Yoda

Yes that is it Mookie....the town is world famous for it's bldg murals.

*waves* hiya Tres Chic!!!! welcome future fellow TLBCer!

Yeah, I heard that about you Neenagh....ummm....I think I read it on a bathroom wall in a bar somewhere!!! :rolleyes

awwwwwwwwwww poor Neenagh!!!! *what were you thinking!!* Take care and hope you get it sorted out soon!!! (and next time, listen to the doc!!!) LOL

EXELLENT question......!!!! Jude....... r u still around??!!!! Hope all is well at your end!

:bump: :bump: Lots of new Canucks on here.....fellow Canadians wanna know the meaning/significance behind your nic!!!! Do tell!

Welcome Welcome Welcome Astrotoes!!! I thought I felt your lurking presence here!!! LOL. Congrats on your decision to be banded :clap2: Now that you've jumped in, we hope you will be here more often. *waves to all the other lurkers out there*. We seeeeeeeee you!!!! Come say howdy!

Bandiva....actually I won't be staying in Victoria, I'll be staying in Chemainus (where your relatives are Mookie...I assume that is where you meant!). I'll land and then be whisked off up island! But otherwise, if I was in Vict....definitely a get together would have been warranted! Becca & Mookie....I actually am switching planes in Edmonton but I'm only there for an hour before my next flight leaves. I don't think that gives me anytime when you consider that normally the board the plane 30 mins prior....which therefore only gives me 30 mins at the airport and I'm not sure I can even leave security. But it would have been a kewl idea if I were there longer!! On the way back, I stop off in Calgary.

Okay, I know I started a thread on my airplane price issues but I'm too lazy to look for/find it!!! hehe. Thought I'd let you know (those that care! LOL....) that I booked my flights to Victoria today...(late April).....got it with Westjet for a total of $497. YEEEEHAAAA!!!! Way better than the regular $827 price....and better than Air Canada's current seat sale price of $550.....good thing I waited.....I almost booked it last week when WestJet's sale price was $680.......I don't think I'll do much better than $497.....not from TO to Vic.!!!! I told my folks today; seemed to have made their day. I'll even be there for my mom's b'day....so she is thrilled!

Maggie....TLBC required me to have blood tests, ECG (or is it EKG? LOL) and a chest X-ray. All of this takes no time at all. There are a lot of threads (here on the Canuck section and also in the "general" & "support" sections) dealing with the "to tell or not to tell issue".....I recommend searching them out and you will get a wealth of responses/posts on it. I, too, chose VERY selectively who to tell. I told Mr Yoda (obviously) and my folks (who live in a land far far away....also known at BC). A friend of mine who also had it done (a month prior to me) also knows as well as two or three other friends who knew because they knew about hers and it just sort of "came up". I would probably still like it better if even all these people didn't know but the choice was basically taken out of my hands. Otherwise, I still keep it very private.....everyone has there own reasons for not saying much (if that is what they decide to do). I know others who don't care and tell anyone and everyone and they are ok with it.....to each his/her own (only you can know about your life and about your "circle" and the support (overt or covert) that you will get so only you can make the decision that is right for you). Just know that this is a common issue and there are many sides to it!

:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: Roxanne!!!! I'm sooooo proud of you!!!!! *invisioning you doing the catwalk in your new bathing attire!* Excellent....and by the summertime you'll need another one!!!

Hey Maggie....I see Mandi responded to all your questions so I won't!!! I'll just add that every doc has their own version of the pre-op diet...and some ppl don't have one at all (ie. lower weight/bmi etc) while others have one for 1 week, 2, 3 or longer. For instance, my pre-op diet consisted of all the yogurt/cottage cheese, GREEN veggies and chicken (nothing on the chicken) for the first of the 2 weeks and the 2nd week was just yogurt and cottage cheese. I detest cottage cheese so the second week for me was yougurt, yougurt and more yougurt. As for your last question....once you are banded etc....and after your post-op period, you will eventually be able to eat anything you want....just smaller amounts and itty bites and lots of chewing. Some ppl will have probs with certain foods but the intent is to have the type of restriction where you don't really have probs with anything. Oh...and re. the vomit thing...I HATE vomiting to and would/will do ANYTHING to avoid it. I made sure they knew that I was prone to coming out of anest. vomiting....so I got some really good anti-vomit drugs during the surgery and when I came out, everything was fine. (note: you get an anti-nauseau drug anyways during the surgery but I requested a super duper strong version). Make sure you have liquid gravol (I could only find children's version) for your post-op; that as a big concern of mine (vomiting)....so I took the liquid gravol for several days (just in case) and never had a problem. As for future issue of vomiting (ie. flu or something) I just hope it will not happen!!

I tell ya man, put in the flavoured extracts into your Optifast and it will be vewy vewy vewy tasty~! (note: I did not do the optifast for my pre-op diet - just yougurt - but I did go thru the whole optifast program several yrs ago....2 weeks is nothin!!). The extract flavours are KEY

haha I hear ya Mandi....me toooo...it is like I'm a lil' kid all over again. I'll say to Mr Yoda..."look!!! look!!! I ate almost all my _____". Too funny! Re. the popcorn thing; yeah, I've also been told to completely avoid it. But, I've never been a big popcorn fan, so at least that is ONE thing that I'm okay with!! psssssssssssst Becca.....M&M Peanuts go down quite well!!!! LOL (ssssshhhhh)....:guess

I know Cloe....it IS stupid!! Re. the fluro thing...yeah, I actually feel fotunate that I need to have mine done by fluro....I always feel re-assured that they actually look at it and see that all is A-OK!

