susieq321

The lunch meeting will start around noon and the reservation is under the name Heather and Canadian Bandsters. Jack's is easily accessed from the 401 and the TTC LRT it is located right at Scarborough Town Centre. The restuarant Information is as follows 580 Progress Ave Scarborough, Ontario 416-296-0965 www.jackastors.com General Manager: Phil Leach Chef: John Weston Hours of Operation: Monday - Wednesday 11:00 am - 1am Thursday - Saturday 11:00 am - 2am Sunday 11 :00 am - 1:00am Directions: Located at Highway 401 and McCowan Rd (south west corner, across from the Famous Players Theatre in Scarborough. Just two minutes east of the Don Valley Pkwy/Hwy 404 combination. If you have any other questions or want to attend let me know susieq321@hotmail.com Heather

I set up a monthly meeting for another group I am a member of and we generally have a pretty good turnout. I move the locations every month so this month we are meeting on Sunday March 25, 2007 in Scarborough. We are meeting at Jack Astors that is located at the Scarborough Town Centre, it has easy access from the 401 and the TTC. Everyone is welcome banded, thinking about being banded, pre-banding etc. I can't say how much of a difference it makes to meet and talk to people who are going through the same things as you are for banding. I have been going to meetings for years and made some awesome friends and learned a ton of things. let me know if you are interested in attending either by posting to this thread or emailing me privately at susieq321@hotmail.com

There are pros and cons to being first and being up there in the numbers. I was roughly patient numbre 50-60 that Joffe and Yau banded. I know patient numbr 2-3 and they never had problems and that is 2-3 in the country not just with that surgeon. They say you should wait until after patient 50 because by patient 50 most docs have seen all different types of stomachs, and insides etc and they have placed enough bands to eliminate the possibility of most complications. But someone has to be the first 50 patients.. My advice as someone who has had complications is ask questions, like your doctor, seriously like your doctor you are going to have a lifetime relationship with them and make sure you are comfy with their staff. I would ask him if you are a complication who fixes it, who pays, etc. I would also ask what post op support he is offering, it is so important to have a good post op experience because that will help make or break some people. Good luck and argon is right for peace of mind 4 hours is nothing to drive for fills and support. Most of all make sure you are comfy with what you decide.

Loriely, Good luck with the gallbladder as you know Joffe is a great surgeon and he does gallbladders all the time it is supposed to be a similar recovery as being banded so you should breeze through it all. I asked Joffe about gallstones before I was banded because it was a worry of mine, he said it can happen with weight loss but there is no predicting if it will hit you or not. You are either pre-disposed to getting them or you aren't and there is nothing you can do to prevent it or predict it. Strange but I know 100's of bandsters and very rarely do I hear about people getting their gallbladders out, although some of those have had it out prior to banding. Good luck and let us know how you are doing post op

Dave, Awesome news I know someone else being banded on April 5 too... good luck and keep posting.

I have to say right before I walked into the surgery suite in the hospital I couldn't beleive I was doing this and moreover paying someone thousands of dollars to do it. I looked at my dad and said am I smoking crack dad to pay someone to cut me open... he looked at me and said we can leave right now just get dressed and we can walk out the door. I have to say I took a deep breath and got banded regardless of my doubts. I have no regrets about being banded after a ton of adventures and misadventures with my band and if I had to do it all over again tomorrow I would be skipping down that surgery corridor saying put that belt on my tummy lets tighten it up. Good luck and make sure you are comfortable before you lie down on that table. Nerves are normal, just make sure you don't have any lingering doubts or questions that still need answers by your banded friends or more importantly your surgeon and their staff.

Good luck Annie, take it easy remember to breath deeply and move slowly after surgery.

