gurlygirl

I have a US shipping address in Blaine,Washington. It is the Canadian billing address that is the problem for me. I wonder if I provide them with a US shipping address if they would accept my order.

I am looking forward to sporting one of these babies soon. I would love to get the deal a lot of you got last week. I am from Canada and I don't know if I can place an online order from 24 hour fitness. I was going to call the 1-800 #, but a previous poster mentioned that they refer you back to the website. So I probably will not get anywhere with that one.

Remember to copy the full list of names and then add yours to the bottom or update your weight. It will help keep everyone's entry included. Thanks Stacy73 for starting the thread. Stacy 73… 40 TulipStar…22 Mdicurn…20 time4me…27.8 Magooz07…11 Caresarn…16 Klpdbl…31 Lapband4me...32 Sirusman…23 Allisarin…23 Tishamarie…49 EL1…23 Juliacleone…16 Kimmie…43 dsmit13…23 ScareDcat…22 Lapitup…22.5 mandi78…23 andrea71…28 Thinmom…23 Kellymovingon...35 flipper64...30 kagoscuba...37 Lucylu...15 Gurlygirl....23 Amber...39

vanthemanfan - I was banded on Sept 18th by Dr. Kirshenbaum in Denver. My experience with him was top notch all the way. My husband and I flew down, had the surgery and flew home 2 days later. I will be having my fills through a local surgeon here in Vancouver. If you read the thread "Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum", you will find many happy banders. Feel free to contact me if you have any other questions. Best of luck to you.

Stacy 73… 40 TulipStar…22 Mdicurn…20 time4me…27.8 Magooz07…11 Caresarn…16 Klpdbl…31 Lapband4me...32 Sirusman…23 Allisarin…23 Tishamarie…49 EL1…23 Juliacleone…14 Kimmie…43 dsmit13…23 ScareDcat…22 Lapitup…22.5 mandi78…23 andrea71…28 Thinmom…23 Kellymovingon...35 flipper64...30 kagoscuba...37 Lucylu...15 Gurlygirl....23

Shelbicallie - We made it! One month out! It seems like more than one month. I can't wait to get my first fill and start working this band like it is was meant to be worked. Want2bemeagain - Thanks for posting the photo's. You all look fabulous. I wish I lived closer to join in the RR fun. :think Nicnaknut - Glad to hear everything went well for you this week. The first month will be here before you know it and you will be back eating regular food and wishing you weren't hungry. :hungry: Woofay - How is the job going? Hopefully, things will work out with your old employer and you will be able to get a job with them. I will be sending good thoughts your way. Nothing is worse than not enjoying your job. LSzeliga - How goes the recovery? Marcyinak - Congrats on the weightloss. :clap2:I definately think you should post some photo's. Keep us all motivated. :whoo:I look forward to the day when the scale starts moving. I have worked out 4 out of the past 5 days and finally lost 3 lbs. But no restriction, so I am really watching my calories and dealing with the hunger. :hungry: Have a great weekend everyone!

Want2bmeagain - Do you know how many cc's Dr K put in for you in total? I think after waiting for so long with no restriction before the first fill, I will probably do the same. The surgeon that I am going to be using for my fills here locally, is booked up for appointments until into November. :Banane35: So when it comes my time, I don't want to leave his office with no restriction either, but I am also afraid to be too tight and need an emergency unfill. So let me know how you are making out over the next week or so. Shelbicallie - How are you doing? Are you constantly hungry too? When is your first fill scheduled for? :gluck:Good luck Nicnacnut!! LSzeliga - Congratulations on your band! Keep us posted on your progress and recovery. Happy Tuesday Everyone :biggrin1:

Dee - Congrats on getting your date. It will be here before you know it. :clap2:

Hi Sherry Welcome! I live in Vancouver which is only a 30 – 40 minute drive from where you live. I also chose to fly to Denver as it was so much cheaper than the Dr’s I researched in Canada and Washington State. You will love Dr. K and his staff. I have nothing but good things to say about him. Keep us posted and let us know when you get your surgery date. :whoo:

