canadagirl33

Hi Gerry :thumbup: I don't personally know Dr. Tang however there was a lady that attended our support group in North Vancouver a couple of months ago that went to him. As far as I can remember she was happy enough but I don't recall her saying much about him to be honest. You might have more luck with replies to this post if you post your question again on the Canada board. Good luck !!! Patricia

Glad that you both came to the meeting and found it helpful. I would have to agree, sometimes sitting amongst that group of women and having them all chatter, trying to listen to everything, can get a little overwhelming...and chaotic !!! :blushing: If either of you have any questions or need any help and want to email me privately, please feel free. canadagirl33@hotmail.com Hope to see you both again at future meetings... Patricia

I've often been accused of being too blunt and 'un-caring'. Trust me, I care, however if you are looking for someone to tell you that it's ok for you to not do your pre-op diet, stop reading now because that someone isn't me !! First off, you sitting there saying 'I can't' is completely defeatist...with that mentality, you're right...you can't. I'm not sure how long your preop is supposed to be but there is a timeline, you can see the end of the tunnel, it isn't forever and you need to get a grip and realize that you can. If you honestly, seriously ~can't~ follow a week long or 10 day long or even month long preop diet then I'm thinking you won't be able to spend the rest of your life listening to your band and following a bandster diet either. Maybe you need to get off the bus and rethink your weight loss plan.... As for feeling rundown...yup, for the first day or 2 you might feel like that, but you can get plenty of nutrients to supoprt your body with liquids. And lets face it, we need weight loss surgery...it's not like any of us are going to starve to death on a preop diet !!! Is it uncomfortable? Yup ! Unpleasant? Yup ! A pain in the ass? Yup ! But suck it up and pull up your big girl pants....you're more than capable of succeeding !! As for what can happen if you don't do it.... You can go thru all this, stress out about surgery, go to the hospital/clinic, be put out and wake up with no band !! You heard right, just because you go into surgery, if your liver is still too large (the #1 reason for preop diets) they will just close you up. I personally know a woman who didn't get her band and had to have surgery again a month later....after properly following her preop diet. I also know a woman who had to be completely opened up...a 10 inch incision because her liver hadn't shrunk. And at our last support meeting a new girl joined us, 3 weeks post-op and she had to have 8 incisions instead of 4 or 5 which is standard. So in the end, it's up to you. But like I said earlier, if you can't follow a limited diet now, maybe you need to rethink this. Living with a band and following a bandster lifestyle isn't easy and will last a lifetime. Good luck !!! Patricia

Hi Timmers Glad to hear that you're doing so well and feeling good about your decision. You're right in thinking that the initial 'glow' will fade, however with good support you can work thru that when the time comes. As for support I am not aware of anything else. There was nothing available at all when I was banded 3 years ago which is why I started this group. I will certainly ask tonite at the meeting if anyone knows of anything else or if they are interested in a 1 on 1 meeting for coffee or something. I'll get info to pass along to you if I can find anything at all that looks like it might help you out. I'm giving some thought to the possibility of driving down to NWWLS for a little check-up and the chance of doing a support meeting there. Have you given any thought to doing that? Maybe if I do start planning it I'll let you know and you could come down with me....I'll keep you posted if I plan anything. All the best, Patricia

I am just short of my 3 year mark...no complications. Lost 100lbs in the first year, maintained the same weight since then. Patricia 11/16/06

Hi Everyone :confused: Thought I would post now since I have a few minutes at work while I have lunch. This coming Wednesday is our monthly meeting at Lion's Gate and I wanted to get the reminder out so that you all can make the time to join us if possible. I plan on coming down early in the day and spending some time with a friend before hitting Costco for a bit of a shopping spree. I will be at Lion's Gate by 6.30. If any of you have any specific topics you would like to talk about, post on here or drop me an email. If I have any literature regarding the topic I would happily bring it along. Hopefully I'll see you all there !!! Patricia

Hi everyone So this post is for those of you who have gone to Tijuana for banding and/or fills and had to spend a few nights there. As some of you may know I am seriously considering having some plastic surgery done in Mexico and I am just trying to get all my ducks in a row as it were. I think I'm pretty certain on the surgeon/facility and will be having a phone consult with him soon (tomorrow probably). Then it will be time to pick some definite dates and I am pretty certain of those as well. So now we come to flights and hotels... I will be kept in the medical facility for probably 3 or 4 days and then released, however I am planning on staying there for an extra 10 days or so until the drains have been removed and I feel I will be comfortable enough to fly home. So for those of you who have stayed in Tijuana, which hotels did you use? Were you happy with the service/cleanliness/location/facilities? The clinic I will be using is within a block of Dr. Ortiz's clinic so that is the area I will be staying in. So let me know what you all have experienced !!! Since I will be there a while I am interested in if the rooms have fridges or microwaves... Is there any kind of grocery shopping nearby? Oh heck, just tell me anything you feel is important !!! Looking forward to some of your thoughts !!! Patricia

