susieq321

EMEP, I am not a huge Oprah fan but then again I do respect her

If it is the face I would go to someone who is an expert on faces... bodies and faces are different in my head.... George Bell is supposed to be the best as per a Dr I used to date. I would use Sammy in a heartbeat for any body work but I would investigate the face specialists. Heather

I love my PS who is extremely experienced with Band Patients Dr Sammy Sliwin he is in Forest Hill and he did an amazing job on my Tummy tuck and I have the best boobs ever.... midline belly button etc. If you want his number let me know Heather

If you want to do it go ahead I have made my stance on this known time and time again... Before you get it going you may want to check in the Dec 2007 legislature records for the ON legislature who has passed a bill saying that the band will not be eligible for coverage by OHIP. It was in the Globe along with the Bill it was passed on it at that time. The band not being covered was a direct result of a lawsuit based from an appeal so to prevent any more potential payouts and lawsuits they passed it in the legislature as a codicil as part of another bill. Don't remember the exact date but it is there somewhere if you want to search. Heather

I really am not a fan of the listing on the side... is there a way to switch it back?

I know whole foods in the US carries it, try a deli they usually have some of the european items. Heather

Doddie, Actually the incidents I was talking about happened long before you were a bandster.... but they were offering different things in different formats and whether they were conferences or face to face the clinic would set it up, people would confirm and never show up.. so one of the reasons they stopped them was it was wasting their money at the time because regardless if someone showed up for the call or meeting the Docs were paying for the nutritionist etc. I haven't done a teleconference so I can't speak for my experience I can speak about the conversation I had with Dr Yau and why they stopped offering some of the services that they offered at the beginning. Heather

Doddie, Sorry it wasn't clear in your first post you were looking for the distance sessions. I agree with you it shouldn't be too hard to put on a conference call or webcast. I will caveat the conference call with this though.. I spend 8-10 hours a day on the phone for my job and if I didn't multitask I would never get real work done. With that said... multitasking on a call like Dr Simon's would never work and the reason they may not offer it is that in the past when they offered things like call ins, or chat sessions they haven't been taken seriously or taken advantage of by the patients and it hasn't been worth the investment the clinic made since people say they will show and no one does so they end up paying for a resource to do something and no one uses it. I talked to Dr Yau about it a few years ago this was before the clinic had a full time nutritionist and they brought one in who did conference calls and set aside time for patients and people would make appts and never show, the same for the calls people would confirm and never show for the calls. Based on that they stop offering some of those options because they were wasting money on them that experience has to weight heavy on them when they start offering new programs that cost them money to host. But overall a podcast should be simple, much less interactive but not hard to arrange and post for downloading. Heather

Doddie, Dr Barry Simon does group sessions and I know people who are going to those sessions and really enjoying them. But I have never heard of them promising one on one sessions with him or anyone else, but then again everyone has a different meeting. I have a friend who has done at least two of the Dr Simon sessions and I know she has found them valuable to her and her eating issues. He deals only with obese patients and weight loss as a specialists POV. I wish the sessions were available online but even then the odds are with my schedule I wouldn't be able to make it. I have asked for them to be added to podcasts but no one promised it to me, so it is hope rather than anything else. Heather

Tango, I don't agree with you but I empathize with you, if you feel you are not getting what is promised starting a petition is not a bad idea. Working in the business arena and for many years with clients and customers my advice is a) write down exactly what you think the issues are so what were you promised that you are not getting personally I haven't been promised anything that isn't available. But truly spell it out, if you think the post op care is missing something and you were promised that with others write it out be specific and really anything promised should be in writing, make sure it was a promise and not a rumour you heard from another patient. :thumbup: do not do this as an internet petition have individuals write out their letters addressing what their own issues are real people who are real clients of the clinic. Each person will have different experiences and what their issues are may be vastly different from yours. c) Make sure the letters come from real clients with real names so the clinic can address those clients. Since it is a medical practice you can collect the letters but there is no possible way that anyone from the clinic can address anything about me as a patient with you they can't even acknowledge I am a patient to you. So the letters can be given as a collective whole but really they will need to be addressed individually to the person who has the issue. I think there are a lot of trolls on the net who like to stir up trouble and a lot of people who have some issues but aren't willing to take the time to address them by doing something like writing a letter, make this a serious effort to produce the results you want. d) make an appt with the mgmt of the clinic and present the letters after ensuring the people are real patients of the clinic. There would be nothing worse than presenting a bunch of letters to find out a majority of them were not written by real patients. But present the letters along with a summary of the most common issues and ask them to address the issues as a whole and to the individuals. Me I have no issues with the clinic Slimband has always been great with me, I like the staff, I have no issues getting fills with my travel schedule, I have never been promised something that wasn't delivered on time and correctly. I have had one problem and I addressed it and as far as I know it was taken care of in house. But I have found in the past dealing with companies the most effective way to resolve issues is to put things in writing making sure they are well written, concise and well presented, don't make it a bitch session that you don't like what you hear or read from others, make sure your issues are legitimate issues and only write about your issues not your friends. They can't address what is happening to others with you, only your real issues and what has happened to you. Good luck Heather

