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Hi: I was born and raisedin SK but now live in BC. Before deciding on Mexico, ask yourself this question. What will I do for my after care? Fills (in my view) are more important than the actual surgery. Where will you get filled and defilled? Some Canadian Clinics will not take patients that have gone outside of the country and only treat their own patients. Also, with the border difficulties where will you get emergency treatment if the band slips and it needs replacing. Travel Health Insurance in the future. Can you afford to pay up front hospital coverage. Some insurance co. only reimburse and don't forget their clause "any pre existing condition". they won't pay if they can avoid it. So my point to all is "consider staying in Canada" even if it costs a bit more. You get the free support after. I went to the TLBC in Toronto (Dr Yau introduced the band to Canada) and I get free support including replacing the band if it leaks or slips. The support offered by the clinic such as a dietician is free. A Bandster above said they went to Dr. Cobourne excellent, I went to Dr. Yau excellent and there are a number of clinics in Alberta. Hope I have given you some food for thought. Doddie

The insurance coordinators are dropping the ball. My EGD is scheduled for next Friday the 24th, but they are telling me they can't submit it without approval. I know it's a bunch of BS, cause 2 of my co-workers got approved and neither of them had a EGD done.

Had surgery 4/21 and over the last 24 hours I have felt also sick. I haven't ate anything of purée substance bc my stomach is upset ( nausea and diarrhea) so I don't know if that's the reason for me feeling so bad today with

I got the Nexapalon in June, about 3 months after surgery, I was doing alright at first but after a month on it, noticed weight loss basically slowing down/stopping, insane sugar cravings, lots of mood swings. Right now I'm at 6 months post-op, 3 months with this implant, lost quite a bit of weight but I've been stalled for like a month! I'm convinced it's the BC because I've had sensitivities in the past; though I'm scared to resort to another option as right now is NOT a good time to have an oops incident. However, I have noticed the effects getting weaker, my moods seem much more stable and my cravings not AS bad. I've tried getting my Water intake higher and trying hard to curb my sugar to good sources like fruits. It's tough. If I don't see an improvement, I may consider removing mine, but it is so darn convenient. Surgeon and doctor said it usually takes 4 months for your body to fully adjust to birth control, so maybe try being patient with yourself too! Its hard work maintaining weight loss and pregnancy prevention at the same time.

Bcs I want to start shewing any kind of food I'm not hungry but I want to start feeling normal

Haha gosh I don't even see that as an option here on my phone...I should really log in with my laptop on occasion, I miss a lot of features being on an iPad & iPhone :/...anywho I am down 37 pounds in 10 weeks(includes 8lbs preop diet loss)...I have stalled twice on full liquids(had to go back bc I had some issues and they wanted to give my sleeve a break-nothing to do with my surgery mind you) and now I think I'm stalling again as I just advanced to solids and haven't lost in 3 days...darn! Thanks for asking!

Hi there...I am likely going to be given a May date. I have done everything for the process for my insurance except my final drs appt and nutritionist appt which are both early next week. Then they submit to my insurance and hopefully, fingers crossed, approval and then scheduling. I am in NYC and would love to have a great support system in place throughout this process. I am just doing a calorie restricted diet right now because my insurance prohibits me from gaining even an ounce during a 3 month pre-surgery period and this has even been hard for me bc I need to retrain my brain (ex. stop using food to both reward myself, punish myself, as distraction, when bored, etc). We have quite a journey ahead of us. Great success and good health to all of us.

I was banded April 2. I had my 3 rd fill thurs for a total of 4.6 cc. Before I just felt full quicker but could eat without problems but yesterday for breakfast I tried a pancake omg. I must have eaten too quickly bc that's the first time I have got sick since surgery. 3 bites was all I took but it sure felt like hell. So I stuck to full liquids for rest of day I'm down 30 lbs but took 3 weeks off exercise so I've kicked myself now back to exercising again and hopefully it'll start coming off again. Good luck and hang in there.

I confess that I bought some delicious cupcakes for my daughters college signing ceremony. Then ate one ( it took a couple of days). Then I went back to order her graduation cake and my hubbys 40th birthday cake...and bought another cupcake. Most of it is still in my fridge. But it is sooo good! Funny, bc I've never been a sweets person!