I am really well travelled but for some reason, I've never been to any of the Asian countries and I have no inclination to go there. That being said, hey, an adventure is an adventure. My only concern would be the length of time.....man, if that does not include the time when you will be on the plane, that is waaaayyyyyyyyyyy to short to make the most of it. But if you are prepared to be adventurous and on a whirlwind...why not. (keep in mind that you may find it difficult to enjoy after a horrendously long flight...it may take you 3 days to adjust to the jetlag). I have a very good friend who has lived in China now for the last 3 years (the remote areas) and he absolutely loves it. He retired young several years ago and just basically left Canada and travelled all over and after being everywhere found he preferred China......interesting enough...(after speaking about TO being the "Big Smoke") he says that the air quality in China is so bad he has no words to describe it....(even in the far remote conditions where he is....which is why he is there and not in the bigger towns/cities...due to the poor air quality). If you go...due to the long flight be SURE to get up and walk arond at LEAST every hour on the plane and also do leg exercises while sitting...AND even consider wearing compression stockings. I know too many people who developed embolisms from such long flights. It is a real risk that ppl don't think about....and so easily avoidable!

Victoria.....what is ironic about "did you eat the whole thing" re. your soup is that at this point you really should eat all of it to get your protein in (ie. via the beans!). Yup, you will need to tell him that you need to police yourself....thank him for his support but you need his support in other ways. BUT if you do this, be sure to be consistent.....you can't then turn around and ask him to remind you not to eat this or that ... ...or to remind you not to buy those chips/icecream etc. (I have learned this the hard way!!)

Blue Cross has been through this fight before....always with a resounding NO!

My goal was to get to where my ticker is no longer a lie....I'm happy to report that I am now only 3 lbs away from that goal!! LOL.

Hi maggiec..... First of all WELCOME!! No, Ontario definitely does NOT cover lapband surgery. Re. the price....keep in mind that that is an "all-inclusive" price....in other words it includes the cost of lifetime fills/defills etc. Lots of folks in the US have to pay each and every time they go back for a fill. Don't let the possible side effects worry you. Firstly, erosion is a very slim possibility...verrrrry slim. Secondly, the "vomiting" doesn't happen to everyone and if you are, in fact, referring to PBing, it is VERY different from vomiting. People with the lapband do not vomit in the regular sense....they can't anymore....nothing actually comes up from the stomach itself and therefore there is none of that wicked bile etc..... Really and truly....ppl will only PB if they generally haven't done something they should (ie. chew enough, small enough bites etc). And even tho we may all really "do" the right thing it can still happen because the band is fickle and doing it one way one time might be okay and doing it the same way next time might not be "enough"; hence the PB. I did a lot of research too before I decided and to be honest, though I inofrmed myself of possible complications (ie. erosion, slippage) I did NOT read the "complication" threads at all....no need to....why bother unless it happens to you? All you need to be aware of are WHAT they are and the frequency (from your doctor)....not all the details that people who have suffered it are going through. (my opinion)!

Best of luck to you on your journey!!!

Doriana, TLBC will do fills via fluro if there is a "problem" but they aren't done at the clinic itself....there are scheduled times at the Scarborough-Grace Hospital wherein Dr. Y or Dr J go to do the fills. (ie. at the X-ray department there). Don't worry about the pain; your husband is likely correct in his diagnosis!! I can't really answer the "what are you losing now on average per week" question. I haven't worked out since early Nov (due first to a bad head cold and then to a knee injury) and as a result of the not working out, I have gained several lbs (7 or 8) and am trying to get them off so that my ticker will no longer be a lie. I have to work hard for EVERY pound I lose and if I'm not working out that will not happen (all related to the PCOS). But before that occurred...."on average" I was losing 1-2 lbs per week.....some weeks I would lose nothing for 2 or 3 weeks then drop 3 or 4 lbs the next week; other weeks I would lose 1 lb then 2 then nothing etc etc....it was never consistent. But that was okay, I was happy and the band was "working" if I was losing 1-2 lbs per week....AVERAGED OUT (ie. in 4 to 6 weeks). So be patient and keep with it and plus remember that your band isn't actually "working" the way it is supposed to anyways until you have proper restriction (not restriction itself but "proper" restriction). You'll get there!!!! Don't get discouraged!!!! If you want to know more about how long you will be at TLBC for your fill and if there is a seminar (due to it being your first time) call and inquire!

Hi Doriana, ummmmm....first of all....noooooo you will NOT get a numbing needle first (yeeeesh!!) and you do not need it so no worries. The actual fill itself will take less than 5 mins. You will do GREAT.....it's no biggie (& this coming from someone who has had fill difficulties and has to now get fills via fluro - in fact my next one is 12 Jan).

hello and welcome Atir! Come visit more often! How are you doing? I'm not fast either but figure slow and steady will work well for me!

Don't know if it will make you feel any better Bandiva, but it is COMPLETELY normal to be "irritable" for a few weeks post-op!!!