Doddie... Her surgeon is Dr. Leung and his patients always do a full month of clear liquids. Sorry nadsltd, no puree'd food for you yet. As rough as this will be, tell yourself it is a good thing. The more you tell yourself you're 'starving' the worse it will become. If you feeel hunger, sip things slowly. I always found that warm and hot liquids made me feel more satisfied. Try some different flavored herbal teas, some broths....there are some really good chicken and beef ones available. In fact I found a really good veggie broth when I was doing liquids, so look around. This time is all about healing your stomach and making sure your band is situated properly as you heal. I had a shower on day 3 and it made me feel wayyyy better. Take it a day at a time, even an hour at a time....this is the first part of a very long journey and you can be successful !!! All the best, Patricia

I have had my band for almost 3 years and right now I have a pretty tight fill....3.75CC in a 4cc band. If I didn't eat mindfully I would probably be vomiting at every meal. You say your 'head hunger' is more complicated and sure, it's probably emotional on a certain level but it is still your mind telling you that you need/like/want food when your body doesn't really need it at the time. Speaking for most in this forum, we ~all~ love to eat...that's why we ended up here. Did I love to eat before my band....hell yeah !!! :smile: Do I still love to eat??? Repeat...hell yeah !!! But I have learned to control myself. But I can say that after 3 years I still fight with my head. As for food...I can eat pretty much anything if I do it slowly and take small bites. It has pretty much become habit for me and I don't give it much thought anymore, I'm sure it will eventually become the same way for you. You said "One half sandwich eaten with gusto would have made me happy" With gusto? Does that mean big bites, hardly chewed and barely tasted? 1 of the things I have found with having to slow down is that I actually enjoy taste and texture far more now than I ever have. You will too if you look at it as a good change and not something that you are missing out on. The next time you eat with a group, watch them closely. I was banded in November and had basically just started real food at Chirstmas time. So I sat down to Christmas dinner with all of my family, 16 of us, and thoughts of what I would allow myself. I put things on my plate (by the way...I have NEVER EVER only been able to eat a few tablespoons as a meal!!!) and started eating slowly, with small bites. As I chatted and laughed I began to watch them and was amazed and almost a little grossed out by watching the huge forkfuls of food they were eating. Anyhow...I believe that as a society we have become over eaters, we don't taste food because we eat so fast and unconsiously. Ok....I don't have a clue about all this babble that I've put here. How do I feel? Physically I feel better than I have in years. Mentally I feel (95% of the time) in control. I am satisfied with what I eat, I still eat bread if I want it, altho I try to limit is because it just makes me want more. When I was losing weight it could slow the scale down to a stop so I ate almost no carbs the first year. It took some getting used to but it's juat a change of habit. I eat veggies and fruit and even chips and dip now and then. I guess you need to make some choices. You don't have to live with your band so tight that you're unalbe to eat a sandwich when you want. You can keep your band fairly loose, use a little more will-power, make good choices and still lose weight. If you decide to do that you might have to allow that your losses will be a little more gradual. No matter what anyone says weight loss is a basic equation...burn more calories than you ingest and you ~will~ lose weight. Ok....now I'm going off on a totally different thing so I'm done. Not sure I contributed or not and I guess at the end of all my babble it really comes down to the fact that this is a change you made. Now you need to work with it and realize that it takes time for us all to mentally adjust. Good luck with your band !!! Patricia

