Devana

Hi Mark, glad you found us. That was just a couple of days ago that you got banded! Hope you're healing well. Be sure to check out the October bandsters thread, too.

I have syringes and huber needles given to me by my care dr. I would have no problem doing my own unfill in an emergency with unwilling medical personnel. I carry one of the needles in my wallet. I hope I never have to use them.

Hiya, Bandfella, glad you found us. Congratulations on your surgery date. You should look up the October bandsters thread as well.

Hi Jeff. I'm glad the board has been helpful. I lurked for many months and the information I got definitely helped with my decision. At least with a new band at Christmas you'll avoid the seasonal excess!

Welcome, Terri. All the best for your upcoming surgery.

Shelly, welcome, I'm glad you found us. There's so much to read on this site and lots of veteran bandsters willing to share their experiences. Good luck with your decision.

A big welcome to both of you. Congratulations on your banding Carol. It sounds like you're doing well. And it sounds like you've made the decision to get the band, Nine. You may want to check out the US regional support section.

Dancing, sorry, I got a phone call and missed you. Another thing you can do is go on to the October bandster thread. I'm sure you'll find others there at the same stage as you. Are you getting the "why don't you just eat less" thing from your friends?

It's team paddling in long boats. It originated in China, associated with a holiday, I think. The races seem like a lot of fun. In this area we also have First Nations canoe races with large canoes manned by teams.

I just bought a calendar from one of the local dragon boat teams and it got me wondering if any bandsters do it. Dragon boat racing is supposed to be the world's fastest growing sport.

Hi, I'm here. It's not so late on the west coast. Congratulations on your banding. Are you doing alright so far?

After being initially put off by Dr. Woodhead's office when I was exploring getting the band, I've gone to him for my aftercare, and I'm ok with how things are going. He charges the $400 fee for the initial consultation and the first fill. I guess it's for the paperwork and kind of an agreement where he becomes the care dr. The fills are $75 after that. I have no issues with this cost because he is the closest for fills and it still was way cheaper for me to have the surgery done in Mexico. The issue I had with his office in the beginning was that they wouldn't even give me a price or anything. They wanted the consultation fee when I wasn't even sure I'd be accepted as a patient.

Hey, Rainy girl, welcome. I think the best thing to do is to follow your doc's advice during the healing phase. Also there is a wealth of information on this site. All the best.

Andree, who else did she suggest for fills?

Ah, a Yorkshire lass! My friend Jane, that I got banded with in Mexico, is one too. Welcome to LBT and congratulations on your decision. You might want to post in the Europe support section as well, to see if anyone has experience with that dr. All the best, I'm glad you found us.

Hey, Granny. Welcome and congratulations on your decision. If you're anything like me, you'll wish you had this done ages ago. You might want to check out the November bandsters thread. Let us know when you have a firm date.

Hello, Nu2. Congratulations on getting the band. Dubai, Holy Smokes, do you live there or are you just going there for surgery? As for your questions: - as far as I know, fills aren't usually received until after the stomach has had time to heal, it's often around 6 weeks. - the amount of fill a band can hold depends on the size of band you receive. - I don't find the fills painful at all and the discomfort is very minor. - I didn't feel any actual hunger pains at all and didn't feel like eating at all until well after a week after surgery. However, I resisted and stayed on my liquids and mushies because I didn't want anything to interfere with the healing. I find that the band works both ways for me, I feel full with much less food and I am unable to eat a huge quantity. However I have to qualify that, I am in need of a fill at the moment and I can certainly eat much more than I could last month. I'm still looking for that "sweet spot". These are just my experiences. The best thing to do is read this whole site. You have a few weeks until surgery so that's lots of time to read and ask more specific questions. There are many different band experiences out there. All the best.

Welcome Roxy, I'm glad you found us and I'm glad you're excited about it all. A whole new adventure is ahead. Actually, I guess it's already begun with all your research and decision making. I'm a June bandster, but I can still wish you luck for tomorrow. Let us know when you get back.

It's the Canadian thanksgiving weekend and I'm still not sure what we're doing. I quite like the idea of joining friends for dinner, however it's been an insanely busy week and I think, for our sanity, it's likely it will be just the family for dinner. On the whole, it seems like it's a much more casual holiday here than in the US. On the west coast, if the weather is nice, lots of people go camping. To me it seems like it's not a really big deal if the whole family doesn't get together. Now, I get the impression from movies that Thanksgiving in the States is VERY important, that people have to get home for it at all costs. Is this really so, or should I not believe everything that I see in the movies? Also, I'm just catching on that Thanksgiving is the beginning of the "holiday season" that runs into Christmas and New Years. Is this right? I kind of like that idea, having a well defined beginning to it all.

OK, I've got Thanksgiving dinner all set to go, just keeping warm waiting for everyone to come in from canoeing. (We're on the Water here). Everything is local, organic chicken (which I like better than turkey), local water buffalo soft cheese blended with smoked chum, baby potatoes, butternut squash and asparagus, mixed greens salad with dried blueberries and a balsamic dressing (we have a local maker) and Blue Grouse wine. The only things not local are the olive oil and the almonds I put in the stuffing. I'm going to be able to eat only a teaspoonful of each thing.

STOMP STOMP CLAP! STOMP STOMP CLAP! We're here, we're with you.

I'm not intending to break the chain here, but I really am computer illiterate enough to not know how to get the previous postings on here. However, nevertheless here are two of the many people I admire: Jenna (princess n the pea) for her sometimes unheard voice of kindness, understanding and reason in difficult and heated times. Susan4794 for her continuing positiveness and welcoming to newcomers.

Hi Kimberly, good to have you on board and congratulations on your banding date. Did you have your decision already made when you found us or did reading the forums on here help you to make it?

Sherrilynn, that's so nice to hear. I've been married a very long time and many years ago when I weighed much less but was still struggling with it, my sweetie told me that he would love me the same no matter what I weighed. Well, I reached the morbidly obese stage and he still treats me like a goddess. I wanted the band, but also had to have it. We're older parents of a 13 yr old and I do so want to see him grow up and also see grandchildren if he decides to procreate. Thanks to pretty good genes, I managed to get as heavy as I was with relatively few comorbidities, but I think they would begin to show themselves as I aged.

Way to go, Brenda. Better than waiting 4 years for RNY, hey?