This is Gurlygirl's DH here. I fully support my wife’s decision to get the Lap Band and because I do most of the cooking, I have been reading a lot in this forum in order to understand her needs and requirements to make this journey a success for her. In my travels around the forum I found this thread and feel I have to chime in. *Please note: These are my opinions, not Gurlygirl's. If you don't like what I'm saying, address your replies to me. DO NOT take it out on her.* OK...My turn. I am Canadian and I own guns. Quite a few, in fact. Pistols, rifles and shotguns in all varieties and flavours. I've been doing it for over twenty years now. I'm more of a target shooter than a hunter, although I have hunted in the past. I make all my ammunition for most of my firearms, right from melting the lead to cast into bullets, to reloading the brass. I've learned a lot by doing this and I believe I've only scratched the surface of this field. On to the subject of gun control. I live in a country that has some very restrictive firearms laws. In order to possess or purchase firearms legally, one must be licensed to do so by the Federal Gov't. This involves testing for competence and safety by gov't certified instructors. After you've passed your test, you fill out the application form, which delves into your relationship, medical, and criminal histories, as well as providing two people for character references. Notice above, I said legally. If you're a crook, scumbag or gangbanger the above need not apply. You don't obey the law anyway. You’ll just pick one up from one of your blackmarket buddies. In Canada, a private citizen cannot get a permit to carry a handgun for protection. The permits are listed as available but good luck getting a gov't official to issue it. Permits to carry are issued to armoured car guards and people who have jobs in remote areas, where carrying a rifle is not practical. (Trappers, miners, geologists and in some rare cases, loggers.) Permits to carry are not required for our military, police and our just recently armed border guards. That being said, even though I am not a US resident, I have been able to obtain Concealed Carry Licenses for the states of Utah and New Hampshire. With reciprocal agreements with other states, I can legally carry concealed in 30 states. It's funny how a foreign gov't trusts me to carry a firearm for me and my family's protection but not my own gov't. Firearms are a personal choice. If you don't like them, fine. I can respect that. All I ask is that you respect my choices in owning and using them. I find that in most cases, some people’s dislike of firearms comes from not understanding them. What they know of them they learned from Hollywood and the evening news. They have simply never had the chance to be exposed to them. I have taken numerous people shooting in my time, many of them having never even touched a gun in their lives, including my wonderful wife, Gurlygirl (Who has become quite a crack shot. She’s better than I am…). I have yet to have anyone tell me they didn't like it. They maybe didn’t run out and buy a gun, but they definitely went away with a different viewpoint on the whole subject. At my job, I am constantly asked about firearms and the law, from women asking about home defence to young guys wanting to start hunting. The questions never stop and I have no problem answering them after making sure they understand that I am not a lawyer or firearms “expert”. But they keep asking. It’s funny how so many anti-gun people say having a gun in the house is an invitation to disaster, likely to be taken from you and used against you during a robbery or home invasion, or possibly found by a curious child. I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time believing home invaders and robbers are masters of unarmed combat, able to disarm anyone who points a gun at them. If they were that good they would probably have different careers. As for curious children, keep guns out of reach or locked up when not in use and educate them. We have two children under nine years old and they both know not to go near Daddy’s gun bench. I have no problem with them looking at my guns as long as I’m there with them. Satisfy their natural curiosity and the guns aren’t such a big mystery to them anymore. My oldest is already shooting and loves every minute of it. BTW…all our firearms are securely locked up when not in use. It would take crooks the better part of a day to get into where my guns are and they would be making a hell of a lot of noise in the process. To those who made references to stories of gun violence and mayhem….You very rarely see in your local paper or hear on your local news about the defensive use of firearms because in most defensive cases, a shot is never fired. Simply the showing of a firearm is enough to de-escalate the situation (as in secretstolen’s case). No shot, no story. In closing, I’ll say this. My family’s safety is important. I will do what I feel is needed to ensure that. How I do it is my choice. I choose a firearm as a part of that safety plan. You may choose differently. As I said before, that is your choice to make. If you have a first aid kit, are you planning on getting hurt??? If you have a spare tire, are you planning on having a flat??? If you have a fire extinguisher, are you planning on having a fire??? If you have a gun, are you planning on having a gunfight??? Some people want to be responsible for they and their family’s well being. Some people want the authorities to look after them. I do not have enough faith in our system to count on it to protect my family all the time. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away…… Flame guard on…..Fire away!!!

I had to pay for them up front myself because I am from Canada. But I hoping to claim back on my extended medical for out of country prescriptions. We will see if they get approved.:faint2:

Dee - I had to pay for my own perscriptions and for the liquid Keflex/cephalexin, liquid Vicodin/Lortab/hydrococodone, and phenergan suppositories at Walmart it was approx $130. Then you have the Gas X chewables or strips and the Dulcolax suppositories in addition to this cost.

Benson - I am a self pay patient. I did not take out a loan, we had extra cash after purchasing our home and after much deliberation with DH, I decided to go for it. I flew to Colorado to see Dr. Kirshenbaum. He charges $9950 which includes 3 months of free fills and then fills after that are $15. I loved him and would recommend him to anyone who is a self pay patient with a tight budget. He is an excellent surgeon. I am 2 1/2 weeks post banding and can say that this has been THE best decision of my life. Good luck to you.

Mermaid - I am glad things went better for you yesterday at the Doctors. :clap2: As for me....the scale has not moved for me in almost 2 weeks and I was getting a little down about it. But yesterday I had to go shopping for a couple of new clothing items including some workout wear and I am down a size. I love the no scale verification (NSV) that this is working. It is not showing on the scale but I am definately seeing it in my clothes. I didn't want to go out and spend money knowing that I probably would shrink out of it soon, but in hindsight this has given me motivation to work through this bandster hell and maintain...maybe even lose a few pounds in the process. Have a great weekend September Bandsters. If you have a NSV - please share it. :whoo:

