Gaffer

I doubt that she will be getting a band in Alberta. I would be willing to bet what is happening is that she is getting Gastric Bypass in Alberta or Washington, paid for by the BC government. This is not unheard of, but as far as I know BC does not fund the band, but they do fund bypass. You are correct in that much of the money for health care comes from Ottawa, but really they have no pull in the way that it is spent, as long as it conforms to the Canada Health Act. I highly doubt that she would be getting any surgery paid for by AB if she is from BC. The health care systems in Canada are considered to be provincial. Andrew

It should say in your pre-op package what you need to bring for food. You need to bring enough Optifast for the time that you are there. If you dont want to bring the stuff that you will need after surgery you can pick that up at the Wal-mart over a square one mall which is not too far from the Novatel. I did not like the broth after surgery, but I was very partial to the low-acid apple juice. Good Luck, Andrew

:think Buh-bye. A

That is a great NSV Mr.Yoda. Hypertension can be a real problem. I am hoping to be off my BP meds pretty quick as well. If my damn life would cooperate and quit being so stressful. Andrew

Jealousy rears it's ugly head (I kid :biggrin1: ) Yes we have it all in Alberta. $7 billion in surplus and they are talking about firing teachers :angry . I firmly believe that whose of us that have paid for our bands have the advantage. We are more accountable and have more to lose if we dont make it work. I am accountable to my wife & son as the money that I took from our families finances is what paid for my band. Andrew

I have watched 3 episodes of that show, and I have to say that I am sick of it. It does nothing to help the plight of the super obese. I you ask me, many of the people on that show just defiant and the clinic is a big joke. They are allowed to cheat, the head physician does not believe in WLS and from what I have seen there is very little in the way of addiction counselling for these people. It just looks like a warehouse for the superobese where they are able to do what ever the hell they want. If you look at the rate of "relapse" it seems to be almost 100%. Why dont they try to get some real help for these people. At first I had sympathy for these people, but now when I see them milling about the front door waiting for thier take out i get frustrated. That Dr. that is in charge of the place is out to lunch. You dont see the Betty Ford clinic allow drug addicts and alcoholic to order out for more drugs/booze? I am looking forward to the show Big Medicine which starts monday on TLC. It is about Dr.s who perform WLS. Andrew

Finally a use for this icon. Ryan Seacrest voice: "America, you have voted...... Dr. Rumbaut you are the runner up in 2007 Lap band Dr. American idol." That has got to be the most bizarre statement I have ever heard. Andrew

For me it is about incorporating it into one's daily routine. Eat, sleep, work, work-out. I cant say that I like working out, and there are many other things that I would rather be doing with that time. What I do like are the results that I get from it. Now, I am getting the weight loss, but it also allows me to be more flexible with my diet and if I want to indulge in a treat from DQ or pizza for dinner one night a week I can without too much guilt. One of the other things that I get from working out is a guage to help me make better decisions. As an example, many times I will look at the calories from a certain food and think, I have to spend X amount of time on the eliptical if I want to eat this. Kinda like these muffins my wife bought this weekend. I thought, "oh they are muffins, they are bad, but they cant be that bad." I tried to look at the calories, but the label had been ripped off at that point. I ate the muffin. Later that day I found the part of the label that had the calories. 510 Calories:omg: :omg: :omg: . I nearly craped my pants, and thought to myself, well there is a whole workout in my mouth. Once you start working out, you will also notice other benefits. You will sleep better, you will feel better, and you will start to notice the positive changes that go with it. I think many people are intimidated to work out, especially at a gym. Dont be, if we were all perfect there would be no need for gyms. Try and find some thing that you enjoy and do it. Andrew

Sadly for me, steak is one of the things that I am not able to eat yet. I bought some beutiful filet a while back and had my first serious sticking episode. After a few hours i was able to PB the offending nugget up. It was pretty sick. There was a peice of gristle that had been giving me greif. The meat was so tender and it was cooked meduim rare. Who would have thought it would have been such a problem. Be careful. Andrew

That is totally normal. Mine looked like a large egg, and was about the size of my hand. It is just swelling from where they put the port in. It will go away with time. Andrew

Thank you. I am pretty sure that I will make that May goal early, I might even make it by the end of the long weekend if I behave myself. I am in this pattern lately where I lose 2lbs on week and then 4lb the next. Although my ticker says I was 290 as of Wednesday, I was 288 as of today. I dont get it but I like it. Andrew

Damnit, why does the edit function on this board STILL not work? What I was trying to say in my last post was that I am restricted to the point that I feel full, but I still have to teach myself disipline and to make the proper food chioces. Andrew