Congrats on your banding nadsltd :thumbup: Sorry to hear that you're in so much discomfort but it should start improving within the next day or 2. As for gas...it depends on what you mean. When you have this type of surgery they actually fill your abdominal/chest cavity with air to lift and sepreate your organs and give thenselves room to work. They try to 'suck' all this out after surgery but they almost never get it all, and what is left can cause some pain, usually felt high in the chest, back and shoulders. Taking some kind of anti-gas medication almost never relieves this type of gas. I found the best thing for me was to sit with a heating pad, either leaning back against it or holding it over my shoulder and upper chest, depending on where it hurt at the time. If you actually have gas that is causing you stomach/intestinal grief (burping/farting) then something like Gas-X may help. I didn't notice this type of gas after my surgery so never bothered with it. ~Both~ types of gas will improve with mobility....so walk as much as you can handle as often as you can. I stayed in a hotel the night of my surgery and I walked the hallways every hour I was awake....and I was up 2 or 3 times thru the night, each time I went out and walked the length of the hall. I'm sure I looked great...in my nightgown, hunched over holding my belly I had 5 incisions which I think is pretty standard, I know of people who have had more and less, it all depends on what the surgeons needs to do at the time. One of the regular gals at our meeting ended up being completely opened up...she had probably an 8 or 10" insicion the full length of her tummy. So it does happen to some... I know its hard to see the positive side right now...but think ahead a little bit. It won't actually take long before you're up and moving more comfortably. And soon enough you will start losing the weight and it will all be worth it !!! Sending healing thoughts your way.... Patricia

I've never been one to take many meds of any kind so I can't really offer help on what you should take. However pharmacists can fill alot of pain med prescriptions in liquid form. That said I would probably visit my family Dr or dentist to get some meds and when you go to have it filled ask for liquid. Hope your tooth is better soon !!! Patricia

Congrats to our new bandsters !!!:smile: Timmers, I was banded at NWWLS as well and my story is very similar to yours. I had never dealt with any kind of private medical system and it amazed me how comfortable they make you (warm blankes and foot massage), how much time they take to talk to you and how caring they all were. It made me feel so much more relaxed when I could see them all walking around calmly, smiling and confident. It was great.... As for the hotel....they used to give a gift basket to NWWLS patients after surgery, so if you don't get one in your room, ask before you check-out... it's got things like drinks and stuff. Was useful...and a nice touch Walk as much as you can, I even had my hubby pull into the rest areas on the side of the highway so I could stretch for a few minutes. Take your pain meds as needed and you'll find it will improve greatly over the next few days....within a week I was off everything (including tylenol) and felt pretty darn good. One last thing...I was thinking about support meetings for you. I know it's a long way out of the way for you, but NWWLS offers a day time meeting once a month. Maybe you could schedule your first couple of fills for support days and and kill 2 birds with 1 stone...as it were. I have done a few meetings down there over the years and its great because you can actually talk to Jessie if you need some smartening up, or to Linda if you're having some mind issues...it's nice that they offer different areas of support all at 1 meeting. Just a thought.... Take care everyone !!! And yes, the next meeting is Oct. 21st !!! I'll post again before then to remind everyone !!! Patricia

I've asked lots of people about this and it seems to vary greatly from person to person... I'm like you in the sense that as I was losing weight people would comment and altho in my mind I KNEW I had to be looking different, I just did not see it. I was always gracious and thanked them...and then went somewhere to have a look to see if I could see what they saw.....nope I didn't. And after 3 years with my band.... I still don't !!! Yup, I said 3 years !!! The first year I lost 100lbs, in the past 2 years I have maintained that....and when I look in the mirror I see the same person I did when I had surgery. I'm hopeful that it will improve with time...but maybe it won't. I'm a pretty rational person and I know that I can't have lost that weight and there not have been a huge change, so maybe one day I'll look into a mirror and see a healthier, fitter, thinner person than I saw yesterday. Congrats on the loss and keep up the good work !!! Patricia

Hi Everyone :tongue2: I'm so sorry that I have been MIA for so long but life has been kicking my butt and keeping me way too busy lately. I think things are finally settling down and hopefully I will be able to change my focus back to me for a time. Altho I haven't gained anything I have not been making the best choices for myself and I need to start living like a bandster again and looking after myself better....hard to do when those you love need looking after. Thank you so much for posting Doreen, and for being at the meetings and helping everyone. Your knowledge of and experiences with the band are always a huge help to others. I'm glad you have found this board Timmers, hopefully you will find us helpful. Unfortunately I do not have a full list of bandster meetings in the Lower Mainland altho I do know that there are a couple of others. However, if memory serves, they are all out in the Valley and all held in the evenings. I know how hard it can be for some to get to the meetings but I really do believe that face to face meetings can be very helpful. Maybe if you post what area in Vancouver you are at someone in the same area will be interested in meeting up during the day for a coffee or a walk. Just a thought but it might be a good way to at least meet a fellow bandster and get in some chit chat about living the life.... Nadsltd...it really concerns me that you asked "Is it true that you have to drink things out of a straw for the rest of your life..." Are you just assuming this or did someone actually tell you this?? If you read the manufacturers suggestions you will actually see that they completely discourage using a straw at any time due to the amount of air most people ingest. Trust me, you will more than likely have enough gas (burping) without using a straw.... As for meal size, you will probably never eat another meal like you do now, and is that really a bad thing? Like Paula said, there are things you are going to have to just let go of as part of your pre-bandster life. You will slowly learn a new reality, and small portions are not a bad thing. I can pretty much eat anything that I choose, in smaller portions, and have maintained a 100+ lb weight loss for almost 2 years....the satisfaction in that beats the heck out of sitting down to a big plate of food any day !!! Dr. Leung can be difficult to deal with....but you need to realize that he is going to be a part of your life for a good part of the forseeable future. You should really try to attend a few of our support meetings, we have quite a few of his patients that attend on a regular basis and they may be able to help you in dealing with him. Speaking of meetings.... I PROMISE that I will be at the next one !!!! My summer 'travelling' in over with and things have settled down. Everyone please remember that you are all more than welcome to attend and bring your family and friends if you chose, there is no fee and we welcome any and all bandsters, newbies or oldies !!! Take care and be healthy !!! Patricia

