Devana

Hello Lady, a big welcome to LBT and congratulations on your decision. To find out about a particular doctor I would suggest visiting the Doctors and Hospitals forum, the thread for your state in the US support forum and also doing a search using the search button at the top of the main page. Keep us all posted on how you're doing.

Seistaqh and Tagger, I was banded by Dr Huacuz in Tijuana. I didn't set up aftercare beforehand, but I knew of a couple places in Washington state that did care for Mexican banded patients and that would have been a day trip for me. As it happened I arranged it a lot closer with a doctor in Vancouver. I agree that it's important to set up aftercare beforehand, but for me just confirming availability with a couple of phone calls was enough. It was acceptable to me to have my care a day trip away. It beats going all the way back to Mexico.

Hi Neal and welcome. Congratulations on your decision. It's a whole new adventure and life ahead for you. This site has a wealth of information and support. I see that there is already an October bandster thread going so you may want to look into that, too. All the best.

Hi ParisAngel and welcome. My suggestion is to read everything you can on Lapbandtalk. There are many veteran banded people on this site who generously share their experiences and support. It's what helped me make my decision. All the best.

Hi Laura, I conceived with my PCOS using herbs, as have a few other people I've told about it. PM me if you want details. Also, your fertility may increase as you lose more weight.

$6500 US for the procedure and the airfare was Canadian dollars. I found an experienced fill doctor in my area who was willing to do fills for band patients other than his own. That can be a challenge sometimes, finding homecare.

Andree, I paid $6500 plus about $650 airfare (I didn't have quite enough frequent flyer points). That included hotel and snacks. I was picked up at San Diego airport and returned there. (Don't forget to tip your driver if you do this). Once back I paid an initial $400 fee for my first consultation and fill with a local Dr. and $75 for fills thereafter. Definitely the most economical for me and I'm very happy with how everything went. I had to fill out quite a detailed online consultation form and after that had about an hour phone consultation with the doctor and another half hour or so call after that. All the best with your decision.

Half an M&M butter chicken dinner for lunch (love Indian food) and a stuffed half pepper for dinner that someone brought for me to the office in lieu of payment. Yeah I take baking and garden veggies and stuff when people have money difficulties. My guys at home eat most of it.

Vinesqueen, yes indeed, we all will be pulling for you. Good wishes and many healing thoughts coming your way.

I took a couple of 14 year old boys to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers a couple of nights ago. I had a good time, but it was so much fun to be with the kids. They were so excited. It was a great concert with amazing effects. We got to our hotel (the Ramada) about midnight only to find that they had no room for us despite our reservation. So they sent us over to the Four Seasons at their expense. Being an old hippy, I tend to see hotels as mainly places to crash, however I have to admit this was really nice. It's the first time I've ever had a comfortable pillow in a hotel. The next morning we checked out a guitar shop and then I went for a fill before coming home. A good time. Anyone else planning to see them on this tour?

Way to go Brandy. It sounds like you're working hard and it's paying off!

Hi Merridy and welcome to LBT. There are lots of members who had their surgery in Mexico (me included). The best thing to do is to read the threads in the Doctors and Hospitals forum. You'll find lots of information on drs in general and specific drs as well. Good luck with your search. And remember to ask any questions you may have.

Hi Kiwi. First of all, congratulations on your decision. I think when you tell your friend about this you might want to consider a couple of things. First, the band is different than the bypass. You did not make the same decision that she did back then, therefore it doesn't appear to me to be hypocritical. Second, you have no control over how she will choose to react. If she does react negatively, will that affect your decision? Probably not. I'm willing to bet that you two have been friends long enough to weather this. Your sensitivity to her feelings is apparent and you may have to support her through all this as much as you would like her to support you. Good luck with this. Let us know how it goes.

Hi Mindy. I understand your desire to get the band ASAP. As soon as I made my decision I couldn't get it fast enough. Now I know you have chosen your surgeon, but here is an idea, and please forgive me if you have already thought of this. Have you considered going to Mexico? As you probably have read, there are quite a few surgeons that are highly regarded. Some of them offer partial financing, I think maybe without cosigners. It's usually 60% of the procedure that they want up front. That's still a chunk of money to come up with but with their lower prices you may be able to do that sooner than saving for the whole deal in the US. I also agree with Susan's post about some people confusing banding with bypass. Good luck with all this. I think sometimes our obstacles can be ways for something better to come along. You know, the door closes and a window opens kind of thing? I hope so in your case.

Julie, I've had to make several life changing decisions like that in my life. What's helped me is this. I always get a big sheet of paper (usually a chunk of newsprint roll end) and attach it to a wall in a place where I can see it, often the kitchen or by my computer. Then I divide it into how many options I have. In the middle write I write my options, in your case this would be something like "stay" and "go". Then brainstorm and write down every possible pro and con you can think of about each scenario. Do this all around the centre like spokes of a wheel. This will allow you room to elaborate on a point. For example, a negative point may have both positive and negative aspects to it. Am I making sense? I have found that after a couple of days of looking at this, adding things, circling extra important points in colours, etc that the best decision becomes obvious. For example you may see a way to accept the new job while keeping your support people. I have made some really tough and quick decisions this way. For me there's something about getting out of linear thinking that helps the process. Good luck with all this.

Welcome, Winga, and congratulations on your decision.

Welcome Lori, and congratulations on your decision. A whole new adventure awaits you. Don't forget to join the October bandsters site (if there is one already and if there's not you may want to start it). Also, the search button is a useful tool. All the best.

I had my band done in Tijuana and my aftercare dr. is in Vancouver.

Good luck with your upcoming surgery Swanny. I went through a mourning of a loss of food and my old way of eating while I was going through my surgery preop diet. The nice thing however, is that now that I'm done I can eat almost everything that I did before, just in much smaller quantities. I'm hoping you'll be surprised how little you miss things. Also, the weight loss generates an enthusiasm for more loss and therefore makes it easier to stay away from "bad" food.

Tea tree oil works wonders. Aside from all the foot care, put some drops of oil in the shoes. It has natural antibacterial properties and manages to keep shoes and boots fresh. An Aussie friend told me about this and it's amazing.

That's just what I was going to say: I betcha it's dairy.

Koala, I think you're on to something. I have always felt that my fat makes me fat. I put on a huge amount of weight suddenly as a result of medications. I went from thin to fat in a matter of weeks. Before that I had no food "issues" whatsoever. After that, however, I developed all the negative eating behaviours and cravings. That's why I think the band is so wonderful. The analogy I use for it is that it's like someone is holding the ladder for me.

Hello Tiger and welcome. Congratulations on your banding. I was waiting to see if anyone knew of fill opportunities near you but since there has been no response yet I'll tell you about BC. I, too was banded in Mexico and now have Dr. Woodhead in the lower mainland looking after me. He charges $400 for the first consultation and fill and $75 for fills after that. There is also Dr. Amson in Victoria but it takes a very long time to get in to see him. I guess if you have to travel anywhere you'll have to figure out the quickest and cheapest. All the best. If you have any questions about Dr. Woodhead just ask.

The good digestive enzyme tablets contain amylase for carbs, protease for proteins and lipase for fats. Perhaps if this happens again you could chew one of those up. They are often (but not always) helpful for people with reflux problems and I would imagine they would be helpful in this case. I'm keeping some handy in the event it happens to me.

Good information, Leila. Preband I had taken psyllium for many years and I do miss it now. I'll try it with caution.