I just came back from my check-up and I have lost little weight, so the “program” isn’t working for me. I left the doctor’s office crying after trying to explain about my IBS issues and why I cannot eat in the mornings. Right away the doctor wanted to blame me and he picked me apart in his office until I broke down and laughed at me. I asked him to help work the program around me rather than me for the program since not everyone is the same. I was humiliated and now I just don’t care anymore. I cannot get a physician to help with my nerve pain from a previous surgery that a doctor messed up on so I can exercise and I am tired of buying the expensive food, Vitamins, emotional; stress, and other BS this surgery has brought. I was told/accused of eating over what I should, which is BS, and that I must be responsible somehow, maybe the program should re-evaluate how patients are different, I was put on a high Protein and low calorie diet by the WL program and hit the floor as a result! I’ve held my chin up and made enormous changes to my life, but all that doesn’t matter-enough is enough, I just can’t keep letting this lifestyle drain me physically and emotional, I give up.

Wow really lol, that gives me more hope. I m in Sacramento California and do you have Anthem BC through the Medi-Cal program or just Anthem BC it may be different.

Anyone with highnark bc vs? How strict are they about 2 yr history? The insurance policy reads 2 yr history of severe obesity. My bmi is just now 40. Last five years its been in the 35-39.5 range. Anyone have a similar experience with this? And I have no çomorbidities

I would pester whoever clears you for your diets about why you can't be on full fluids. I was on clear fluids for an hour or two before being cleared for full fluids. While no one here can know any medical reasons for your circumstance, if you were discharged I assume you have no issues with vomiting, and you've been checked for leaks.. I personally wouldn't understand why you can't have full fluids. My OR date was last Thursday (April 20) in the morning Leak tests/barium swallow done Friday morning, confirmed all fine Started clear fluids Friday afternoon, cleared for full fluid meal for dinner (soup, Jello, non-SF popsicles), ate that with no issues, was discharged a couple hours later Friday evening on full fluid diet until around May 11th when I can have soft solids. Current diet is mainly water (1.5-3L), 2% milk, high protein M&BS oatmeal, unsweetened applesauce, YOP yogurt drink, and was just cleared via phone call from my case manager to make fruit smoothies.

August 25th is my birthday..i was banded in April so that I could turn 40 on 8/25 being at my desired weight. I will remember all of you getting banded on my birthday too. Its so great so many people are fed up..had enough..and doing something that WILL work instead of all the things that WONT work. Congrats - 8/25 will be your new birthdates too.

I read and appreciate all reads from lady’s but having a hard time finding men like myself in late 50s that had success going to sleeve after lap band - I had the band 8 years ago and lost about 40 pounds the first 6 months- lots of problems getting stuck and hungry all the time , after 4 years of bs I just had all the saline taken out ! Just been hanging in there about where I started but now want to take another stab at it with the sleeve - I want the band out because i believe it has caused me esophagus problems , and port seems to have scar tissue making a bump - so I thought kill 2 birds with one stone ! Question: Is failure with band any sign that sleeve will not be successful and I should opt for lobotomy ?

Another option I haven't heard yet is ordering them online. I ordered my effexor from india for the year I was off work on disability. Not the cheapest option, but may be cheaper than local pharmacy. I know for me, going off my meds means disaster. weaning or not. I would shut off my cable and internet before i went without. I think the county or city clinics are a fabulous resource. Some ppl won't use them bc they're ashamed. Don't be one of those people. Your mental health is as important as your physical health. If you had cancer, you wouldnt wean off your cancer meds...you would find a way! I hope you find a way.

I'm an April surgery (2005). I puked a lot my first year. Mostly bc I was drinking too much after eating as I was parched. It could definitely be bc you're eating too quickly or too much too quickly. This isn't to say you're eating too much (especially if it's protein) it just may be too much at one sitting. I still need 2 or more sittings for a meal.

