Doddie63

Peaches the loose fill "maybe" a good idea. Don't forget you have to teach yourself how to eat all over again by chewing to death your food, to recognize the full feeling without causing pain, etc. So the gradual tightening of the band is probably a good thing. So be patient and work on other aspects of your journey. The weight will come off if you play by the ground rules so relax. Doddie

Hi Susie: You would be welcome with open arms. Watch the BC WLS website for the reminders posted by Canadagirl. Better still, e mail her and she will put you on her mailing list reminder. If you want to contact me ffor support feel free. My e mail is doddie63@hotmail.com

Haven't heard of him. Do you live in the lowermainland? Doddie

Hi travelology: I posted above you but forgot to say I am from North Vancouver. Maybe sometime you might try to get to our little meeting. How are you doing. Where do you get your fills and what support are you receivig. Doddie

Hi lulubrat: You are more than welcome to our little group before and after being banded. Coming before may help you with preparation, diet etc. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE

Congratulations on maintaining such a great weight loss with such a horrible job. I agree with Donna D. wait until the new year it is only a few weeks. Perhaps with your co worker in another area of the office, you will be able to settle down. Also, I would check with your supervisor/manager as to the comments "of watching you do nothing". Was this comment from a co worker who may have their own motives for creating a dustup or was this comment done on an appraisal of you. Whatever, I would try to clear that up prior to leaving. It could impact on future references. Again anyone that lost the weight you did should be congratulated. Doddie

Yasmina, contact Jill at the TLBC and she will assist you. She has been helping me get a diet that I can live with as I have diabetes and when I exercise my sugars go down and up. Some tips for protein is a rye crisp with peanut butter or Feda cheese at 3:00 in the pm. Also, you can put protein powder in your favorite food or drink. Beans are a great source of protein. I put a can of six beans into my hamburger casserole (lean of course). But by contacting Jill, she will be able to taylor your needs to your health and life style. Doddie

Peaches. Bypass Nancy and call the head nurse and make an appointment to see Dr. Yau. The other two bypassed the fill nurse and asked for a check by withdrawing the fill as they insisted they would not be satisfied until it was proven there was fill in the band. After all, YOU are the patient that paid for the band and you have the right to know it is working properly. It took a lot of pressure by the other two individuals before they were taken seriously. Stand your ground, you have and are paying them. If it proves they are right then you will be content to have more fill, but if it proves they are wrong, then they have to fix it. Stand tall and demand you be looked after. Doddie

I would ask for another fluo. I correspond with a 2 gals who went back numerous times to there doctor and had fluos and each time was told there was no problem. HOWEVER, THERE WAS. The doctors each time eventually found it. The only way they found it was to do a complete defill and find out how much fluid the band had. Guess what! The bands were totally empty. So ask for a complete defill and ask the docs to measure the amount of fluid that comes out. If they say you have 9ccs, you should have 9ccs come out. Doddie

Hi Donna D. Jill will most certainly help you. She has helped me and will be calling me every two weeks as long as I need to have her help. I do have to contact her though because she sent me a number of menus but no reciepts and I haven't a clue how to make them. LOL Yes I am alright, but drop in glucose readings can happen quickly. I was in the pool and after 1/2 hour of exercise I told the lady next to me how sleepy I felt. Then in a few minutes I couldn't see very clearly so I left the pool. On exit, the life guard was there to greet me asking me questions. I was confused and couldn't come up with the correct answers. He read the medic alert bracelet and saw I was diabetic so he gave me sugar water. Within a few moments, I was as right as rain. Saw my doctor and he reduced the meds again. Now I am just on metformin and must take my readings before exercise and after. I am thrilled to be off another med that the scare I had seems such small matter to deal with. Thanks for asking. I lost another 1 lb in November. That is all I seem able to do. I average .85 lbs a week and I keep a loose fill of 5 ccs. As for you, I think Jill will tell you the same. You must eat more protein. She recommended to me to mix some protein mix in with food/drink. That nesttea you recommended to me is where I plan to put it. Take care and I hope the scales start moving downward for you soon. Doddie

I read posts on restriction being tight in the morning and loosing by evening. Am I the only one in the world that is the opposite. I have 5ccs and have had restriction from day one. I eat a good breakfast, lunch and snack but come dinner time NOTHING goes down easily. The most I can get down is 2 oz of protein. Any idea why?

hi: who are you addressing your thoughts to. I live in BC but was born and raised in Yorkton. What type of questions do you have? The most important one to look for "who will do your after care such as fills". You can get the band done in Alberta or Toronto by very reputable doctors. Just ask away, and I will try to answer or steer you to the right site. Doddie