Hi Tim :biggrin: Congrats on making the choice to take control of your weight and health issues now rather than later. The band is an amazing tool if you learn to work with it and let it work for you. I just wanted to say that I was also banded at NWWLS and you have chosen a great group of surgeons, nurses and staff to help you on your weight loss journey. I'm not sure if you've looked thru the rest of this site but there is a 'Canadian' area and a couple of message boards that focus on the Vancouver area. We have a monthly meeting in North Vancouver for those of us from the Lower Mainland (I'm from the Whistler area) and you are certainly welcome to join us any time you can fit it into your schedule. Feel free to contact me thru the message board or personal email (canadagirl33@hotmail.com) any time if you have any questions or would like more info on the meetings. Good luck !!!! Patricia NWWLS 11/16/06

Hi Everyone :tongue2: Sorry I haven't been posting as much as I probably should...life has been a little hectic. I'm hopeful that it will slow down a little bit soon and I can get back into the swing of things. As I'm sure you all know, this coming week is support meeting week. As always we will be meeting at Lion's Gate Hospital on Wednesday, Sept. 16th any time after 6.30pm in Conference Room A. Everyone is certainly welcome to join us, whether you are in the research stage or a long-term bandster. Come and share your journey, your stories and a few laughs. I think you are completely right Rhonda. Being able to share your thoughts and questions in a supportive and non-judgemental group setting can make the differnece for some of us. Hopefully as you get more patients having the band placed, we will see them joining our group. Take care everyone and I'll see you soon !!! Patricia

Does your surgeons office do bypass as well? I know there is an issue with bypasser's wherein they get 'strictures' and need to be stretched out, however I have never heard of anything like this with bands. Let us know what you find out... Patricia

Good morning Everyone Just wanted to post here to remind everyone that this week (Wednesday, Aug. 19th) is the monthly meeting in North Vancouver. As always we will be meeting in Conference Room A at Lion's Gate Hopsital anytime after about 6.30. Please feel free to bring family or friends with you !! Unfortunately because of some family issues that have arisen I will not be able to attend, however I'm hoping that the rest of you go to support and entertain each other !! I have recieved emails from 2 new people asking about attending so hopefully you will see some new faces. Have a great meeting, an even better month and I'll see you all in September !!! Patricia

Hi Everyone :crying: Doreen...So glad to hear that your appt for the flouro went well and there is no slippage. Such a relief !!! Continue to take it easy and I would think that if/when you feel any irritation, just slack off on the solids for a day or 2 and let things settle down again. I couldn't be happier for you !!! kbf1 ... I've never actually heard of the type of band that you have, I'd be interested to har more about it. And sorry, I'm sure I've asked before, but who is your surgeon/follow-up Dr.? As for your fill level, my first question would be has the Dr. doing your fills pulled out all the saline to actually check your level of fill?? It is really not all that uncommon for there to be slamm leaks in either the port or tubing...or even in the band itself. So I would first want to know that there is in fact a full 13cc's. Like Doddie I find it odd that they would over-fill you that much without doing a flouro to ckeck the positioning of your band, so that might certainly want to be something to look into. Good luck and let us know how it goes !!! Patricia

Hi everyone Sorry to be posting so late, but YES Lapbandy, the meeting is tomorrow night !!! We will be meeting at Lion's Gate Hospital, anytime between 6.30 and 7pm in Conf room A. I hope everyone has been enjoying their summer so far !!! See you all Wednesday !!! Patricia

