Cujo

Bumping an old thread. Its an oldie but a goodie. Nicole and my medical claim was just audited by canada revenue agency. As noted above, everything was accepted except the airfare and hotel (other than the parts buried in the OCC invoice.shhhh...don't tell) Remember to claim for the fills, the ZOOM whitening and plastic surgeon consult as well. All were accepted by CRA. Cheers, Cujo

Dr Ortiz is fantastic and travelling to TJ is safe. Feel better?

That is amazing...Drake Saskatchewan has 911 service! lol I know that feeling and can only assure you it will go away. If you do end up in Emergency, they will likely remove the band completely as there is limited knowledge on what to do with it. i've been pbing more with my fill in March. I've got to watch the chewing and avoid starchy foods, bread, rice and today we will test if I can each mashed potatoes. Cujo

Hi Ronnie, a hiatel repair is pretty common procedure while getting the band. Getting rid of the reflux and being able to sleep through the night has been the best part of my surgery. I don't know if the repair is a Nissen's Fundoplication so it would be worth having a conversation with the OCC before you sign up.

Shiny, everyone has their own comfort level about travel and safety. Like anywhere there are 'bad' areas in every city. I think we've had 10 murders in my city this year and they were all drug related. There are areas I would not venture alone in. Same with TJ. My experience: Get picked up at the airport in the OCC. Its a six lane freeway to the border, then a six lane boulavard, high volume traffic travelling fast for a couple klicks, turn right enter a secure underground garage. The clinic itself is a fortress, all doors locked buzzers to get in and out etc. OCC Van to the hotel, again same major blvd to the hotel. Excellent location also security conscious. OCC Van to the airport. The only dodgy area is probably the blocks around the SD airport. Lots of homeless enjoying that warm weather. lol If you google Nuevo Laredo, you'll see its on the opposite end of the border over by larado texas, they have a completely different set of problems. There are pockets of trouble along the border but there are good areas too. There have been some good threads on this. someone posted a map of TJ with the trouble spots. check that out.

I take..a fist full. 3 BP's and 2 Chlorestals plus the biotin and vitamin. During the post op liquid phase I crushed the pills but once on solids, it was okay if I used very little water. I was told to talk to a Dr. or pharmasist before crushing or breaking the tablets as some drugs are designed for time release and tampering with the pill may cause the drug to be released in incorrect dosage. I hope I can reduce the med's once the weight comes down and everything is weight related.

I hope your gym isn't very busy. I would blow a gasket if someone was hogging a machine like that. When I was at the Y, there was a 30 minute limit. If that isn't enough, you would increase the resistance untl it was like you're going rockclimbing. 30 minutes is plenty . You can always change up the machine. Having said that, I have rotated back onto the eliptical, it is so much easier on the knees than the treadmill.

Hi Jnlebean, Did the Running Room send you a shopping list of items you NEED to start running. It was a good list but i'm not sure I'll be able to find a sports bra in my size. lol Good luck and keep us posted, I'll see you at the Support Our Troops Run in June. Cujo

I know they do the procedure. Someone got one removed when I was down for a fill because it had slipped and caused some damage. they took it out, she was to wait some time to heal then they would put one back in. Who was that Nicole? If you use the search function, there were a couple threads about removals over the last year or two. I would suggest you call the OCC for more information.

Nicole and I got back Saturday night from our quick trip down for a fill. Southbound travel into TJ was smooth and no problems. Northbound was quite backed up due to increased US border security. Luckily, Jesus drives like a maniac and we squeezed through the traffic. The line ups for walking over was empty for bus passengers but the regular lines stretched back quite a ways. I thought I was going to get the rubber glove treatment when the border guard sez's "what do you mean you were only there three hours..." but I got through without the prostate exam. Got back to the airport with time to spare. Great trip.

