kaya. Which Toronto clinic did your band. If it was the SWLC in Toronto, they may be able to give you another name. I go to Dr. R. Woodhead a surgeon in Delta. On the referral from Dr. Yau I was able to see Dr. Woodhead. I had to pay a $400.00 consultation fee and now pay $75.00 per fill. It is a lot cheaper for me than going back to Toronto and I really like him a lot. Hope this helps you a bit. Doddie

no, support groups are few and far between. The best one is a combination of gastric bypass and banded patients. There website is BCWLS. Try their website because they post all meetings. Doddie

contact their customer service and ask who represents them here in Vancouver. Wish I was going with you to Australia. Hope you have a great trip. We did many years ago. Doddie

can't wait until you reach goal. I will hear the cheer from here.

Thanks wishes. Your stats are pretty impressive, WTG to you too. It is encouraging, in a circumspect way, to know I am not unique in this word of bandsters. Hope others keep posting. Doddie

AthinnerDenise: I may have suggestion but take it for what it is worth as I am a slow loser also. Are you eating "hard" protein every four hours. If you are, then you should not be hungry. If you are giving into your desire to eat sweets because you find it hard to watch everyone else, then you must plan for those moments. Have in your refrigerator an alternative sweet which is low calorie. Take a small bread and butter plate and eat very slowly. Make your treat stretch out. NEVER DENY YOURSELF. If you are anything like me, denying yourself preys on your mind until you end up binging. If you do take a 'normal' sweet, savour it by eating it as slowly as possible. If you know you can eat sweets, more than likely you will find you really don't want it as badly as you thought. I think, we all know the tricks but this time, with the band, we should be able to control the amount we take in. So have your sweet but in moderation. Doddie

Whoopee! I just did my weekly weigh-in and lost 8 oz. In total for the month, I have lost two lbs. Not any record but I'll take it. Sure beats a gain. It does get a tad bit depressing when I see others losing 2 to 4 lbs a week. Jealousy is more like the word I am looking for. I wish I knew how t speed things up but I am eating the required amount of protein and veggies,fruit and exercising within my capbabilities. If it wasn't for this link I would have given up long ago. Doddie

Peaches. Your post will help many I am sure. Sure glad you are doing ok. What is a "general". Don't you go to sleep just as you did when the band was inserted around your stomach? Doddie

Just a suggestion, but is there any chance there are fill nurse clinics around that charge less. I know some Canadian that go down to Seattle in Washington state. There are two fill nurses who have excellent reputations and they charge considerably less. Have you all checked around your city? Doddie

Good Post. I for one will continue to warn people of the downside of going out of Country and the importance of doing research past the reputation of the surgeon and clinic. Aftercare information is vital and ensuring after care is enshrined in the coverage is just as vital. As this link has shown, people that tend to bully me into keeping quiet are representative of clinics from out of country. The average joe reads my posts, takes or leave it as their choice but at least they have more information to work on. Doddie

Great post susieq. I sure hope people read this that are contemplating going out of country. There has been so many posts praising the Mexican clinics but very little information on the downside. Desparate people need all the information they can get including the negatives to make informed decisions.

Phyllser: Hi: The Toronto clinic referred me to a new surgeon named Dr. R. Woodhead. He had been trained to do the band by my surgeon. So after an initial consultation fee he accepted me as a patient. I now pay $75.00 per fill. A lot cheaper than flying to Toronto for a "free" fill. Go for the treadmill. It is a terrific machine to have when you are not doing other exercises. I take aquafit but have been home with a viral cough so I use the treadmill. Love it but exercise is like everything do only the one thing and you get bored. Also the muscles need a new challenge in order to keep burning calories. I am told that doing the same exercise challenges only certain muscles and a plateau could occur. So by using different muscles the caloric burning increases. Oh, I also have arthritis in the knees, but if you keep the level at 0 or 1 and don't go too fast your knees should be OK. Sounds good anyway. Bimby you will be fine. Your surgeon, clinic are there for your medical needs and we are here for support. One thing about us over 60's, as stated by IKgrubb we have been through all the diets, exercise gimicks etc. Good luck and keep us informed. Doddie