Donna!

Thankfully we all must of been temporarily hallucinating, the forum is back to normal. :smile2:

Best advice I can give is to be banded at SWLC!!!:smile2: Other than that if you are anywhere near Mississauga I facilitate a wonderful support group for bandsters that are patients of our clinic that you are welcome to attend monthly. The members are very supportive of each other and we share our struggles and challenges. Also the SWLC has a terrific messageboard for patients from across Canada that is awesome with lots of info and comaraderie. Don't forget to also register for the clinic's Symposium if you can make it on May 30th, it will be a great time for all.

I didn't know people could leave you comments on your profile. Did you have to give permission for that?:smile:

Hi Doddie, Proper spelling is "when you are losing weight". Trolls are people that post under false username to instigate or attack or accuse because they are intimidated or afraid to use their real identity. Some posters have several different usernames others less. Often lately on this thread for instance a person will post for the first time to slam someone else, be it a clinic, person, etc. Then you never hear of them again for a long time. lol By the way Doddie, you are not an old gal. :w00t:

It's pretty obvious there are several trolls on the forum that have just joined in the last while to "weigh in.":rolleyes:

Let's see...I have old scars from my first weight loss surgery (VBG), gallbladder, old tummy tuck & breast lift, c section, and now lap-band. The only thing left is for me to just have a complete torso transplant to be rid of it all. :biggrin:

Good for you Doddie, I'm too chicken to wear any type of swimsuit. :laugh:

Simple! I take off my glasses when I look in the mirror, works great for making wrinkles disappear too. :laugh:

Maybe we've entered the band Twilight Zone.

:lol:This site can be very complicated for making changes.

There is a company called Cravings from Perth, Ontario that make yummy Desserts that are low cal and low fat. A&P sell them in individual servings for $1.89 and their flavoured cheesecakes are only 70 calories each. They also have a dessert called chocolate fix that are 110 calories. They can also be found at other stores cheaper if you look at the Cravings website. I am definitely addicted to these. :laugh: http://www.cravingscheesecakes.com/

Hi Doddie, I have that too but no idea how to remove it. :laugh:

As to only posting our own experiences, many of us on this board have posted anecdotal experiences of others. For instance that we know of people who had terrible time finding aftercare fills after banding in Mexico. I don't remember those posts being removed... I guess it all comes down to this is a for profit board that depends on clinics for advertising dollars.

In fairness, I remember when an employee from SlimBand posted here stating that Jill was fired and I don't think that was ethical at all. I hope that post was removed but I don't remember that happening.

All I can say is - I am shocked. If Jill has contact info please pm me the details. I know alot of people who have had gastric bypass and duodenal switch weight loss surgeries and may be interested in her program for extra support. Good luck wherever you get banded but if you do choose Mexico just be sure to have somewhere lined up for fills here.

I wish Jill all the best in starting up her own business in supporting bandsters. I met her at a previous Bandster Bash in/06 or /07, and she was very friendly and helpful even though I was not a TLBC patient. I can not fathom employees of any clinic crashing her open house and behaving in this manner and would hope this was not true.

There are many people who are banded at The Surgical Weight Loss Centre and who live as far away as Newfoundland, Northwest Territories, Alberta, etc. Many have access to fills in their area provided by doctors or nurses trained personally by my surgeon Dr. Chris Cobourn so they are not necessarily in the same situation as those banded in Mexico at all. It's one of the reasons why SWLC is so popular with patients wanting to be banded from across the country. As many of the posters above have replied we have been on several of these boards long enough to hear many people who are banded out of country who find themselves without appropriate aftercare. That's why we continue to advise caution and if people are banded elsewhere but have a contract providing support back in Canada then that's great.

I facilitate as a volunteer a Peer Support group for Surgical Weight Loss Centre patients who live close enough to attend our monthly group in Mississauga. We have members who attend from as far away as Orillia, Brantford, Barrie, etc. along with the Halton & Peel regions. The only criteria for belonging is being a patient already banded or scheduled for lap band surgery at The Surgical Weight Loss Centre. The clinic sponsors our group financially so there is no charge to members for the community room I rent and they are also happy to provide guest speakers when requested. However the group is strictly run for patients by patients and not by the clinic. We also are not qualified nor wish to provide medical advice, please contact the clinic for medical concerns. Our group meets monthly on the third Thursday of each month in the Mississauga area between 7:30 - 9:30 pm. We have a clothing exchange, member check-in and at our next meeting on Thursday, February 19th, we will be bringing in recipes that are bandster friendly and sample dishes to try. At an upcoming meeting in the spring we have guest speakers Tammy & Sue, nurses from our clinic answering our questions regarding fills, defills and other issues regarding our bands. At another future meeting, Kelly who is the new Wellness Coach at our clinic will be talking to us about her role working individually with patients desiring extra support. A Wellness coach is there to help patients identify needs and strengths, find their own answers, attain goals, build self confidence, and fulfill their ultimate wellness vision. If you would like more info on our support group feel free to contact me or check out the Surgical Weight Loss Centre website. If you go to the message forum you will see my announcement regarding the Mississauga support group under the Support Group Section. Come out and share your victories and challenges with a group of people who understand your bandster journey!

The reason the majority of us who are banded in Canada have reservations regarding Canadians going to Mexico is simple. Those of us on here have seen many people banded in Mexico promised aftercare in Canada. We then see these bandsters find the aftercare has fallen through and they are hoping one of the lap band clinics here will take them on. They come on the bandster boards regularly looking for help and asking for options. I frankly don't care where a person gets banded but I hope they get in writing from a Mexican clinic what type of warranty they have for aftercare and for complications they can access here in Canada. A lap band is only as good as the aftercare needed for fills, etc.

I've been banded three years this April and lost 132 lbs. and maintained goal for over one year. No regrets and thankful I picked Dr. Cobourn at the Surgical Weight Loss Centre. Keep researching and asking questions and only have the surgery if and when you feel ready though.

It looks like Dr. Joffe is headed down to start practicing in Mexico going by some recent posts regarding him on a Mexican forum.

Everyone feels good restriction at varying fill levels but I first reached my "sweet spot" after four months and my fourth fill. At that time (and with my Inamed VG Vanguard larger band) I was filled to 7.2 cc's. But your sweet spot is like a moving target at times and since then I have had several more fills and am at my highest restriction now since last July at 9.1 cc's. For me to do well I try to keep a rough calorie count in my head and stick to about 1200 calories to maintain. I can't eat solids usually till about 11 am or 12 noon comfortably but will have a coffee or two. From then on my band is loose enough to eat most food and I eat whenever I am hungry up until 11 pm. Being at my "sweet spot" for me means I can eat a small portion of food and feel satisfied without feeling deprived. Our bands can be very fickle though and one day I can feel very tight and the next hour as wide open as the highway (as one bandster put it. lol) Ironically I can eat a 6" assorted Mr. sub well chewed but if I eat Jello Gelatin will feel stuck after about 4 bites. lol One serving portion to me is for example one Stouffer frozen entree like Salisbury steak or one Taco Bell supreme hardshell Taco.

Hanbe, best wishes on reaching your April goal. I too love carbonated drinks but do not drink them except for maybe one every several months as my band manufacturer Allergan does not recommend them. I first had wls back in /87 when I had VBG and while we were not told to avoid carbonated drinks I'm sure it added to my staples disrupting. Now I don't want to risk anything with my band but I guess it's up to us as an individual what we do.

Jodi, good for you! Let us know how you find Curves to be. :cursing:

My goal for this month is to smarten up and stop eating so many sweets. Any one else have a goal they want to post?