lucie

Hi! I was banded on April 18. I still have chest pains. I probably eat too fast when they happen while I'm eating... or is it the signal that I'm full? These pains also occur during my sleep and wake me up sometimes in the middle of the night. I follow a very healthy diet... so they're not caused by my food choices. Are gas still normal after 5 weeks? Thanks, Lucie

Hi! I was banded on April 18/08 at the TLBC in Toronto. I don't have much weight to lose, but I'm tired of fighting and needed help. I surrender. I used to weigh 275 lb, lost 135 lb doing WW, and started to put on the lb back slowly. I was at 187, and I couldn't stop eating. It was time to act before going back to where I was. Although a bit anxious, I was very much at ease with my decision. My husband was also very supportive, but I didn't tell him until AFTER all the arrangements were made. I also didn't tell anyone else. I lived about 90 minutes from the centre, so I arrived around 11 am. hoping I could go in early. My apt. was at 2 pm. My husband and 9yr old came with me. All the paperwork had been done previously, so I just had to wait patiently. I sent my husband and son the the Museum for a day of fun. The staff told him to be back by 5 h 30 pm and also took his cell phone number. I saw many people in the waiting room. Some waiting for surgeries and some waiting for fills. All the fills ones were raving about their surgery, that they would do it again in a minute. Very reassuring when you just spent 18,000$. :-) My Kindle kept me busy... good thing because I went in late around 2 h 45. I changed, weight in - I had lost 9 lb in a week on the preop diet. My blood pressure was very low, so the nurse took it twice to make sure. The dr came in, talked to me for about 10 minutes, then I walked to the OR room. Met with the anesthesist, did the IV thing, put on the mask and woke up 2 minutes later or so it seems, but it was 45 minutes later. Not much pain other than my left shoulder. The recovery nurse said that all patients complained of that on that specific day. I was observed for a couple of hours and discharged. In the meantime, the staff had called my husband and told him to come around 6 pm. I left the clinic at 6 h 30 pm with a Demerol prescription. The nurse recommended to have my blood pressure checked because it was a bit higher. On Saturday, the shoulder pain was very bad, so I went to the walk-in clinic to have my blood pressure checked. It was getting lower. The physician checked my incisions and commented that I didn't need that surgery because I wasn't obese. I explained why I wanted the op. It was the first time he was dealing with a lapband patient. During the night and on Sunday, the shoulder pain increased tremendously and I started to experience shortness of breath. Over 30 yrs ago, I had a pulmonory embolism, and the symptoms reminded me of that. So my husband drove me to the ER. I was put in the cardiac unit, had all kind of test (blood, EKG), then an MRI. The final diagnostic: it was the gas pains from the operation. I was told to take deep breath every 4 hrs and continue with the Demerol. On Monday, I went to my own dr. He took my blood pressure and it was back to normal. The incisions were fine. I was still experiencing some pain, so he recommended that I took the week off from work. I took only 2 more days. He was the one who recommended the TLBC the month before and was very surprised that I already had the operation. It's also his first time dealing with a lapband patient. From then on, I felt better, my tapes came off. There is an incision close to my belly button, and this one was more painful than the others because of my pants/panties were rubbing on it. One teacher at school suggested that I put a sanitary napkin over this and it did the trick. I've lost 4 more lb, and my first fill is May 20th. I plan to continue my WW diet, but I know that the weight loss will be very gradual, probably 1 lb/week or less. But having this tool to help me, I feel more confident than ever that I will reach and stay at my goal.

I was banded by Dr Yau on April 18. Good luck! Lucie

I'm being banded in Toronto on April 18th at 2 pm by Dr Yau. I'm presently on a cottage cheese diet. Like someone said today... my anxiety level is getting higher by the minute. Lucie

I live in Canada, close to Buffalo. Since Lapband is not covered by my insurance, I was wondering what the cost is in the US compared to Canada. In Toronto, it is 18,000$. How much is it in Buffalo? Thanks, Lucie