alligator

Hello - anyone out there have a gastric balloon? I'm booked for a consult with Dr. Woodhead (Vancouver) tomorrow and I'm just wondering who else has had this procedure. Thanks.

My consultation was the beginning of April, and was able to get an appointment for the end of April for the insertion. Unfortunately though the balloons ended up being backordered from France and are to be arriving some time this week. So my appointment got changed to May 27, so 2 months after my consultation in the end. Frustrating but nothing to do with Dr. Woodhead. I'm so anxious to get going on this... two more weeks... Definitely keep in touch! Good luck.

I had my consultation yesterday with Dr. Woodhead. I found him really nice, supportive and a good listener, which is not always the case with doctors. I was a bit surprised that he himself was overweight; I had expected otherwise from someone who's specialty is weight-loss surgery. His approach was very "soft-sell"; he wasn't pushing the procedure and simply outlined the advantages and disadvantages. I appreciated that. Of course, the big disadvantage with the balloon is that it is temporary as it's only in place for 6 months. However, I look at is as a catalyst for a whole life change. I do not want surgery such as a lap band, and think with around 50 pounds to lose surgery would be pretty drastic. I just need something to help me change and something inside of me is telling me that this is my answer. I know it may not be for everyone. I am keeping a blog - if anyone is interested it can be found at gastricballoon.blogspot.com Thanks for the advice that's been coming my way.

I can see that it wouldn't be an effective tool in your case. I have about 50 pounds to lose, and think surgery may be too drastic for me. I need something to kick-start me to eat smaller portions so I can relearn some bad behaviour I've picked up over the past few years. My consultation is this afternoon so I'll keep posting when I have more info. Thanks so much for your input.