louisem

Hi Tracy, do you mean you are going to NWFM in Washington? I'm going this Thursday but just for a day trip. It's only 90 minutes from my place so I won't bother staying overnight. Plus I need to get my fill this week as I will be starting a new semester next week and actually UVic on May 14th for a conference. You might want to consider Dr. Arseneau out of St Paul's. I really like him and he only charges $150 for the fill. He's also had a band himself and works out of an eating disorders clinic so is very knowledgeable though he doesn't do the surgery himself. Anyway thanks for the offer. Louise

Babe, thanks for the response. I have been to see Dr Arseneau for a couple of fills so far and he is great. He's out of town until May 15th when I will be out of town until pretty much the end of May so I need to find an alternative. I am planning on heading down to NWFM on Thursday for my 3rd fill but thought I would check out other options just in case. Sabrina, I will be heading south on Thursday and will be shopping a bit while I am there. If you can tell me where to go to pick them up I'll see what I can do. Also how long does it take to get there from here? Louise

Hi all Has anyone been to see Dr Manchanda for fills. I got his name as he is being "referred" by the OCC as a resource in Surrey. They have his name just as someone who can do it but don't have any details on his training etc. So I called the office to find out and his staff was very ill informed. I asked them about fills and they didn't really understand but after a couple of times asking they were able to tell me the price. I asked them what training or experience he has and they put me on hold only to come back to tell me he has is an MD. I asked for specifics and they said that I should try another Dr? I pushed and asked if they could check with him and call me back but so far I haven't heard anything. Dr. Manchanda is listed on line and I sent him an email which I haven't received a response to as of yet. Anyway my impression so far is that there is no way in Hell that I am going to let anyone in that office touch my band. Especially since I have a good fill Dr who is on vacation and I can go down to Nortwest Fill in the mean time. I thought I would check if anyone has any first hand knowledge though. thanks Louise

Thanks for the responses. I really want to go, but after adding up all the expenses for hotels and transport the savings I found on a cheap flight are eaten up ( I have to decide if it is worth the time too. Ah to have unlimited to resources and time to do whatever I want! Thankfully Northwest Fill centre isn't too far and they now have fluoro so I might have to change my plans.

Does anyone know of a cheap hotel close to the Airport in San Diego? I am thinking of heading down to the OCC for a fill. My fill Dr locally is away till May 15th and I need a fill. I've had 2 fills for a total of 2.5cc in a 4cc band but still don't have restriction and each fill has only lasted a week or to so I figure it is probably worth the trip to ensure everything is OK and get a really agressive fill. Anyway I thought I might stay in San Diego for a day or two but I am not sure where the best location might be and how easy it is to get around without a car. Any suggestions? Louise

It was iritis. As I said, aside from this I feel great. I'm looking forward to my first fill on Friday and felt good enough to have it 2 weeks ago but I wanted to wait the full 6 weeks. The steroid drops I was given are working wonders as we speak, my eye is so much better already. I'm going to ask more questions when I see the doctor again next week. I did a bunch of research and found there is a strong link to same gene that makes people predisposed to Chrones, which I thankfully don't have, but there is a history of in my family so I probably carry the gene. Anyway it's probably completely unrelated, or maybe any surgery or shock to the body can potentially trigger it if you are predisposed? If you do find anything out let me know. I thought it was worth a shot to see if anyone else had any auto-immune issues after surgery. Thanks for the response Louise

I was banded on Dec 15 and by all accounts have had a remarkably easy time with the surgery itself and post op. 3 weeks after my surgery I ended up with what appeared to be an eye infection similar to pinkeye. I went to the doctor for treatment immediately and for the past three weeks have gone back as the "infection" won't go away. Today I went to an opthamologist for a further consult and was finally diagnosed with inflamation in my eye (irisitis), not the tissue surrounding it (normal pinkeye). The Dr explained that it is an immune response similar to the inflamation experienced in Chrones disease, in fact the same gene makes people prone to both problems. It doesn't seem too serious, but it makes me think. Is this a latent immune response to a foreign body or completely unrelated? It's also possible that I did have an infection, but that caused the immune response and the current inflamation. The Dr thought it was interesting that I had had surgery so recently but there is no way to know if there is a connection. Anybody else have any weird health issues shortly after surgery? The good news is that aside from this annoyance, I am doing really great!