Junk food I swear I love it way to much. I think until you are facing the demon of junk food yes or no right that second is a hard one to understand for a lot of people. I still eat some at 5 years out, I think you need to find a way to incorpoate it within reason into your life. When I was newly banded I didn't touch it I couldn't or I would go nuts with it. I think when I realized that I had to start thinking about eating and food and why I wanted the sugar it got easier to resist. I think stopping and thinking about where you eat, when you eat, what you eat, why you eat and how you eat. And on top of thinking about it, you get honest with yourself truly honest, that is the hard part being honest and brutal you don't get over that craving. Good luck and don't beat yourself up too much over the junk, just try and keep it down to a minimum

I told a few people clse friends and it surprised me how people reacted some of my best friends still don't get why I did it. My business partners response is still my favorite.. he just looks at me and says you stepped up you did what a lot of people won't do, your put your money where your mouth is, literally. The biggest surprise is the reaction of people who are obese when I tell them and they tell me they can lose the weight just by dieting and moving and you know two years later when they are just heavier than ever.... they still don't see the point of my surgery. I can say for the last 5 years I have felt amazing, my knees feel amazing, my back feels amazing. Who I told was selective, best friends, a few other people but overall I keep this fairly private, I don't hide my surgery but I don't brag about it either. This year I saw people who I hadn't seen in 4 years and it is always nice to hear oh you look amazing. If asked I say I ate less and moved more which is true.

Good luck I have heard some awesome things about the docs in Mexico, take it easy and remember to ask for assistance at the airport if you need it and don't lift anything heavy.

Keep in mind 3 hours is not that long, I would think after a day or two if I didn't hear back I would wonder what happened. I know some of the staff at TLBC and I know they get swamped with calls, emails and patient meetings and respond as fast as they can. Keep in mind it also might be a surgery day which also changes a lot since people are coming in and need some hand holding before surgery which they are great about but it takes up time. I know I have always had a reasonable response time for emails, calls for fills etc. And by reasonable I mean a call back within that same day and appt's or answers right away according to my schedule. The staff and surgeons at TLBC are awesome and you couldn't ask for more experienced and capable people. Good luck

No regrets... sometimes I miss being able ot chug a glass of beer in the summer or milk. But overall no regrets after five years. I have to say, the band helps you lose weight but we can and have all lost weight before many times over and over. Where I think the band is amazing is for maintenance, it is very easy to maintain with relative ease over years. I have now maintained a stable weight for over three years with no issues for me. I think the one issue I wish I learned to deal with an accept earlier in my journey was to work on head hunger and why I eat what I eat. I still work on my food issues... but looking at why you eat what you eat, when you eat, where you eat, and how you eat.... that is one of the hardest things to fess up to. Sometimes being honest is amazing but being honest with yourself is one of the hardest things I had to learn.

Mookie, It all depends on what type of band you have. If you are a Dr Coburn patient you will have one of the Innamed bands. There are 5 that are being used as far as I know. They use to larger fill bands the Vanguard and the new AP (both hold around 9-10 cc's I think) or the smaller rigid bands that hold 4 cc's. There are three types of those and the only difference in the band is the diameter that goes around the stomach. Just so you know some saline will disappear but it has never magically appeared as far as I know. But I know with Dr Yau there have been times when he has with drawn all my fill and it is up by a CC based on the amount of air in the band etc. So my true fill is usually 1 to 1.5 cc less that the withdrawn amount. There is a little bit of fill that sits in the tubing that doesn't restrict your stomach either so it is kinda of a neutral amount. Don't worry about your max capacity the band at max should be completely closed off. It may take you more fill to lose than someone else, but don't sweat it, it may take you less to feel that elusive restriction and sweet spot. It is because we are all so different. Focus on how the liquid feels going down when you are in the clinic, focus on the food you can eat and how it feels and focus on your weight loss and you will do fantastic. Try not to focus on them playing with your port it can be freaky but you get a little used to it.. sooner rather than later. Keep up the weight loss

I eat a lot of veges, I love my meat, but it is still possible to get in all your protein and vitamins in with a band. I think most vegetarian food is band friends other than noodles and rice, some bandsters have problems with those.

