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louisem

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louisem last won the day on December 21 2009

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About louisem

  • Birthday 11/24/1976

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    vancouver BC

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  1. Hi, The link in another response is the right one for the fill center in Marysville. The gals who run it are a couple of nurses rather than Drs. They were really nice, but my problem with tightness originated with a fill from them when Dr. Arseneau was off and then the cycle of too tight/not tight enough commenced I have heard good things about them from others though. The Taxi drops you off at the border and you have to wait with the rest of the group who are walking across the border. There is no quicker way to do it but the border officials are extremely efficient. I've waited in the line when it was extremely backed up (all the way past all the shops) and it took less than an hour. Waiting in a van would have been much worse. If you've tried to cross at the Peace Arch recently you know that border line-ups are just a fact of life. The other border crossing is quicker but there isn't a trolley close to it so in the end it isn't worth the small savings in time FYI the hotel in Chula vista can be as little as $35 a night (I think the hotel is the Good Night Inn but check expedia for the best rate), and you can get there from the airport by bus and then trolley. A day pass for the whole transit area of SD is only $5 so well worth it. If you can afford the time, it in my opinion it is well worth the trip back to the OCC. Louise
  2. Sorry, no I don't know of anyone in Vancouver who uses fluoro. The closest is in Mariesville in WA. I was seeing Dr. Arseneau at St. Paul's for my fills but blind fills didn't work for me. I ended up in a pattern of being too fill then not full enough and ended up almost slipping my band last spring. I finally flew down to San Diego to go to the OCC. If you look into Allegiant you can get really good deals from Bellingham and then stay in a hotel in Chula Vista (between san Diego and the border) where you can take the trolley right to the border and then a $5 cab to OCC. Total cost of hotel, airfare and the fill can be under $300 if you plan it right so I would look into it if I were you. My fill experience at the OCC was so much better even though I thought Dr. Arseneau was fantastic.
  3. Hi all I haven't been around in ages, it's been crazy as I've moved 2700 miles from Vancouver CA to Columbus OH to start grad school. I really need a fill under fluoro and the closest Fill Center USA is in Cincinnati 2 hours away. Does anyone know of a really good fill Dr. in or around Columbus? Or do you have any experience with the fill center in Cincinnati. I've had some bad fills in the past and I don't want to repeat that mistake, but as a grad student I'm trying to avoid the cost of flying to the OCC. Thanks in advance for your help. cheers Louise
  4. I'm right there with you. I keep on getting too tight, then having a large unfil to let any inflammation calm down, then slowly getting fills until I get too tight again. Soooo, I booked a fill at the OCC under flouro so I can see and feel what good restriction feels like. I've been getting them done blind and my Dr. is great but I keep on asking for more and getting into trouble. I don't think I really know what "good restriction" feels like even after more than a year. My band is really finicky, especially with stress or travel so I think I am going to go for restriction slightly less than what I might want to give me some wiggle room. Good luck Louise
  5. Hey Sabrina I think your scale is lying to you But seriously, this happens to me when ever I go on vacation, and did over Xmas as well when I was pretty much unfilled. My scale said I had gained almost 10 lbs, but within a week I was down 5 and my clothes didn't fit any differently. I think that a lot of it is due to salt and water weight because I tend to eat a LOT more salt when I am not preparing my own food. Another thing, my scale hasn't moved in a couple of weeks even though I have been working out like made. At the same time my clothes are fitting looser though. I think it is the classic problem where you start working out and gaining muscle. If you were really active on vacation and eating a good amount of protein it's possible that some of the weight is muscle which is a great thing. Take care Louise
  6. One thing to remember with your fill level is that the band can be very sensitive to stress and other environmental factors and everyone reacts differently to the band. If you are like me and prone to inflammation this can mean that a fill level that is perfectly fine for weeks becomes painful over night. I think I am a bit of an extreme case though because I have a prior history if IBS and other inflammatory problems. One thing that everyone seems to agree on is that you get more accurate results from fills under fluoroscope but that still isn't a guarantee since so many things can irritate your band. I have yet to have a fill under fluoro but I have an amazing fill local fill Dr. which has made frequent fills/unfills easier to deal with. I think with the band, what you always have to remember is that everyone is different and you need to do what works best for you to stay healthy. Using other peoples experiences as a guideline is great but you have to realize that your experience may be completely different. Thank goodness for these boards though to help us sort through everything. Louise
  7. I got both the original and new version of the EA Sports Active and it is amazing. Total body workout that is relatively fun. You don't need the balance board with it (though you can use it). I've been using it for a week and going to the gym to work on the elliptical and I can already see the difference in my legs I HIGHLY recommend to anyone ever above WiiFitPlus. The only thing is you might want a better resistance band eventually but they are cheap and easy to find. Louise