<p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Yes, I have had 2 fills to date. The first was 4CC and the second 1CC. My band holds 14CC total. I think that I might go for another 1CC at the end of the month to see how that goes, but right now I am pretty happy with the way things are so I dont see much point in messing with it. </p> <p> </p> <p>My philosophy lately has been I have enough restriction to make me feel full, but I am not retricted to the point that I have to learn disipline and how to make the proper choices.</p> <p> </p> <p>Andrew</p>

You are still on full liquids, you should not be eating hair at this point (okay I just threw up a little when I wrote that). I remember there being a little tickle in the throat and I chalked it up to the tube. It should go away. Andrew

That has been a question I have had for a while too. Right now I dont do any "measuring" but rather look at my portions and say that is enough, or too much. I have a pretty good feeling what will fill me up right now, and I try to stick to that. I know there is the odd time that I overeat but I think that I am doing okay because things are going in the right direction. I am not sure if I am restricted yet, but I like where I am at interms of not feeling hungry but how much I am able to eat. Andrew

Bad boys have more fun, plus I have heard that chicks dig bad boys. You and Mrs. Yoda, I can just picture it like the scene out of Empire Strikes Back. You are carrying her around on your back and she is saying things like "There is no try, just do" and "mmmm..... good boy you be, you get muchies for dinner." JLB: I must say that I did have a chocolate shake during the full liquids stage. Andrew

I got my SF Davinci Syrups at the local Diabetic Depot. Look for a shop that caters to diabetics and they will have all sorts of this stuff. Dont go too crazy, I bought 3 bottles and all totalled I have about 90% of it left. Andrew

LeslieLee, You are in good company with a bunch of us that have doen the Optifast. Yoda is right, the flavourings are great. I got pretty sick of the vanilla and had to spice it up any way I could. Remember to blend them with lots of ice so they are thick and that will help to. Pre-op pickles too will save you. Andrew

I am pretty sure I am going to be looking at some kind of abdominoplasty at some point too. When I had lost 125lbs previously I was looking into it, but I gained the weight back so it was kinda a moot point. I am not looking forward to the thought of such a major surgery though. Mandi, I say go for it, you are only young once and after what you have accomplished you deserve it. Andrew

I have mixed emotions about the additional bands that are being paid for here in Alberta. On the one hand I am a little bit jealous. I am pretty sure I could have been one of those people as I was about to be admitted to the clinic. I found this out the week that I got back from TO after my surgery and was more than within thier guidelines. Bad timing I guess. I am still looking at the loan that I took out for the surgery, and I wish that I did not have that. On the other hand, I am glad that there will be people who will have the benefit of this surgery. I dont have to tell you all that it has the ability to change the lives of those who embrace it and work the band to thier benefit. I still think that I have a bit of an edge having paid for it myself in that I am accountable to me and my families finances. If I screw this up, I am not just taking the money out of the government coffers, but I am taking out of the mouth/retirement funds of my household. I cannot, and I will not pay for this suregery in vain. Also, I have to remind myself that I could not have waited for something like this to come along. I could not have know about it, and for every year that I would have had to wait for the band, I am confident that would have been an additional year off the end of my life. I am not bitter, just a little frustrated. Andrew

That's funny, my wife would kill me if she knew I wrote that on the internet. Andrew

Welcome back. Hopefully the gas will subside shortly. Walk it off, and try a heating pad to relieve the discomfort. Andrew

That chaps my ass too, although it looks like they will be covering fills here in AB. It was on the front page of the Calagry Herald that they are doing 100 more bands in Calgary, right after I paid for mine. Andrew

Yes, I have been seeing more of him, now if I can just get Mrs. Gaffer to see more of him that would be great.:biggrin1: Thanks for the kind words. Andrew

I was banded in Febraury by the SWLC (Dr. Coburn/Mumford, and they have also added another surgeon to the team Dr. Padonou). I think with either clinc you are in good hands. I opted to go with the SWLC because that was who I had my first consult with and I felt immediatly comfortable with. Dr. Coburn called me out of the blue one night after I had submitted a request for information via thier web site. Also what helped sway me was the fact that they have a network of fill providers in Calgary. That wont be an issue for you living in TO, but it was very important to me for obvious reasons. As for the pre-op with the SWLC, it depends on you BMI and sex. As I am a male with a high BMI and carry my weight in my midsection I had to do 3 weeks pre-op, but many have to do 2. The pre-op consist of 3 Optifast shakes per day and a portion of allowed veggies. I found the pre-op to be pretty easy. For me at least I dotn think I could have stuck to the yogurt Cottage cheese. The cost for the optifast is $70.00 per week, which is cheaper than what I was eating in take out in a week. Andrew