I've flown several times a year for the last 10 years at anywhere from a size 18 to 24. Luckily I have never needed a seatbelt extender or had anyone be rude to me. I generally fly with companies that allow you to select your seat on line and I always select an ailse seat and try to find something with no one sitting in the window and hope for the best. One thing I will say is that the flight home from Mexico was pretty uncomfortable because I was really swollen and not willing to ask for a seatbelt extension cause I had never needed one in the past. At least I lucked out and ended up in a seat on my own.

I can eat subway, but I waited at least two weeks on solids before I tried. I only decided to try when I realized that I could eat almost half as much as before and I thought it would be safe. I go for my first fill on Friday though and don't aticipate eating subway again any time soon.

i brought my laptop and it was out in the hotel room when the maids came in while I was out and still there when I returned. After surgery though I left a do not disturb sign on the door so no one else entered while I was out. I wasn't worried like I would have been at a resort in Mexico. I think the reason for that is that it is much smaller than any resort I have stayed at and the hotel has a lot invested in working ith Dr Ortiz so I don't think they would allow anything to make the guests complain. When you think if 8 surgeries a day times 3 nights in a hotel they likely have at least a couple dozen rooms booked by the clinic every day throughout the week. They don't want to loose that income. That said, be carefull of your stuff, don't leave valuables out in the open and you should be safe.

The amount of sleep that teenagers need is usually underestimated. In fact they generally need even more sleep than some younger age groups. This is due to the huge amount of brain development that occurs during the teen years (up to around 21). Most teens need at least 9-10 hours a night and most teens don't get it. I know that I didn't and especially in my senior year I was exhausted all of the time. Protein is a bit thing nutritionally, but it could also be hormonal. Particularly any thyroid issues can cause extreme fatigue. Also check how much caffeine you are consuming. This is a hard one as I can remember practically living on coke in highschool but it is the worst thing for you. Good luck with your Drs visit

www.bodybugg.com www.24hourfitness.com The first link is for the product, the second is for where I found it the cheapest for the newest version. I still haven't decided if I will get one or not. Cheers

They aren't currently waterproof so you can't wear it swimming and you should protect it if you are out in the rain. The websites I looked at said that their is a feature where you can input any activity you do when not wearing it and it estimates your calorie burn. FYI they are currently on sale at 24hourfitness.com for $249 including the digital display which is $100 usually but is essentially free with this deal.

Hi all I was watching Biggest Looser last night (for the first time) and they showed the Bodybugg briefly. I thought it looked cool so looked it up on line and it looks like a really neat tool. Has anyone ever tried it? If so what do you think of it? FYI if you haven't heard of it, it is a monitor that you wear on your arm that monitors your steps, pace, sweat and temp to accurately (92%) to calculate the number of calories you burn based on your gender, height and weight. You download the info from the device daily and then input what you eat and it tracks your calorie deficit. It has different tools that show you what deficit is required to achieve a weight loss goal (ie 500 calories per day for 1-2 lb loss/week). Thanks Louise

Hi there I had a friend who had some serious issues during her pregnancy due to her weight and she ended up not gaining any weight throughout her whole pregnancy due to a very restrictive diet required by her health problems. The key note here is that she had extensive consultations with her doctor and a nutritionist. Overall, she had a very healthy pregnancy followed by a very healthy baby. I think the key is to get to the doctors and get the help of a nutritionist as soon as possible to make sure you are doing what is best for both you and baby. I think that goes for anyone regardless of whether or not you have a lapband. Congratulations! Louise

I brought mine and had no problems connecting. you just need to get the password from someone at the desk (I think it was occlapband or something like that). I was on line quite a bit at the clinic because the anesthesia didn't seem to knock me out like others and I was the first one operated on. It was nice to be able to sit on the couch with my juice and surf the net on my own. The internet at the Lucerna isn't password protected and was easy to log on to so I was really happy I brought my laptop with me. It was especially handy since I decided to go back to the hotel the same day and traveled by myself so it was entertaining (when I wasn't asleep or walking). Cheers Louise

