Devana

Hi Diane, welcome to LBT and congratulations on your banding!

Carla, hi and welcome to LBT. Congratulations on your surgery date. It's coming up pretty soon. I'm from BC and had my band done in Mexico a year ago. Haven't lost as much as I fantasized I would, but I've lost enough to get into smaller clothes and have people notice. All the best with your surgery!

Hi Lynda, it sounds like you have your fair share of stuff going on. You've had your band for quite awhile, too. What kind of repair did you have? All the best with your back surgery.

Hi Ninajo. I've read on threads about this kind of thing happening. I have the opposite, I've had several fills and can still eat almost anything. However, I did get swollen shut for a day after one fill and it scared the daylights out of me. I woke up choking on my own saliva. If you post this in the "Complications" area, I'm sure you'll get more responses, maybe from bandsters who've had the same problems. All the best.

Well, we keep hearing "the band is a tool", and I can certainly attest to that. I know some bandsters post that their food cravings have been eliminated since surgery and others struggle. I think posting this again in the Lap Band Support area will elicit more response. I know many of us struggle with food issues.

Welcome and congratulations on your surgery date! I think this is a great place for information and support. The threads in the General lap band area are all important, I think. You also may want to hook up with the July 2007 bandsters. I'm sure there's a thread going. Our bandster community has grown so much that it seems like we're forming little villages of support, so find a group that you connect with, either by surgery date or age or activities (like the banded bikers!) All the best with your surgery. You have a whole new life ahead.

$15 and $20 for a pedi!! Gawd, I'm so envious. The least expensive around here is $30. They usually run about $45 or $50. It's the one thing I have to have done. I'm in sandals almost year round. I only put on regular shoes when the snow gets above the cork line.

Ahem........MsDad, I have been using this as a noun. I stand corrected. I'm pretty careful about my grammar and I don't know how I could have been incorrect all these years. This is the kind of thing that makes me nuts, too. I hate the thought I've been doing it to others all this time. Thanks

Welcome to LBT! This is a great place to get information. There are several threads on surgeons and Mexican surgeons. I was done in Mexico and have no regrets whatsoever. All the best.

Welcome, I saw that you got your date. Congratulations!!

Hi Ashley and welcome. It's so normal to be scared, especially once you've made the decision! The ways I can feel my band: If I press on my port area I can feel the port. I also can feel things when they get stuck and I PB. However, I'm very careful and it hardly ever happens anymore. Good luck with your plans.

Welcome Claire!

Hi Kelly and welcome. I was self pay and got it done in my own time frame. As much as it would have been nice to have an insurance company pay, I'm glad I didn't have to go through all you guys have to go through. However, keep at it, go step by step and you'll get there. Before you know it you'll have a whole new life! All the best and keep posting.

Welcome Mendy and good luck with your plans.

Hi and welcome. You've done alright so far. I think we all tend to be hard on ourselves. Exercise makes a huge difference. I'll bet you'll start losing faster now that you're working out.

Welcome Misty. Good luck with your journey.

This is my health care story. In our province in Canada the maximum health care insurance premium cost is $108 per month per family. If the family is low income, that premium is subsidised either partly or completely. My husband and I work in a health care field and have been pretty cocky in that we've always looked after ourselves, and therefore we didn't bother paying the premiums for many years. About 5 years ago our son became ill and when it became obvious that this was going to be beyond our ability to care for him, we took him to the hospital and the next day I went to the local government office and paid them $108. What ensued was a nightmare of an illness that has left my son with some physical disability. He has had a large chunk of time in the ICU, literally months spent in two different hospitals, numerous surgical procedures and a huge amount of home care and physiotherapy. And we're not done yet. He has had the very best and immediate care. An eight thousand dollar substance was flown in from Toronto and administered shortly after he was first admitted. I was present when this was discussed and the decision to bring this in, though aknowleged that is was an expensive treatment, was based on his possible need only. Even when we have to go to the mainland hospital, our ferry fare is paid for. I know the cost to the medical services plan for all this over the years and it's well over a million dollars. I stayed with him the whole time he was in hospital and met people from all walks of life and all socio-economic levels, and everyone received the same level of care. I have absolutely no complaints.

I hear ya! At 53 I had people constantly surprised at my age. They often thought I was 10 years younger. Now at 54 and a year with the band, my wrinkles are getting really pronounced with the weight loss. Plastic surgery for this girl for sure!

Very interesting observation, Babygrl. It's back to that old point made on numerous threads about how being fat is considered a character flaw.

Bitter, you have my total unreserved sympathy. Though I live on the rainy west coast of Canada, we seldom get the endless clouds and rain. We lived in an interior town for awhile, a place by a lake surrounded by mountains, and the mountains seemed to hold the clouds in. I didn't see the sun for 9 weeks one year. I really thought I'd go nuts. The good thing is, we didn't have the warmth and humidity that you describe. As for the dogs, sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. Do you have a local animal shelter you could take them to along with a donation? Sometimes they have deals with local vets to look after the animals for less than they charge the public. Hang in there, you know things can only change for the better at this point. We're having an unusual summer here as well. We had a couple of hot days in May, but other than that it's been cool with rain off and on. We've been swimming only once and we normally would have been camping a couple of times already.

At this moment I'm listening to a Senegalese salsa band called Africando via my favourite streaming radio program, Andy Kershaw on BBC. He plays the best music from all genres.

Hi there and welcome! You may want to check out the "Doctors and Hospitals" threads and the "US Regional" threads for specific surgeon and price information for your area. All the best with your plans!

Hello, Canam and welcome. Congratulations on your banding. You'll probably find other bandsters in your area if you check out the "US Regional" threads. How has this month been for you?

Linda, hello and welcome to LBT. You may get more responses to your questions if you post in the "Doctors and Hospitals" area or in the "US Regional" area. All the best on your journey.

Welcome nunlover. I think you're on the right track. Read as much as you can. LBT is full of information. And ask questions!