Just wanted to pop on and give everyone an update. I had my surgery on Sept 18th and I got very sick from the anaesthesia and all the medications. As it turned out I had a hard time not throwing up for the first 3 days. Went back the day following my surgery to see Dr. K as I was worried about undoing everything he had done the day before :faint:. He was concerned, but told me to stop taking the Vicodin and it seemed to help. Shelbicallie was so sweet she called me twice in my hotel room to find out how I was doing and to let me know how her surgery went. As it turned out, we were both in no shape to meet up, which was too bad. It would have been nice to meet up with her. I didn't see much of Denver while I was there and it was too bad as the weather was so beautiful. We also celebrated our 10th anniversary while we were there but I was not feeling up to celebrating. We will have to do a make good next year. hehehe Good news is I feel great!! My incisions have healed up nicely and I had very little stomach swelling. I guess that makes up for feeling so crappy for the first 3 days. I am down 12lbs since surgery and very happy to be able to get full off of a small amount of food. :clap2: I have enjoyed everyone's posts, pictures and stories. There seems to be lots of positive news on here in the past week. Woofay - Congrats on your new job. Littleroo - Congrats on your new daughter. Shelbicallie - Thanks for worrying about me. I too hope you are doing well. When are you going to schedule your first fill? Nicnacnut - Good luck! This is your month girl! Taynuh - Thanks for sharing about your first fill. Did you notice a huge difference in the amount of food or what you could eat vs. no fill? Wanttobemeagain - I love your posts. You make me laugh especially the KFC chicken story and the flashing the belly to show your scars. You will have to let us know how your fill goes on the 15th. Shesha - How are you doing? I hope you are not experiencing morning sickness. Mal - I loved your photo's. Thanks for sharing the beautiful pics. Have a great week everyone.

Mermaid - I am the same. I lost 13lbs the first week. Since I started eating mushies and soft food I went up 4lbs which I think was me not getting enough water in. I have worked at it and since then lost 3lbs. Which gives me a total weightloss since surgery of 12lbs. I am just trying to maintain until I get my first fill. Everyone thinks I have lost more weight than I have, including my husband. It might be inches that I am losing but it is definately not on the scale. Just hang in there. I agree with kellymovinon....don't make this Dr. Evil intimidate you or make you feel bad. Keep us posted and let us know how it goes tomorrow. Just remember - this is just a small part of the big picture. Don't feel like a failure. :whoo:

I was banded 6 days before you and each day gets better and better. I am on mushies and feeling better about the variety of foods. I was getting a lil sick of Soup soup soup.

unjury.com has a Protein calculator and I have been using this as a guide. Protein Calculator Seems pretty close to what my nutritionist gave me as well. The Protein shakes with milk will get you to the amount you need if you are running on the low side. Have a great Sunday September Bandsters.

Congratulations Shesha!! That's wonderful news for you!! What a wonderful setback if you have to have one. :clap2::preggers: YEAHHHH !!!!

I could not keep anything down for the first 3 days. I just sipped water. I think you could start on the broth tomorrow. My Dr. just send the big thing is not to get sick for the first month. Well that went out the window. The first three days I couldn't keep anthing in me. One thing I remember the first 4-5 days post op was that my stomach made these HUGE sounds almost like it was growling at me for taking away its food. haha - I think the rumbling is all the air in your digestive track and it should pass over the next 3-4 days. Hang in there girl!! Don't be shy about using the pain meds. I used them and it made sleeping more comfortable.

ColoradoCrazy - I am sorry you feel that way. I have to say that this was not the case for myself. He never mentioned anything to do with money to me ever. Even during my 1 1/2 hour preop appointment. I think that he is definately out for the self pay patients giving them another option than going to Mexico. I am truly glad that there is at least one Dr. in the entire US that can offer the LAP Band procedure at his fair rate. Seems like most of the other Dr's are just looking for us to finance their new set of wheels which is SUPSICIOUS in my view. :faint: Good luck in your search for Dr. Right. IMHO

Bratz99 - everything will be over before you know it! Good luck tomorrow! I will be thinking of you!

rachel1972 - I was more nauseated from the drugs and being put out than being in pain. The only issue that I have had is the sore neck from the referred diaphram pain. I am feeling much better and I am 6 days out and trying to get all my fluids and Protein in seems work at this point. Good luck with your surgery and be sure to post when you are feeling up to it and let us know how you are doing. :gluck: You can do this!!

My nutritionist said even though you may feel up to eating more. You need to force yourself to slow down and let your stomach heal. I find that if I eat soup with some Protein powder mixed in and don't drink within 45 minutes after eating - the fullness feeling stays longer. Maybe give it a try. Good luck with this bandster hell phase of the journey.

poohlvr - I must be a wimp right along with you. I had my surgery last Tuesday and with the post op nausea and travel I am completely wiped out. I was supposed to go back to work today and I called in sick and may do so again tomorrow. I have also lost 13 lbs since my surgery. Do you have any neck/shoulder pain? I have it in my neck and I cannot sleep at night without the pain medications so I am tired all the time. Trying to up my Protein today to see if that helps things. Congrats on your weightloss and staying positive for all of the rest of us. I was in my hotel barely lifting my head off the pillow and there is your email wishing everyone best of luck with their surgeries. You so ROCK girl!!:rockon: Let's keep in touch.