I have 2 questions that I'm looking for some information on. I was told that after the gastric sleeve you can't take an NSAIDs anymore? But when I do research some say u can just not every day, others say not at all, and some even say they were never told anything about it. I ask bc I'm having major back issues. I'm really inflamed all throughout my spine and they suggested taking an anti inflammatory but I didn't think I could so I looked into natural supplements and they say turmeric is really beneficial for inflammation so I was thinking of trying that but I'd really like input on taking, ibuprofen or aleve etc... My other question is about weight loss. I had the surgery out 29th of last year so I'm almost a year out and I've only lost 50lbs and I still Need to lose 40 more. I started noticing at about 6 months out I was able to eat more and more I wasn't getting the full feeling like I was the first couple of months like if I took one more bite I'd throw up but now it's not like that. I'm still controlling what I eat but the feeling I get when I knew I couldn't eat anymore really helped. And I'm not staying full for very long anymore. Any input on this would help. I need some insight on what else I can do to lose the 40lbs. I keep hitting plateaus and I'll go down 2-3lbs then up 2-3lbs does anyone else deal with this? And I'm still losing a lot of hair but that I knew could happen. Thank God I started with thick hair! Any opinions or thoughts would help! Thanks so much, Bridget

I had my surgery on February 15th. Since then I don't feel any different. I don't feel full since started soft purée diet. I am hungry all the time. I lost my sense of smell. The only difference is I feel tired. I will confess I ate two ritz crackers the other night Bc I felt so nauseous. What am I doing wrong?! Could my pouch Be open? Is it beneficial to restart my phases again? I feel horrible for eating the crackers.

Yeah I am tired of feeling like I am part of a freak show.. Everyone looks at me funny bc I carry a backpack around with tubes hanging out of it ( my tpn).. I want my life back as well :-/ and I have recently started losing a ton of hair I actually just left a hair appt and I was watching my hair dresser take mounds of my hair out of her brush.. I am trying to stay encouraged although its hard sometimes when it seems as though there is no end to this!

So I need to ask those who have been in my position what you have done. I'm assuming there aren't too many of you who can relate(hopefully). Here is the background story: I had the crapband in Sept of 2010. I was 238 at the time. I was ok for a few months until the sliming and puking took over my life for the next nearly 2 years. I lost about 32 pound in 5 months and then it came to a grinding halt. Nothing I did lost me a pound. Then the weight just came back on until I was back around 222-225. I couldn't stand the f'ing sliming and throwing up game so I did what I thought was the be all and end all for me and had the sleeve done in July 2012. My sister had hers done in march of 2012 and is now a tiny little thing again. She rocked it like nobody's business. I lost weight the first 3 weeks after the sleeve and then it just tapered off pretty fast. 7 weeks later I had a horrible episode of starvation and I was so hungry one day that I ate a lot of food for someone with such a small stomach. I actually cried because I was so hungry and upset that I could eat 'so much' food. I was having reflux issues too so I had a barium study. Little did I know that in just 8 weeks, the top portion of my stomach, the fundus, had already started to stretch. I found out from my GI doctor that it was nothing I did or ate and it was just due to my anatomy. He said stomachs are creatures with their own minds and mine did it's own thing. The lower portion was unaffected. I eventually lost about 25 pounds in about 4-5 months and then once again, the weight just came back on. Two Endocrinolgists have told me that years of dieting and the two surgeries have permanently damaged my metablolism. My body can't switch to fat buring like a normal body. It goes straight into panic starvation mode. I have had extensive thyroid and blood sugar work ups and have resolved any issues there. In fact, my labs are pretty damn good. So in April I go back to my surgeon and tell him that I'm seriously fed up with the lack of missing pounds and that we need to figure this out now. He said that he can redo the sleeve to fix the top and make it really tight. I was game for almost anything so I scheduled my 3rd surgery in 4 years. Good thing my insurance covers everything! I had the sleeve redone July 15th, 1 year and 1 week since the first sleeve. I went in with zero exepectations so I wouldn't get my hoped crushed again. Well, good thing because I'm back at square one again. I lost about 13-14 pounds in the first 3 weeks and now 8 weeks out I haven't lost anymore. In fact, most of it was in the first two weeks. The third week was 2 pounds and for the past 5 weeks I haven't lost a freaking ounce. Now I have total proof that it's not what or how much I am eating. Three surgeries, all the BS about Protein, no carbs, ect just doesn't apply to someone like me. I can eat protein all day long and I still don't lose weight. I have been hiking, kayaking, etc and nothing happens. I wake up hungry, go to bed hungry. Nothing. What do you do in my situation? I'm not expecting crazy results like some people do. I am very realistic about what your body can and can't do. I know that 3500 calories is equal to one pound gained or lost. I know that my intake is significantly less that it was a few months ago and I know my body have this amazing ability to fully function on so much less food without buring fat and I wish I knew how or why! One of my doctors said that I truly could never, ever be Anorexic even if I tried, because my body is like some Neanderthal survivor! Have any of you had such a reaction like mine where your metablolism has legitimately been trashed to the point where you can't burn fat? What have to done to overcome this? I know there has to be a solution to boost my body into fat burning mode and move it out of starvation mode. I would really apprecaiate any input that you have in regards to my situation. I don't consider this a stall like everyone seems to have. This is yet another full stop just like the last two times. Even my surgeon said to me that he was just going to have to suck the fat out. I agree. That is in the very near future. Thanks!

