louisem

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

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.

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

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

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

Thanks so much Elain!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I've recently gone through a bout of excessive hair loss due to lack of protein. I was REALLY tight over the summer and wasn't getting anywhere near enough protein. I did some searching on line and the best explanation I could find is that when the body doesn't get enough fuel more follicles than normal go into dormancy and the hair begins to fall out. Then when things normalize and the hair begins to grow again the new growth can essentially push out the hair that was dormant, making the problem worse before it gets better. What that also means is that when you see excessive hair loss it is generally due to problems you had up to 3 months in the past. So really the best thing you can do is prevent the problem by getting enough protein (and to some extent fat) to begin with. Thankfully, even though my pony-tail is now at least a third smaller than it was I had a LOT to begin with so now I have a normal head of hair and it has slowed since I've gotten my fill level fixed. I'm pretty sure the amount of hair you lose is also proportional to the amount you had to begin with, which explains my frequent need to use liquid plumber to unclog my shower drain Louise

Hi ladies thanks for responding. I got another .5 taken out yesterday so now I should be at 1.7. My highest fill I was at 3.0 but I have been going back and forth with being too tight since then. I decided to get a big unfil to let things settle down. It was such a relief to eat something other than soup yesterday Thankfully my Dr is around all through Xmas and we have tentative plans to get frequent small fills if things settle down in the next week. I have a predisposition to inflammatory problems and the super sensitivity to stress seems to be related to that. Louise

Hi all I haven't been on the board much of late, my life has been really crazy with school and applying to grad schools but I wanted to check in and get some feedback on what it feels like for you when you are at your "sweet spot"? I have been going back and forth from too tight to too loose. Tomorrow I am going back for yet another unfill because my band has tightened and I have too much work to do to feel like crap most of the day. Right now it takes me hours (4 or more) to get down a bowl of soup or even a cup of tea, though in the evening it's a bit better. I did have a period where I felt great, no discomfort eating, just really good restriction. Unfortunately it seems my band is REALLY reactive to my stress level, and I am currently putting in 80+ hours a week with really crucial deadlines, things are a bit crazy. Thankfully the end is in sight and my work load will return to normal after Xmas (hurrah). The good news is I have lost over 60lbs and there is NO way I could be maintaining this schedule at my pre-op weight. I just wouldn't have had the energy. Also, it's almost a year since my surgery and I have yet to PB or vomit in any way, so I am something of an anomaly in that respect. So I guess my question is, what does it feel like for you when you are at your sweet spot, what are your typical meals etc. when you have good restriction but aren't too tight. BTW I have seen the chart/guideline that Dr Ortiz has but I'd really like to hear some personal experiences. cheers Louise

I haven't talked to Dr. Arseneau yet, but I am going to check with him. I'm not gaining anymore and have actually lost a little bit so I think I am going to be really conservative with the fill. I don't want to feel that crappy again anytime soon

Sabrina, I think we are leading parallel lives:) I had to go for two unfills mid August and have since put on 9 pounds. I have a fill appointment scheduled for next Friday though. Unlike you though I have been making really bad food choices while I have been studying for the graduate record examination which is the preferred method of torture for people who are trying to get accepted in a Masters or PhD program. But considering how horrible I felt before my unfill I am just so glad not to feel that way anymore. In case anyone is wondering, slurpies and smokies from 7/11, while they make great study food, are not scale friendly choices even if you don't eat the bread and the rest of your choices through the day are good:) I have since moved on to popcorn and diet sprite to keep me awake when plugging through boring material. How much fill did you get put back? I think I am down to right around 1.8 cc's but don't really remember with all the recent adjustments. I am trying to decide if I should go for .2ccs to be safe or a little more. Hope all continues to be well. Louise

Smiley you would have soooo much fun at lulu lemon, but I know they have shops all over now. If you do ever come to Vancouver be sure to tell us bandsters so that we can meet up (and go shopping of course Louise

So funny Sabrina....It is a big deal, especially going to school like I do with people so much younger than me, it is a sea of lulu lemon in every class. What is even more satisfying is I never was able to wear the clothes my friends could in high school so it means even more now that I can do it, even in such a small way. lulu ROCKS Louise

Hey all Just thought I would share a recent non scale victory of mine. I am now up to 54 pounds lost and have gone from a 24 to an 18 (and they are loose). So last weekend when I was out with a friend we stopped in at lululemon to browse. For any of you that don't know they are a hip retailer for yoga/workout gear. Now I have looked around in there before and the only thing I could buy were accessories but my friend convinced me to try stuff on cause the fit large. Well, the size 14 pants fit like a dream, and surprisingly the size 12 crops did too. I had to decide and ended up with crop pants and two tank tops It used to be a huge annoyance that I couldn't shop there because it is really popular (i live in the city where the store started), and everyone I know wears clothes from there. It was my first time shopping in "normal" sizes (aka not plus size) in about 15 years. As my friend put it, I have been lululemon deflowered, and it didn't hurt a bit (but it will when the visa bill comes). Cheers Louise

Hi Chloe I was banded in December, and my biggest concerns were the psychological aspects of the surgery. Lets face it, you don't get to be morbidly obese without having issues with food that are both physical and psychological. Since I am just finishing up my degree in psychology I read many academic journals on the subject and overwhelmingly the results were positive for both medical and psychological improvements. In fact from what I read the results for psychological improvement were even more significant than the physical improvement. I'd be happy to email you a couple of articles if you send me your email address. From my perspective (as a 4th year honors student, not in anyway licensed or an expert in anything) the band works in 2 ways from a behavioral perspective. The first and most obvious is to restrict your eating. you just can't eat what you did and therefore you can't use food in the same way that you did. The second way that it works is by providing "reinforcement" against bad behavior. Quite simply it doesn't feel good to eat large quantities, poor choices etc. After many "trials" you body becomes "conditioned" to not want the larger quantities of food. This isn't over night, but you do find your attitude towards food completely changing. Before when I saw a big plate of my favorite food it looked great, now large portions turn me off food. I used to crave the feeling of being full, when I wasn't full I mistook it for hunger. Now I am most comfortable when not full or hungry and try not go to either extreme. I used to be anxious at the mere idea of being hungry. Now I rarely feel hungry and when I do it is a non issue for me because I know that a bit or two will resolve it. Along the way you have to deal with the anxieties you might have previously managed with food (or other things that caused the binging/coping behavior) and it isn't easy. Anyone who says it is is either lying or doesn't remember how hard it is. It does get easier along the way. It's a learning process, and the band is just a tool to help you learn to deal with food in a positive way, rather than the self destructive relationship we all have with food. Good luck if you decide to go ahead with the surgery Louise

So before being banded I had border line blood pressure and elevated triglycerides (type of cholesterol). I went for a check up last week and had things checked out and my blood pressure is perfect 120/80 (from 135/85) and my triglycerides are normal. So now the only symptom I have for metabolic syndrome (which generally leads to things like diabetes) is my weight, but even then I am just regular obese instead of the dreaded morbidly obese. On the down side I am deficient in folic acid, but no common efficiencies like B12 or iron. For all I know I may have been deficient before surgery (yup my diet was that bad). All things considered my family Dr and I are pretty darn impressed! Now I just need to conquer my exercise aversion and I will be set! Louise