susieq321

I work in the US and at home I take my shoes off in the US not as much anymore I just honestly prefer being barefoot so I tend to slip shoes off fast anyway. My favorite question is Thanksgiving... what do we have to give thanks for? I usually answer that we aren't american, we don't have george bush as our leader or what do you think the exact same thing you guys give thanks for traditionally a good harvest.... our is just earlier than yours for most of the country. Although I am so glad that cdns never really picked up on the green bean casserole thing or sweet potatoes with baby marshmellows... no matter where I am in the country when my friends invite me to those are served and i just don't get either of them... canned green beans, mushroom soup and fried canned onions.. ugh

Tyler you are completely correct and when you get to 250 you might adjust you goal to be something else, or it might be the perfect goal weight for you.... I preferred setting mini goals as I went along and lost weight at 50 lbs lost usually with milestones too...

Tyler, I am a TLBC bandster and I tell some people and don't tell others.... it varies it is my choice if someone sees me after not seeing me for a few years I just say thank you for the compliments and I ate well and moved my body more and ate a lot less... all of that is true.... My close friends know, I tend not to hide being banded but I also don't shout it from the roof tops. People reactions will surprise you and who supports you and doesn't support you will really surprise you! I know people who told no one but it is harder. Good luck Heather

Most of the bandsters I know set realistic goals and reach them, I have several close bandster friends and all have made and maintained their goals.... now some are more realistic than others, some people want to be a size 2, some want to weigh 130 lbs, I am happy at size 8-10... no matter what I weigh. (my clothes range from a size 6-14 but the average is 8-10, just depends on who makes em) Keep in mind for someone who started at 400lbs to be 200 is a great goal and very reasonable... or to be a size 12 is reasonable.... excellent it depends on where one starts and where they want to end. At one point I wanted to weigh 140 but when I hit 150 and my band surgeon was complaining I lost too much weight... and I really shouldn't lose more... I looked emaciated...and refused to give me a fill and started defilling me... now insurance and BMI tell me I should be 130-140.... why? I think we need to remember that as obese people we have a layer of muscle in there and muscle weight three times as much as fat so you may weigh more than you want and be a size that is perfectly acceptable to you. That is where I am... size 6-8 on top and 8-10 on the bottom and every time i step on the scale it changes... up and down... so I stopped and I am happy with my clothes fitting and NOT buying bigger clothes and making excuses for it like I did when I was heavy. There is nothing stopping people from losing more or losing less... sometimes the body doesn't want you too though it reaches its healthy point and rebels and there is nothing wrong with that. Sometimes our bodies know more than we think we do. Heather

Marivan, It varies but the band maintenance is the best thing about the band.... it is simple and easy as long as you eat well and move your body. I think the maintenance part of the band is where the magic comes to life... I lost 150 lbs in 18 months and never really looked back... it is simple.. I have good days great days and really bad days.... where I eat whatever. Overall I like eating well and I am pretty healthy but it is not a thought I have to eat this type of food or I will gain... I eat whatever I want when I want in limited quantities.. I hate the gym but I try and make it a few times a week to be a healthier person. Maintenance is where you stop thinking, obsessing and generally driving yourself nuts... I haven't been on a scale in months, my clothes fit I am happy... when the jeans get a little too tight I stop and ponder, hmmm maybe the threesome with ben and jerry two times last week and the alfredo not the best thing... I am not sure the brain ever catches up.... I have thin days and fat days most days I just say I am average it is when I see pictures with my friends or I say I have a shirt you can wear and I am smaller than they are.... there are days I think I look like a cow in the mirror... I didn't get it after a bypass friend who was a size 2 said she understood her thin friends and their fat days now.... and I looked and said you never have a fat day anymore... but we do it is just how you feel on that day either blah or chunky etc. I don't pay a lot of attention to it it is just a day... then again I don't pay a lot of attention to anything until some stranger starts talking about how hot I am blah blah blah... (my friends are beautiful so we don't think about it until we hear it out loud from strangers) Go with how you feel and where you feel good that is all that matters I am a size 8-10 and I am happy there Heather

Susan, That is awesome keep up the good work

Buffie, Don't think the worst, and look at all the options... there is also the sleeve which is much easier on the body than the bypass. Dr Yau is in my opinion the best weight loss surgeon in the country he can do any of the surgeries, the DS, the sleeve, the bypass and the band... The pain makes me wonder though, the stomach in the middle, where is your port could it be pressing on a nerve close to the surface did you plastic guy move the tubing at all and could that be hitting a nerve? Pain is really unusual with a band complication... involving the stomach slips, erosions usually don't involve pain (I am sure there are some that do I just haven't heard of them) Could it be a hernia from surgery those are holes in the muscle walls and depends on where the trochar punches through on lap surgery or what the PS is doing but they won't show through on an xray... and hernias can hurt like a dickens. Getting him the films fast is the key, I am hoping it has nothing to do with your band at all... and it is simple to fix and diagnosis keep us up to date. Dr Yau's policy now is unless the stomach needs to heal from trauma to it the band comes out and a new band goes right back in same surgery... it used to be standard procedure to take it out and wait 6 months and that was my joy when I slipped. Heather