Hey y'all!! I just started my process about 3 weeks ago and I have BCBS Federal. I was wondering if anyone can help me out with specific details about what I, personally" had to hand in to my doctor/coordinator during my 3 month weight management. For example, food journal, excersice log, etc... Another question, My BMI is exactly 40 right now. Can I afford to lose a couple of lbs and still get approved? Or should I just maintain my weight?? I would appreciate anyones knowledge and experience about this!!

Thanks to all for the well wishes. My hubby took me to the ER around 3p yesterday when he got off and aftwr running several tests they admitted me to the hospital for observation, pain management, and antibiotics. First of all I have a UTI, I'm mildly dehydrated, and the severe pain is coming from my kidney. The area around my kidney is swollen and the pain is now radiating from the right flank (around my kidney) to my upper right quadrant in my abdomen. They did blood work and there were some small abnormalities, but nothing too drastic and they also did a CT scan which showed no failure or swelling to my kidney at this time which is good news. The bad news is that they are unaware of what is cashing the swelling and severe pain around my kidney. They are stumped and of course I'm frustrated bc I want to know what is going on and how to fix it. They are wanting to do a couple days of antibiotics to see if that inadvertently helps with the pain bc there is a slight chance that the UTI is causing the swelling. Not likely bc the UTI isn't that severe, but weirder things have happened. So, all that said, I'm getting 4mg Morphine every 2 hours and Phenergan and IV antibiotics every 6. I'm typically very sensitive to pain meds, but the morphine is not touching my pain. It is very severe and very bizarre. The doctor, whom I've actually not seen today, refused to change my pain meds until he can speak to me tomorrow so while I'm getting some managemwnt of my pain I am disappointed that they aren't trying a little harder to control it. If it weren't for the phenergan, which knocks me out cold for about 3 hours at a time, I'd probably be much more miserable. I am hoping to get more answers soon, but I am at least at a facility where I'm being somewhat taken care of. Thanks again for all of your prayers and for checking in. Rachael

GRRRR!!!!! Here I am, all ready to go to the hospital for my op tomorrow when I get a call to say it has been cancelled !!!!!!!!!! I’m having the op on the NHS here in the UK. There is a shortage of beds and my surgeon’s list has been cancelled for tomorrow as the op is non urgent. All I can do now is wait to get another appointment, not sure how long that will be. The hospital are saying a couple of weeks, the appointments centre say it could be the New Year. Hopefully I’ll still become a December sleeve sister to you all. Keep your fingers crossed for me. Best wishes A very fed up Angela ( UK member ) xx

thanks Suzanne ... means a lot to me... this is not BS... if I was cheating or making bad food choices A LOT I would not be making this sort of noise... I would simply own up and get on with it... but like I said, I am doing as I should but without the rewards of that movement on the scale... I think a phone call would be a good idea!