You are helping by responding. I was at aqua fit the other day and went into diabetic shock. LOL, I have lost enough weight that the meds are too strong so I have been reduced yet again. However, I am only loosing .85 lbs per week and it seem so slow compared to others and I have been getting down on myself. So the call from the TLBC was great. The doctor is keeping a loose fill - only 5 ccs as I am loosing weight and he doesn't want more fill until I stop loosing weight. With the loose fill, there is less chance of PBing as I am a gulper. When I get that under control then I probably will get more fill. Only PB 3 times in November better than every day when I first had the band. Anyway thanks for the support - really appreciate it. Doddie

Thanks peaches. Just sour grapes on my part because I so envy the personal support you all enjoy. TLBC is trying very hard to assist me (and others out in the boonies). Had a call yesterday and had a one on one consult with the dietician. She really helped me get my head back on straight. Anyway have a great time and have an extra celery stick for me. Doddie

Right on Angie: I went to TO and had a wonderful doctor BUT I am sadly sorry about the support. TLBC is trying but e mails and telephone calls are not the same as one on one. I now go to Dr. W. and gladly pay him the consult fee. I just wish I had chosen him in the first place, but my research indicated to me he was thinking of leaving. That was not the case. It was a poor case of the newspaper getting it wrong. I don't regret using Dr Yau in the least, but I do regret the after care decision I made. Doddie

Yeah great! for TLBC toronto clients. Diddly squat for out of towners but I understand they will be unveiling their support system for us then. Better late than never.

OOPs, hit the wrong button. Having said that, I am grateful to Dr. Woodhead who is taking me under his wing even though he did not do the surgery. He charged me $400 for a consult fee and fill and now charges me $75.00 per fill or visit. On my last visit, although it was my choice, he advised me not to have a fill at this time. This is why my confidence in him has grown. He is genuinely interested. Canadagirl is correct, you can get excellent care in Washington and they have a terrific support system. Everyone must decide what their future holds for them. Me for instance I cannot get travel insurance because of other health issues so the USA or Mexico would be out for me. There is no right or wrong but to choose what is best for you. Doddie

What Canadagirl has to say is correct. It costs me approx. $1,000 to go to Toronto and back just to be told I may or may not need a fill. There is no question they have the best support group for people in Toronto but for out of province people the support is slim. I do know, they are working to correct that problem and understand they may be unveiling their program for long distance patients in December. Having

Sherrylynn: PB is productive burp a polite word for "puke". If you do not chew your food properly or your band is filled to tight, food cannot pass thru to the stomach and you will get pain like you would never believe. That is when you go to the bathroom and purge the food out of your pouch. Some people it occurs naturally others stick their fingers down their throat. It is very dangerous in that the band can erode or slip. If those things happen you will need surgery to remove the band. I think most of us have PB'd a lot at first then as we changed our ways it becomes more infrequent. Whatever take great pride if you can change your ways without PBing. Doddie

Lisa I am going to be brutal here. We are not the ones you should be asking for advice when it comes to PBing every day. You should be talking with the clinic and doctor. PBing every day can cause serious health problems and should not continue. Donna D is correct better to be slightly underfilled and get your PBing undercontrol. Band erosion or slippage from what I have read is not a pleasnt thing to go thru. Doddie

Hmmmmm, good question. I believe it is every 3rd wednesday of the month. In fact I am sure. Pat posts the meeting on the Canadianlapbanders and the BC WLS site. If you are a member of either, just watch for the posting. If you don't find it, feel free to e mail me and I will tell you. I think I gave you my private e mail. Doddie.

Hi: Sorry time is 7:00 pm until 9:00 pm Doddie

Hi: GurlyGirl: We are a small group that was started by Patricia who comes all the wayin from Whister. We meet at the Lions Gate Hospital every third Wednesday (November 21) in conference room C. Directions: Come in the main entrance. The coffee shop is on the left as you come thru the doors. Straight ahead to the Gift Shop turn a sharp right, thru two double doors down corridor and then a right and we meet in the first room on the right. We would love to see you. Patricia has put in a lot of time and effort to set up this room (it is free to us) and we are all hoping other Bandsters in the lower mainland will join us. Please come, and meet us. Doddie.

Hi: buffie I responded privately to you on your e mail. 101 lbs is nothing to sneeze at. You are doing just great. Doddie

I believe it is between 9 - 10 but suggest you contact the doctor who put it in or contact the manufacturer. When I registered my band with the company they were very good at answering any questions posed. What concerns me is the amount you now have and you think you need a tweek. Has anyone checked your band for leakage. I have 5 ccs in my band I can't eat more than 1 cup of food at any one time. I know the average fill is 5 to 8 ccs. Doddie