kirsten, what you have written is brave... I think there are a lot of people who get banded or who have other forms of WLS and are not mentally prepared to give things up or commit to the life changes they need to make. Only you can determine if the band is for you or not for you. I would suggest strongly you think through whether or not you are ready, maybe you take all your fill out and have a band break for however long it takes you to decide. Talk to your surgeon he should have staff at the clinic to help you talk through this decision. I don't want you to regret this once you are done with it. The work it takes to lose and maintain weight loss is considerable, I think people underestimate the commitment and the drive to succeed at this. I had many complications 4 slips, band removal, tubing disconnect a few port flips but I can honestly say I never questioned my decision to have the band and the work that I put into this and still put into my journey. Good luck, I hope you can work this through, and make the right decsion for you Heather

Buffie, Pain will a slip is unusual, not unheard of but unusual... there are no pain nerves on your stomach the same way there are under your skin so when you pinch it hurts... mostly my slips had affect the reflux, vomiting etc. When are you getting the information to Dr Yau the faster he sees it the better off you are if you can't email it I would be overnighting it as fast as possible to him.

Buffie, I have slipped many many times.... so symptoms include the acid reflux at night, the vomiting eating nothing, the ability to eat anything.... along with a few others. Now this is going to sound harder than it is but take a deep breath and relax.... wait for Dr Yau to look at the films it could be big it could be small. Fixing a slipped band is easy they go in and replace it I know it sounds bad but it isn't it is easier than the initial band surgery and they can fix it usually pretty fast yes it does mean a trip to Toronto. I understand the expense of that and the pain in the ass it is... I had to fly in for all my complications and it was not fun. The good news... you can get the band fixed and continue with your journey right after your band is fixed, the harder news is until you figure out what is wrong and what it takes to fix it you might need to exercise some will power and stay away from the junk food... my advice is keep on track as much as you can. If you want to email me privately or talk my email is susieq321@hotmail.com. Dr Yau is my surgeon too and I know how good he is. Good luck Heather

Oh sweetie, you aren't stepping on any toes if you want to plan one go ahead I am just telling you why we decided not to do one this year and as rewarding as it is it is also a big ole pain in the butt.... and that has nothing to do with the bandsters planning any major event like that is a big ole pain in the butt. As I mentioned we will do a bandster splash bash just for fun in Oct I think sometime... but no lectures, no docs, no client affiliations etc. Dallas might be fun to go to I will keep my eye on the thread to see what happens! Heather

Plastics are the easiest usually and they will donate things like treatments etc.... they make money by talking about their skills and they find new patients.... you should be able to get a line up of them but look for one who has worked with WLS patients our skin is really different and hard to work with. Good luck Heather

I have helped organize some bandster bashes in Canada as part of a committee... they are a ton of fun we have had sex therapist comes talk about dealing with the body images pre and post losing weight, counselors, long time bandsters, plastic surgeons are always great and we have done draws for free bands and other services like consultations with plastic surgeons etc. Good luck with the planning it is a ton of work I will keep watching the thread I might be able to talk some cdns into coming down. Heather

We have done convention/bashes actually three of them I was on the committee we decided this year not to hold and educational conference for many many reasons... the biggest ones being the clinics are holding their own events for free for their patients and we are asking them to pay and people don't want to pay for what they can get for free. Putting on a convention is a lot of fun but a ton of work to get the speakers, prizes, a huge financial risk you have to guarantee number of rooms and amounts of food, people complain about everything... people rave about everything it is terribly gratifying and horridly off putting at the same time. If you want to plan one go right ahead but it is a lot of work. In the past we have had plastic surgeons, band surgeons, sex therapists, counselors , psychologists who specialize in weight issues, endocrines, imported speakers from the US many many times and ton of other people.... While we are not holding a educational seminar with speakers this year we will hold a splash bash in Oct that will not be associated to any clinic in any way with all bandsters invited for a fun social night. Heather

If you have US health coverage it may be covered but not in Canada... and based on a bill passed in the ON legislature last Dec it doesn't look like it will ever be covered or covered any time soon unless they change the law they passed Heather