My understanding is that whole milk is 3.5% fat while 2% is 2%. My wife, Nicole uses either 1% or skim (which is basically white coloured water) and that works okay. Her best dish is bacon wrapped sausage, but thats not exactly low-fat. lol Also check out the recipe section on the forum, there are tons of them.

Exactly, when I heard about the other doctor charging for the hernia I thought it was like buying a car and finding out the tires are 'extra'

I even had an extra procedure thrown in. Dr Ortiz fixed a hiatel hernia while in there. I have heard of other Dr.'s charging an additional surgery fee for something like that. Not at the OCC. Pocket money for drinks and tips at the hotel, taxi's, popsicles an so on. is about all you'll need.

Hi Lindsay, you're new on the site so I'll give you the readers digest version of the diet discussions. The obsession with Shakes and Lean Cuisines on this site is that it is part of the Dr. recommended Pre-op diet. It is not meant as a permanent eating choice. They want us in ketosis to help shrink the liver. Once you're banded you eat a third of the food you normally would and if you can only eat a third, it better be good quality nutrition. The limitation of carbs is not an 'anti-carb' thing but the fact that many types of carbs can not be eaten by a banded person. Personally, I can not eat rice, it just sits in my band like a plugged toilet. Welcome to the site. Cujo

I don't think I was 'out' for the IV but they do give an anti-anxiety tablet before so anything scary after that, like the paper underwear, was a breeze.

Hi CdnBandster; 99% of us stayed at the Lucerna and loved it. I think you're on your own trying to find a different place. LOL

Nicole and I are going for our fills on March 14th. It will be a quick trip about 20 hours door to door. Lets see 1 day, 4 flights, four border crossings plus crazy March weather in Alberta and Colorado - plus six kids home alone, what could possbily go wrong.

There must be some spam program out there that finds a key word and drops a message on a random forum. no alcohol for a bandster is not about alcohol abuse it about band issues. I'll better finish my third scotch and get to work, its almost 9:00am Cujo

I got a folder full of information on diet, call numbers etc. I have no idea where I put it, but I did get one.

I think Dr Miranda uses the lean body mass approach to goal weight. Big people have larger lean body mass (the weight of bones and muscle without the fat) our bones are denser etc therefore if you calculate your lbm and add the ideal fat % you end up with a higher value. Based on the bmi scale alone, my target weight should be 185lbs, based on lbm, my target is 200lbs

Let me guess: Air Canada? They have the terrible customer service. I don't know your body shape but if you only need to lose 135lbs, you should be fine in an airline seat. Maybe a belt extension but you shouldn't need an extra seat. I was 300lbs and never needed an extension and Nicole was 250+ . Now the look on the guy's face that got the middle seat between us... Priceless!

I don't remember where I got this from but I thought Dr O preferred the Inmend band over the Realize band due to how the port attached to the surface, also Realize has a wide but flat port, therefore a biggers target area for the needle but its thin so the needle may pierce the other side. Or was that the otherway around? I think this is a Coke vs Pepsi comparison. Its the same stuff but people still have preferences

I would suggest travelling as light as you can. You will have a long trip back and lugging one more bag will be a chore. The clinic and Lucerna have computers available to check emails etc and probably would any hotels in SD. Take a break and don't try to do any work, you need to recover.

When the passport requirement kicked in for Canadians flying to the states, our passport office was insanely backed-up. The same thing will happen down there. Get yours now before the rush.

The form is AHC 934, google it and it should pop up. The money trail for Albertans: 1 file AHC 934 and get some reimbursement from the government 2 file with your insurance, mostly likely will get rejected but some are successful (or don't if you know for sure) 3 If your employer has a Private Health Spending Account, you can file under that plan as usually anything considered medical expenses for tax purposes can be covered by the PHSA 4 file with your income tax, anything over the 3% of income threshold will generate a tax credit If you are self employed, look at creating your own PHSA, the savings from having your business pay for the procedure may be worth the expense of creating your own plan. You need to review the math though, as it may not. ps It might be 'cold for mexico' but its not minus 40 cold.