argon

First of all, 19lbs in 5 weeks is nothing to say ONLY about! and yeah, I heard spinning can be brutal, good luck with that! Mandi

Yeah, what Tricia said! My 'gas pains' only lasted about a week... haven't felt them since then (about 6 weeks ago). And for my itchiness, I used some tea-tree/vit e oil AROUND the incisions... it helped me. Just wanted to say hi to a fellow Cobourn-er. :eek: Mandi

TellyMelly, I do this too. Not so much now that I'm banded.... but I used to quite a bit. If I have anything in the house that I remotely like, I'll 'get up' in the middle of the night and eat it. Pre-made Rice Krispy Squares, granola bars... NUTELLA! That was the worst. I'd never know I did it until the next morning when there were wrappers by my bed, or a chocolatey spoon. I don't use sleeping pills either. A friend of mine has this really bad... she'll actually wake up and MAKE things, like chocolate puff wheat cake... then wake up in the morning with chocolate smeared all over her face, hands and bed. Luckily I'm pretty clean with what I do! Mandi

I had 5.... sounds like it ranges from 4 to 6 incisions. Good luck also, Susan.

Hey Cloe: I got my fill about 10 days ago. It's going good, I think. I've been out of town, which I say is my excuse for bad food choices, and I think that's why I believe I've gained at least a pound. Back home now, and I think things will get better. I think I must not be chewing as well as I think I am, and often get a 'stuck' feeling. It passes pretty quickly with some deep breathing (read that on here) and a couple minutes or less. I'm pretty sure I didn't get a catheter during surgery. You keep your underwear on when you go into surgery, so I'm sure if they thought they'd catheter you, they'd not let you wear your underwear. You're not allowed to drink Water (or food) after a certain time the night before surgery, so, there was nothing there to catheter out anyways! Nope, no barium swallowing. Just a good ol' bottle of water.... and was it ever nice. I was harassing them before I got knocked out and as soon as I woke up for a sip! It would have been nice to have a barium swallow just to check... but nope. I was neither glued or stapled! The incisions are held closed with Steri-strips. They're supposed to stay on for at least a week. Some of mine fell off after a few days, but the incisions looked ok, so I didn't mind. I just wanted to make sure my big one stayed covered... so when too many steristrips fell off that one (I think I must have had like 7 on there!), I got some non-stick gauze and paper-type tape, and kept it covered a bit longer. It made me feel better having a little more padding inbetween my stomach and whatever I managed to run into and bang it. Yay! 3 days! You must be so excited! Good luck Mandi

Hey guys. I got banded on March 29, and: - I'm sitting at about a 26 lb loss (total). (think I gained about a pound) - I got my first fill about 11 days ago. 1cc. I've been out of town, and eating poorly, so I think that's my problem. I *think* I can eat less than before the fill... I often get a 'stuck' feeling though. Kinda sucks, but it stops me from wanting to continue to eat. I'm always sure I've chewed enough, but I guess I'm not! I'm working on that though. - no one (who doesn't know about my band) has noticed anything. I've barely noticed anything myself. I catch myself 'feelin' up' my neck and collar bone area quite often, and I think I notice a difference there. Some of my jeans are looser.... and tshirts are looking not so tight anymore. I'm wearing a sweater I stopped wearing 6 months ago, because it was toooo tight.. but now it's good! - only issue would be the 'stuck'-ness. Not a huge problem, and I'm training myself! Mandi

Sunshine, I'm not sure who Kathy is... are you sure it was a Kathy? I've talked to Karen (Dr C's wife), but only by email.... then there's Rose and Marie. Those 2 were always super nice. Hmm... I don't know. Carol/Woodys, yeah, I don't know how they determine who's an 'out of towner'. I believe the discount is because some one who lives far away isn't going to be able to come in as often for fills, like someone close could. I know if I was 2 hours from them (and was banded by them) I would be there as often as I needed to... but then it just depends on the person. Doesn't seem all that fair. Even at 2 hours away, it could be as difficult for you to go there as someone who's 8 hours away. I'd give them a call, and tell them that you heard that out of towners get a discount... see what they say. It's worth a try! Let us know what they say! Mandi

Hi ! I am not sure why one charges GST and the other doesn't. Maybe it's just included in Dr. Cobourns cost. Isn't TLBC $16000, not $15000 ? Mandi

Hey Melanne, Congrats on the fill... just got my first one too. Are you sure you have a 10cc band? Cause 1cc seems like verrrrry little for a first fill in a 10cc band. I thought that people usually get AT LEAST 3cc for their first fills. Hmmmm... I don't know why they sometimes take a while to kick in but I'm thinking that that may be the case with me too... I'm able to eat a lot less now then I was in the first few days after the fill. Mandi