I am ok with a 24 hour response and I am traveling 60-80% of the time no where near the clinic, but I have no idea where everyone got the idea that they bought an instant response with the surgery... You don't get an instant response with your family Doc, any specialist I know including my Dad's cancer docs.. I know I didn't buy an instant response from my plastic surgeon who I have paid just as much money too as I have paid TLBC. You guys may have a different contract than I have but no where at any time did Kathy, Dr Yau or anyone else at TLBC promise they would instantly respond to my queries... and I think if they say 24 hours they they should honour their commitment but if it takes longer it takes longer... (and they should not promise 24 hours on voice mail etc (ie Nancy) ) regardless of where you are in a true emerg situation you are going to the hospital TLBC response or none so what is the big deal? There is nothing out there that should have panicked anyone so much that they can't wait 24 hours for a response and that if they can't wait that long they shouldn't be going to a local emergency to deal with the situation anyway. I am on the road all the time and have been since the week I was banded.. don't carry a fill disk, don't carry a banding card. or needles even. I figured in a true emergency I can get online and show the doc more than the DVD and card can tell them or I am going to be out cold and it won't matter. And I have had complications... lots of em all while traveling and away from the clinic. If TLBC wants to offer an instant pager service and people want to pay fantastic I think it is a waste of your money though. Heather

Susan, Chris left to start his own business... the new CFO is Don something and he should be able to help too or any of the new management staff Heather

I have to say treat this like anything else... Kathy is pre op and she is amazing at dealing with and post op issues but Kathy also gets too busy doing her job which is pre op patients... to return every post op call... I have never had an issue with Kathy returning a call.. I have had an issue with Nancy returning calls once.. and I complained.... in email.. in writing. The same as I would if it was any other business.. Nancy and Jill get paid to deal with post op patients that is their career they have chosen at this point.. personally Jill has always emailed me back when I have sent a question, Nancy I have had one issue with... but if this was happening with a car you would be on the phone or writing the manager of the dealership and complaining this is your body it deserves at least as much as a car. You need to tell them that I leave messages and emails and whatever you do and they aren't returned... no one will take care of you if you don't and they will never know this is happening if you don't tell them. Kathy cares so much about her patients, she cares pre signing and post signing but the poor girl has a job to do and she does it she can't do everyone in the clinics jobs that is why the other people have jobs... because it is way too much for one or two people. It seems more than enough for an entire staff. Telling us here you have problems lets you vent but doesn't do much else for you and nothing will change until the clinic knows this is happening and you need to tell the management not the staff.. you need to call the managing director, CEO etc... not the staff, not Kathy, not the girl who answers the phones... management needs to know this, before it will get better. Heather

Kathy always emails me back promptly when I email her... so I can't say much but email info@tlbc.ca and tell them post op you aren't getting the response you need... if you don't tell them this is going on they will never ever know! heather

Nancy can do fills but more than likely they won't do fills out of ON as a traveling nurse because she would have to get licensed in other provinces to do procedures there as a nurse... they might i don't know i never said she wouldn't do fills.... Heather

Alex, Thank you very much.... I think it is funny she never mentions CIBO only Tom.... but still insulting to the other innamed clinics who have been around built surgerical suites etc...

Lisa, It varies for everyone but there are some things that occur a little more often than not... my symptoms are the same everytime it slipped so I will give you a synopsis of mine... if you feel some thing is wrong go talk to your clinic and get a fluroscope. I fly all the time and I have no issues post flying but you might be more sensitive than I am. Slipping - Acid reflux at night that was horrid... (I never get this) - Throwing up when eating nothing - being able to eat masses of food and then the next meal being able only to take two bites -Throwing up when I had a sip of liquids and it was the food I ate for lunch the day before that should have cleared my pouch ages before I knew something was wrong... not what the first time but every time I slipped that happened... Typical are the bad acid reflux at night suddenly when you never had it before and the food being able to eat nothing or suddenly being able to eat masses of it. Good luck Heather

ohh and I didn't see any of the reports and they aren't on the website I am in the US currently just what I read on here.... but I think making a claim like that is not so hot for all the other innamed clinics. H

TLBC offers innamed bands if the patient asks for them or if they feel they are the best choice for the patient, but they find that there are more complications with the innamed bands and the company doesn't offer them the support that other banding companies offer. (I know this first hand from all my complications Innamed was a bitch to deal with and I am so glad they are not my band manufacturer, and yes I talked directly to them as well as the supplier and my surgeon) And I know Ali was in Toronto in affiliation with CIBO they were advertising it and Tom while banded at TLBC is one of the guys who founded CIBO it says so on their website. And CIBO only offers Innamed bands as far as I know I could be wrong. TLBC has a man named Don who is the CFO and before Don was Chris... there could be a Tom there that I don't know of, I am never ever there for any reason, I just know their staff through the functions they hold. There is a Bobby and as far as I know the rest of the staff is mostly females. I am still wondering how the other Innamed clinics who are in the metro area will feel about her claim that Tom's is the best. That is why I am pretty sure the clinic is CIBO.. they were advertising Ali was coming in to talk at their conference. Heather