  8. Hi all EXCITING news this week. I got a call with a verbal acceptance in the Psychology PhD program at Ohio State!!!!! It's not official until I get the offer in writing but OMG I can't believe it! They have an amazing experimental psych program that is really highly ranked and I just can't even imagine what a great opportunity it will be. I NEVER would have been able to do the amount of work I have done in the last 6 months at 290lbs and I never would have had the confidence to apply to top schools. I am so glad I didn't wait any longer to get my band. Anyhoo, now that I have stopped crying I am thinking of logistics. Are there any bandsters in or around Columbus Ohio who have a good fill Dr? I am planning on working my butt off (literally) to get to goal before leaving so hopefully fills won't be necessary, but I want to make sure I have all my bases covered in case of emergencies. Also, I was looking at the medical insurance through the University and was surprised that emergency care is not covered 100%. It doesn't look too bad(actually quite good for most basic medical care especially through student medical services), but after having 100% coverage all of my life in Canada it is a little disconcerting. Can anyone tell me if supplemental insurance is easily available/affordable when you already have a relatively decent plan? I'm going to check through the University and I am probably just being overly cautious but the system is so different I want to make sure I understand everything. Thanks Louise
  9. I feel you pain, this time last year I was 1 week post op. I got lucky though and we ended up with over a foot of snow so my Xmas dinner plans at my mom's got cancelled and I stayed home with no temptation instead of driving for an hour and a half and having to avoid food. but then between Xmas and New Year I did a ton of baking to give to my family. You'll make it, just take it one step at a time. Remember to put all the used baking bowls and utensils directly into soapy water to avoid those little tastes. All the effort and difficulty is totally worth it though. I think that Xmas time is perfect for surgery for a lot of people because they have extra time off to heal properly. Besides you certainly won't be gaining any weight this Xmas Take care Louise
  10. Hi Sabrina I hope you are feeling better, but in case you aren't I thought I would let you know that Dr. Areseneau is in his office is working right through Xmas if you need an emergency unfill. Louise
  11. LOL love the irony of talking about horoscopes in a topic concerning pseudoscience :)i don't know about the capricorn dominant or anything, I always thought I was more scorpio than anything else (PS I hope my prof doesn't read this and retroactively fail me lol) Thanks so much, for all your kind words. The picture is ancient but since I hate getting my picture taken it will have to do for now
  12. Hi all I just finished a Critical Thinking in Psychology course aka Pseudoscience and one of the requirements was a small paper on any common pseudoscience topic. I chose weight loss with an emphasis on nutritional programs (eg WW, Atkins, etc.). The information I found totally validated my decision for lapband surgery (as I knew it would). Here is a brief synopsis of what I found. -most nutritional info available is not based on science including the food pyramid which is actually less healthy than the WW meal plan (shocking) -WW is the only "diet" with any marginal long term success - but even then it only has a 5% success rate for weight loss maintenance. -weight loss meds currently available (in Canada) are limited, have only marginal success (about 3% increase in total loss), and can have nasty and sometimes dangerous side effects -low fat, low carb, high protein.....It doesn't matter as far as weight loss, it is ALL about calories in vs calories expended. There is NO scientific evidence that ANY composition is better for losing weight. What all the programs have in common is the restricted diet also tends to restrict total calories. -Recommended amounts of physical activity have little scientific basis, partly because individual requirements are based on so many variables (health and fitness levels, weight, age, diet, etc. etc.). Again it comes down to calories in vs calories expended. -Extremely low calorie diets (around 500 calories eg Dr Bernstein's)do mean that you lose weight faster initially, but weight maintenance is even poorer than normal and if you look at different plans after 12 months they are all about equal (ie everybody gains it back) -The only weight loss intervention that has any proven success rate is surgery. If anyone is interested I can send you a copy if you want more details just send me your email address cause I don't know how to attach docs here. I also have all my original sources in PDF format for the really geeky. Cheers Louise
  13. Hi Sabrina I'm so glad that all is well, I hope you enjoyed your trip. Dr. So is right based on the research I did before surgery and since, Lapband patients tend to lose between 50-60% of the weight in the first year and then the average is around 80% by end of year two. The overall success of lapband vs. bypass is the same, the key difference is that most bypass patients lose the 80% in the first year (but we all know how unhealthy that is. You should be VERY proud of your success Do you find that you are motivated to work out more now that you are closer to goal. I am really motivated at the moment, unfortunately my schedule won't allow it until after Xmas (still putting 70-80 hours a week finishing up my degree). I can't wait to get back into it now that I really feel great. BTW I never completely stopped drinking with meals, but that has been mostly due to being TOO tight and drinking was the only way I could get anything down at times. I drink WAY slower than I did before banding, I used to drink an extra large from Timmies without it getting cool, now a large gets cold way before it's finished. I never believed my mom friends when they said they were used to drinking cold coffee but now I can totally relate. Louise
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