Hi Jude! Think I know you from the other group(s). It sounds like you're all ready! Is Oval the same as Gravol? I'm sure they'll give you something different since you can't have codeine... maybe Demerol? Woo! Don't forget your pillow! I forgot mine at the hotel, but it wasn't a problem... it was pretty close by. Would be nice to have for a couple hour drive though. Congrats and good luck with the Optifast! Let us know how everything goes! Mandi

Sorry jcbydesign, for hijacking your thread. I'll start my saying that I'm very happy with my choice. I'm not losing SUPER fast, nor do I expect to. It's your choice, so do what you feel is best. Maybe having a look at the before/after pictures would inspire you... that always cheers me up. Now for you, Hikingcole... Have you really researched the RNY that well? You said "There is no "removal" of the device once surgery is complete because there is no foreign object left in the body. " Some people find that a comfort... that the lapband CAN be undone, if a problem ever occurs. You can't get back the meters of intestine that are removed with the RNY. Statistically, after 5 years, the weight lost with and RNY and the 'band' is virtually the same. You may lose 150 lbs in 8 months, but how are you going to look? Are you ok with saggy, wrinkly skin? Cause it's going to be much more of a likelyhood when you lose that fast. You didn't gain all your weight overnight... do you REALLY need to lose it that fast? I was originally going to get the RNY as well. My reasoning was that I wanted to lose FAST and I thought I needed the malabsorbtion, and hoped I'd be a "dumper'. But.. I realize that I have plenty of time to lose weight, and I'm happy with the scale just going down, consistently.. I don't have to lose 10lbs a week. I'd like to eat some cake or chocolate again, without fear of dumping. I think you need to look into the downsides of the RNY as much as you have into those of the lapband.

This is more for the Americans... cause I know what the average gas prices are here in Canada. Right now, in my town, gas is $1.11 (CDN) a litre. That works out to $3.75 (US) a gallon. Is it that expensive for you guys? Isn't it terrible... when I got my license, about 10 years ago, I remember buying gas for 49-55 cents a litre. My how things change. Cigarettes were also about $5 a pack, and now they're at least $11. I'm only 25, and I can already talk about how cheap things were when I was young! lol Geesh! Mandi

Hi Sunshine, Yup, I'm planning on submitting everything when I do my income tax next year! Make sure you save your receipts for EVERYthing, including your flight, hotel, taxi's/rental car, food, and whatever else while you're in Mississauga! mandi

Hey Sunshine! As far as I know, everyone has to send them $200 (usually by credit card auth.) before a consult, but I guess you just got lucky! The consult fee comes out of the $15000 anyways, so if they don't contact for for the $200, they'll get ya when you have to pay for the surgery anyways. There's a $500 deposit that you have to make before they send you your Optifast (along with paying for the Optifast), so maybe they'll just tack it on there? And yeah, he is very nice to talk to on the phone, I know what you mean Hope that helps, Mandi

I'd say, stop drinking with meals. Don't even bring a drink with you to the table. That's all I got! You sound like you're doing good

Never heard of anyone getting anything for the band out of Ontario. Alberta is now covering it, but it's still in a trial-type thing, so they do very few. In NB, they'll pay for everything BUT the band itself.... not sure if it HAS to be done in NB for that though. I know of someone in MB who's getting a little bit of recompensation for her costs, but not much. My prov. (SK) says no to paying for anything, but I'm still planning on sending them my receipt and a looooong letter, and hoping for at least a little something back. I'm sure I won't, but I'll know I tried.

Is that the Brigham & Women's one? I've seen it... I don't remember anything about the tubing though.

Just curious .... does anyone really stay away from beef products, if they know it's from Canada? Wondering if there's still any lingering mad cow fears...

Mandy - yeah, thats in US $ Mandi :eek:

As you can see, I'm also Canadian. Yikes. I'm not perpetuating rumours. It's a fact, and I'm wondering since the US BANNED Canadian beef for so long, if any people still had any lingering fears.

Come talk to me when you're paying $3.75 - $4 ! just kiddin'... I'm not bitter. :| lol

So, it's safe to assume that Canada and Australia are getting the shaft! :heh: Thanks everyone for answering! Mandi

I don't really know the answer to anything else. I'm sure it's not wrapped around anything though, and that it's cut to an appropriate length... but... no, I haven't felt anythin' moving around in there! lol I can't feel anything. I'm starting to think they just sliced me a few times, poked around inside, and charged me $15,000! I wondering if I'm in the placebo group of some lapband experiement! :heh:

I've heard of people doing it... but I don't think I could have. If for no other reason, than to have someone to carry my luggage! Find someone, if you can... who's gonna pass up a trip to Mexico! (I'll come, if you're paying! )

Welcome! Probably won't get many responses to that here... this is for saying something like "Hi, my name is Bob... I live in Kalamazoo... I have 3 cats... getting banded soon." Try asking in one of the other areas, such as : http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17 Good luck !