Hey Sabrina I was just wondering how much they charge at NWFC? I am getting a bit nervous about doing my first fill blind with the Dr at St Paul's so I am starting to think about going to Washington too. I think I did call these guys and it was $375 for a fill but I can't remember. Louise

Your mom should be fine with the food at the restaurant, I doubt you will need to order in from Dominos. There is also a starbucks across the street and they have what looked like really nice sandwiches (I went post op so couldn't taste for myself). One thing to note, if your mom comes with you to the clinic make sure she brings food with her. That was one of the big complaints for the companions who were at the clinic, there apparently isn't much close by and nothing to eat at the clinic. I am sure that the restaurant at the hotel will make you a boxed lunch if you request it.

I only lost 6 pounds of the 14 I was supposed to loose. To add to that I started my period the day of the surgery and so was retaining a lot of water. Dr Miranda wasn't impressed but my surgery went ahead as planned and by all accounts was really easy. Dr Miranda mentioned that it likely wouldn't be a problem because I carry my weight fairly evenly and not so much around my middle but I think everyone is different. She did say that the Dr might choose not to do the surgery but none of the Drs mentioned anything to me.

Congrats! I am in the same boat. I lost 6 pounds preop and now on day 8 I am down another 8! The soups aren't too bad, but thank goodness for lattes!

Hi Anne Glad you made it home OK The trip home was a "trip", flooding in TJ and a snowstorm in Vancouver. Today I am really hungry but I agree with others, the liquid yogurt is a godsend. I tried it yesterday and it was like a little peace of heaven . I am so looking forward to cream soups on Monday. I haven't been able to tolerate even the idea of broth since I got home so I have been living on gatorade, popsicles, coffee and juice (in that order). I did try jello and it felt good. I have the cups from the store and I let it "melt" in my mouth a bit before swallowing and it feels great. Dr Miranda didn't say anything about no Jello to me. Now the only real pain I have is if I sneeze, and since I have allergies and tend to sneeze in threes that can be an adventure!

I've heard of this happening in Canada but never by Dr Ortiz. Apparently it is sometimes easier for the doctor to complete as an open surgery. Lori would know what Dr Ortiz's history is. I think that any doctor who has to complete as an open surgery likely isn't as experienced as Dr Ortiz. I just had my surgery on Monday and everything went well. I was up and about almost immediately. Travelling home yesterday was a bit of a challenge, but mostly because of the weather (pooring rain in TJ and SanDiego and snow in Vancouver). Louise

The fact that it folds up is great. Mine did to and it took up very little room when not in use. A word of caution, don't use a treadmill with pets in the room. My cat kept on trying to check it out and I almost broke my neck trying to avoid her!

1. Name: Louise 2. Location: British Columbia 3. Age: 32 4. Band Date:12-15-08 5. Married: No 6. Children of the human or furry kind: 2 cats, Shadow and Jasper 7. Hobby(ies): reading, reading and more reading 8. Work: Student 9. What was the deciding factor(s) on getting banded: I was sick of low energy and realized it was a viable option for me with almost none of the risks of Gastric Bypass. My mom had a gastric bypass 20 years ago and it destroyed her health 10. Interesting factoid: In January I quit a great job for a great company to pursue a dream of going back to school. I'm hoping to get my PhD before I am 40

I had a treadmill for years but found that I much prefer elliptical machines than treadmills, they are much easier on the joints and a much better workout. One thing about investing in something that big is that you should really be sure that you are going to enjoy using for the long run, otherwise it will turn into a clothes hanging device. Here is another suggestion for Bailey, look into the Wii and Wii Fit. I bought it and it is really great. The Wii Fit includes Yoga, strength training, aerobic workouts and balance games and it does get your heart rate up and makes you sweat. I love mine and it is way cheaper and takes up way less room so it will fit much easier under the tree.