All you need for the tax man is the receipt for the surgery and it should state what the surgery is. Keep that receipt or send in a copy I know some people who were asked by Rev Canada to produce it later. Good luck

Loriely, Sounds like you had some fun, I know that Scarborough Grace Emerg has trained several docs on how to do a defill. I seem to remember some of Dr Coburn's patients mentioning that some staff at Trillium Emerg had been trained too (I could be very wrong about that) If you can't get to either of those emergencies and need a defill right now and that can happen. I know people whose band tightened up and they could not swallow saliva which turns to de-hydration so fast. Go to any emerg and let them know what you have most larger hospitals have fluroscopes and they will see the port on the scope and getting a de-fill shouldn't be that bad. But if you can wait for your surgeon or their staff that is still best. Good to hear you are doing better

Yasmina, wiggle that belly like no ones business and have a blast

I am hosting a bandster lunch next Saturday Feb 24 in Whitby. I do this monthly as part of another group I belong to but I thought I would post this here too. The lunch moves throughout the city of Toronto once a month and is on a weekend. It is a great chance to meet bandsters in all stages, pre and post op. Everyone is welcome. The lunch is at Montana's Cookhouse on 75 Consumer Drive, Whitby, www.montanas.ca, basically Thickson Road and the 401 in the AMC entertainment complex. The reservation is under Heather or Canadian Bandsters. If you are interested let me know so I can change the reservation number

We do a lunch every month, and we move it around the city so that more bandsters can come. I tend to book one in the east, one in scarborough, one around yorkdale and then in month four we go west and I book one in mississauga. So if you can't make this one hopefully you can make one of the others we plan.

Dr Joffe and Yau Jan, 2002 long before TLBC existed... I was patient 50-60 at Scarborough Grace in Toronto.

Yasmina, It is east of the city, about 20 minutes. But if you are out by the airport it is one heck of a drive for you and more than likely you won't have time. But you are more than welcome. The city kinda goes Airport (mississauga), Toronto, Scarborough, Pickering, Ajax, Whitby it is about 30 minutes to the airport with no traffic. If you can come you get on the 401 (main hwy) and head east, look for the thickson road exit and head north of the exit, the first street past the exit is consumers drive turn left and you will see montana's straight ahead on the left hand side. There is a new member on my other list from Sudbury if you want I can give her your email so you can set up an emailing chat forum or meeting. I think meeting other bandster is awesome it helps to meet other people going through the same things as you. Let me know

Robyn, Mandi and Argon are right, the band is a pretty sturdy things and usually we worry for nothing. But it is possible that with everything going peachy the band can self tighten, you may not feel you are stressed but something within the body can change. It is a fickle thing. My body did the same thing when I reached the end of my losing streak and it still does it once in a while.. skirts that I bought in August are all big in the waist now and I haven't lost weight, my body shape changed yet again. If you are seriously worried don't fret, call the clinic and get some relief and enjoy the baggy pants.. Celebrate the little victories.

You grab the line that says add to your website and then just paste it into your signature line if you look below the signature it shows where you can place the ticker code to show up. Hope that helps

Robyn, If your GP is not comfy, check with a local surgeon. I know a friend of mine who lives up north goes to a local surgeon who is used to dealing with chemo ports that are very similar to our ports. She pays to see him on every fill but it is a lot closer and cheaper than going to her surgeon for every fill. TLBC's video is great, I live close enough to go to the city, I would say this you need to self police yourself if you are going to have someone other than the clinic fill and defill you. I would be cautious and slow about filling if it is local and I would really try and think about whether you need a fill, whether you really are ready to have a fill and eat less and move more. I hope someone else posts there are a lot of people who get filled by a gp or surgeon.

Welcome Robyn, You should try and hook up with Yasmina she was looking for someone from Thunder Bay, it is always great to meet other people who are banded and hang out and see how the journey is going. Looking forward to hearing more about your journey