Ok on day two of wearing it and I actually forgot I was wearing it for a while today it is kinda of like having a loose elastic around my around Heather

Cujo, Cool I signed up a few years ago and I learned that running wasn't for me.. I do it on occasion but I am not a person who has ever reached the runners high. Good luck with the running room it is a great program make sure you have good shoes and enjoy it! Heather

Is anyone interested in an ongoing fitness challenge? So it would be the individual assessing themselves obviously and posting a challenge for the week. That challenge can be anything you want, walking 3 times, running for 5 mins, adding weight to your weight routine, using free weights... what ever... ?? Any interest? Heather

Actually it is small about twice the size of an Ipod shuffle... and not heavy... we will see how wearing it feels after a few days it bugged me yesterday but then anything on my arms bug me... that is just me it is back on today counting calories etc. H

Doddie, I got my bodybugg last night... so it straps on and you wear it 23 hours a day, excepting times in the pool, shower, sauna etc and it measures four things... numbers of calories burned, your motion and steps, your sweat and the amount of heat dissipated from your body so it is kinda cool... straps onto the left arm and away you go I haven't set up the entire online thing yet I will let you know how it does... having something strapped to my arm is annoying to me... but most people don't complain I think it is a matter of adjusting to a level of comfort. Heather

Cool... I just thought I would ask since it seems the challenge died... I know I am still trying to get at least 4 workouts a week in! Heather

I noticed someone posted about the fitness thread... somewhere do we want to start another one... or is it worth it? Heather

that is so very true drinking Water is important.... and avoiding booze it adds to the dehydration overall.... having flown frequently for years I know I only drink water on planes... Heather

Please keep in mind Mexico is on a travel advisory from the Canadian Gov't these days due to gang violence... and it is violent.. I have friends who live in San Diego and won't go over to Tijuana even on a day trip because of the number of people who are being killed over having a marine hair cut or having a expensive looking ring on... it is very dangerous these days. Please please read the advisories before going.. and make an informed decision.. these days you couldn't pay me to go to mexico and I am a very experienced traveler. Heather

Doddie, I think that people need to get the anger out and vent... don't get me wrong about that... but what I don't get is the need to go on and on and on... let it go and get on with living life and doing it better stronger faster slimmer... when you spend your time focusing on the negative over the positives that you are doing to improve your life... you hold the negative and never get over it, so it tends to feed how you live your life. We have all met the people who on the surface have it all on the outside but on the inside they are bitter and angry... that is what reading posts from people who harp about the issues forever seems like to me. But I think people need to post the good bad and ugly... I think people need to know this is not always the easiest thing in the world to do, to change who you are... how you life and form better habits. I think a lot of people don't do the research and go into banding like it is a magic bullet and will do it all for you... it won't and it isn't... and people need to know that... they need to know this is real work for the rest of your life! People need to know about complications and how they are solved and the challenges. I really don't care though if people hate other people, or love other people.. hate the clinic staff or love the clinic staff... my experiences have been great with Slimband and that is what I judge them on my experiences not yours, not someone elses, just mine... and as long as they continue to be great they work for me. And I think people need to post that just not dwell on it... same with good experiences post but don't dwell... live your best life as Oprah would say. Heather

See that is funny to me because I spend a lot of time in CO at 7000 feet and I have been up Pikes Peak and spent some time at 14000 feet and I find I can get tighter much easier at altitude over looser... Heather

I have flown probably over 100 times since i was banded no issues ever doesn't even set the security alarms off... the old old ones would once in a while but not the ones installed since 02. Heather

Doddie, No problems... as I said to Mary different strokes for different folks... I loved yahoo for ages.. I understood it when I first came on LBT I hated it!!! Now I get it.. and it is ok... Slimband was easy for me I am an IT geek so it made more sense... just to my geeky mind. I am sure like LBT it gets easier with time. Heather

Mary, See I love it over there and I don't have a lot of use for lapbandtalk... different strokes for different folks. It is located under the thread title though...Who wants ideas on how to get started on getting fit and into shape??!! I find the people more realistic and positive... which personally helps me more... I understand talking about the good and bad but some people here just seem to love the bad more than the good... they seem to forget they are changing their lives for the better and focus on whatever they can scream the loudest about. I find that the people posting on myslimband aren't always happy, are challenged but they are moving forward not dwelling on the negative... and as I said for me that helps me. But I like to read it all Heather

It was on the same thread that I said I was interested in forming the group, one of the staff mentioned they were planning on doing this type of group with distance meetings etc. I think it was the fitness group. And I wouldn't say it was announced it was a response to a post that they were planning on doing something much like I proposed... so that would tell me it is in the planning vs the actual out there stages. Heather