//The main reason I worry about self pay with the band is when people have complications and are not covered by insurance to deal with those, like removals or emergency situations that they don't expect beforehand. Hopefully you won't have that problem. // You see this is exactly where doing your homework beforehand is ~crucial~ !! I chose a clinic that will guarentee my band for life. Before I ever agreed to have surgery with them I asked all the questions, including all after-banding issues. They will do any other surgeries that I need that are band related (flipped port, leaking port/tubing, leaking band, repositioning of band, or complete removal) at no extra charge to me, other than the anesthesiologist who works as a seperate entity at the clinic. The only thing they ask of me is that I use only their clinic for my aftercare and fills....which is no big issue as they offer 1 year free fills etc. and they are reasonably and comparatively priced as anywhere else. I had to travel 6 hours (including a border crossing (Can/US)) one way to see my surgeon but for the lifetime of care, I feel it is completely worth it. Keep in mind they have 'satellite offices' for aftercare so for fills I only travel 2 hours to see their staff. Thanks for the comments Josie. I have in fact had people make rude and unnecessary comments regarding some of my posts. I think I strike too close to home for some people and they get defensive :tongue_smilie: I will continue to share my own story, including both the good and bad....if people want to read it they can, and if they skip over it, that's ok too. Patricia

I didn't put in my post that there are obvious reasons for having the band removed. If there are health reasons I have ~absolutely~ no qualms that the band be removed if deemed medically necessary. I completely realize that a psych evaluation is not going to stop medical complications that may arise and contribute to the removal of the band, however they are trained to ask the right questions and look for the right/wrong responses to see if a person is mentally ready and able to adjust to living with the band. I self-paid for my band (over $16,000) and I will admit that there are some days I do ~not~ like the little sucker 1 iota !!! However after living within 25 lbs of my goal weight for alomst 2 years, unless I develop some kind of medical reason, I'll put up with the frustration and effort it sometimes takes to live with it. Patricia

I will say first off that I intend to offend no one with my post, however I am sure that some may have their feathers ruffled. I don't point fingers and I ~do~ understand that this banded journey is different for everyone... That said.... There is most definitely a mental side to having a band and learning to live with it. Is it hard to grasp the idea of something inside our bodies? Sometimes... Is it hard to wrap our heads around the idea of restrictive eating? Sometimes... Is it frustrating to live with something that makes chicken your best friend 1 day and your worst enemy the next? Sometimes... Is it physically uncomfortable? Sometimes... Does it make us throw up, sometimes in situations that cause you to want to crawl under a rock? Sometimes... These are all things that you need to think long and hard about ~BEFORE~ you ever decide to get a band. I am a firm believer in a psychiatric consult before banding. Sure, some things may slip thru the cracks, but if you deal with someone who knows the ins and outs of living as a banded person and understands how different people react to banding, the cheance of having your band removed because you decide you 'don't like it' or 'it's hard to deal with' or 'it's a weird thing inside my body' diminishes greatly. I feel that there are some Dr's who will do this surgery for anyone because of the cash, regardless of if they fell the person is a good candidate mentally....and then they'll take it out for some more cash. It costs nothing to the surgeon to have patients attend a psych consult, unless of course the psych deems them unsuitable. I ~especially~ think that anyone being banded and covered by insurance should be psychiatrically evaluated. I have no problem paying insurance premiums that are used to help you get the band and make you healthier (and save me money in the long run) however I would be seriously pissed off if I helped pay for your band only to hear that you've decided a year later that you don't like some foreign little thing inside you and now you want it out. Please keep in mind that the opinions expressed are just mine and take it as you will....but I personally think that if a person chooses to have the band removed just because they don't like it, they weren't well enough informed and didnt think it thru. Patricia

Thanks for clarifying Doreen, this is good info for bandsters. When I looked I couldn't find anything about banding on websites that refered to him....altho maybe the TLBC (Slimband) site mentions him. Patricia

I just spent a few minutes on Google looking for info on Dr. Manchanda and all I could come up with is that he is a family/general practicioner. None of the websites that mention him have anything to do with Lap-bands or fills. To be fair, I have been told on numerous occasions that realistically any Dr or nurse that is familiar with ports (they are used in many medical treatments, not just banding) could fairly easily do fills/unfills. However, I personally feel that any Dr. accessing my port, except if there was an extreme emergency, needs to have training in bands and the issues that can arise with fills etc. Accessing and filling a port is only part of it for bandsters, the Dr also needs to know all about banding and how to assess fill levels and how we may respond to them. This is of course just my personal opinion on the matter. Patricia