Date: Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Time: 6:30 – 8:30 pm
Location: 3rd floor – 555 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver

In Attendance:
Rhonda Winter (Registered Nurse, Lap-Band Coordinator)
Dr. Katherine Hsu (Bariatric Surgeon)
Dr. Corey Ming (Bariatric Surgeon)
Vicky Bovee (Bariatric Nutritionist)

Here were some of the topics that were covered:

• Lap Band fills and the optimum amount for healthy weight loss. What it feels like if your Lap Band is too full, or not full enough.
• Suggestions for future speakers: A cosmetic surgeon to speak on tummy tucks and body contouring. Chef Dave, the famous bariatric chef!
• Dealing with negativity and jealousy brought on by weight loss. How people react, when suddenly they are not the thin one in the group.
• Learning how to eat in moderation, and learning how to feel content.
• Lap Band diet, what can you eat, what can you not eat?
• The psychological question: Are you hungry mentally or physically?

In Attendance:
Rhonda Winter (Registered Nurse, Lap-Band Coordinator)
Dr. Katherine Hsu (Bariatric Surgeon)
Dr. Corey Ming (Bariatric Surgeon)
Vicky Bovee (Bariatric Nutritionist)

Our Lap-Band Support group will occur on a monthly basis, with occasional sessions being open to the public. Please use our contact form if you would like to attend an open Support Group session at False Creek Healthcare Centre.

We will be holding our very first Patient Support Group on Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011. The first meeting is for patients of False Creek Healthcare Centre. The Support Group will be made available for guests and those thinking about having Lap-Band or Gastric Band surgery at a future date.

The meeting will be hosted by Rhonda Winter, who is a registered nurse and Lap-Band specialist. Vicki Bovee, our Bariatric Nutritionist, and Dr. Prisman will also be in attendance.

Our patients are invited to share their Lap-Band experience and to lend their support to other Lap-Band patients.

Allergan, the manufacturer of the LAP-BAND® System, will also be present to showcase LAP-BAND Connect, a new Patient Support Website designed to help Lap-Band patients in Canada reach their health and weight loss goals. LAP-BAND Connect features unique content and a special section dedicated to patients from the False Creek Lap-Band Clinic!

Date: March 23, 2011
Location: False Creek Healthcare Centre
3rd floor – 555 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver
6:30-8:30 PM

A second study, published in Economics and Human Biology, showed that losing or gaining weight has a direct relationship with losing or gaining wealth. The study found that lowering a person’s body mass index (BMI) by 5.8 points corresponded with an increase in wealth of over four thousand dollars. Wealth increased by over twelve thousand dollars when a large weight change occurred (a BMI reduction of 10 points or more).

While there is no guarantee that weight loss through treatment strategies such as weight-loss surgery will lead to the kind of increased income seen in this study, it is reasonable to assume that patients would experience lower medical costs and far fewer weight-related financial strains.

Beyond Dollars and Cents

Excess weight has more than just a financial impact; it also affects a person’s quality of life. Simple daily tasks, such as walking up a flight of stairs, can become trials for people who are severely overweight. Many obese people may even find it difficult to sit in standard furniture and airplane or movie theatre seats. Obesity affects lung capacity, which can cause a person to have trouble sleeping, which may affect performance at work, making day-to-day financial strains even worse.

It isn’t surprising then that depression and obesity are commonly linked. Due to daily difficulties and physical limitations, obese people often become a target for discrimination, resulting in a preoccupation with their negative body image that can lead to depression. Studies have found a person’s risk of experiencing depression rise as their body mass index entered the obese range.

Despite all these challenges, there is hope that people who are obese can achieve normal, healthy weight. Often described as a multi-layered disease, obesity requires multi-layered treatment plan, but it is possible to change a long-standing weight problem for the better.

Body Mass Index

Experts who study obesity-related issues often use a person’s body mass index score as a measure of the degree of obesity. The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute divides BMI scores into the following categories:

BMI Calculator

A study of how people perceived their own weight and the reality of their BMI scores showed that the gap can be quite substantial. In the study, 53 percent of men and 39 percent of women were overweight or obese, yet over 56 percent of men and 53 percent of women in the study described themselves as having an appropriate weight.

Your BMI score is extremely useful and can give you a sense of how severe a weight problem you may have. Calculating your BMI score is very important because it’s an objective assessment of the severity of the problem. Using the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute’s BMI categories, you can tell exactly where you fit, even if it’s something you may not like to hear.

Whether you are obese or just overweight, your doctor can help you decide on an overall weight-loss strategy. If you’ve had no luck keeping weight off through diets, exercise or commercial weight-loss plans, you may reach your goal of sustained weight-loss through surgery, which is the most effective treatment for people who are severely or morbidly obese.

Choosing not to act isn’t a luxury you can afford. Obesity can cause a major financial burden, lower your quality of life, and cause depression. You owe it to yourself to seek a healthier weight and a healthier, richer lifestyle.

Hi Rhonda,

I received your email requesting updated info about my progress. I had the surgery on April 14th with a weight of 278 lbs (?) and today I weigh 249 lbs. This weight was taken at the Curves center where I’ve been working out at for the past 9 years. I no longer have type II diabetes and am no longer on high blood pressure medications – I think it was a total of 5 pills that I no longer have to take. My energy level is way up and flexibility, too. I am waiting for surgery to replace both my knees and I walk with a bad limp, but even my friends have noticed I’m walking a lot better – not so heavily. I have just fitted into pants that have gone down 3 sizes and have been donating all my oversized clothes to charity.

I am attaching a before and after picture that I just recently sent to family and friends. The first photo was taken about 30 days before surgery and I weighed 283 lbs (before the liver cleanse drink two weeks prior to surgery). I am very pleased with my results to date and look forward to more weight loss and I am so happy to not be on the medications – a healthier lifestyle!

I must say that the doctors and surgical staff were all attentive to me while at the clinic and I feel secure in knowing that if I have a question or problem I can call the clinic and have answers/solutions given to me.

Thanks for everything.
Tracy W.

Glenn Ferguson has shed 119 pounds in the past 12 months, thanks to a medical procedure he says should be covered by Manitoba Health.

“It saved my life,” the Winnipeg letter carrier said Thursday, referring to Lap-Band weight loss stomach surgery, a procedure that can be done right here in the city.

“I was destined to die of a heart attack. My mom died at 62, my dad died at 43. I’m now 44.”
Ferguson had the minimally invasive procedure done at Maples Surgical Centre, a private health facility. It cost him close to $18,000 for the surgery and follow-up care. Manitoba Health won’t pay for the surgery, but will pay to send patients outside the province for gastric bypass surgery — an invasive operation to staple the stomach. Waiting times can take years.

The full article is available at Winnipeg Free Press.
Learn more about the Maples Surgical Centre.

Hope everyone is having a great summer!!

Rhonda

Once underway, we will invite everyone to join us for sure!!  Our team is committed to the success of gastric banding and wishes for everyone to succeed!!

Will keep you posted.  Hope everyone is having a good summer!!

Rhonda

Dr. Sharma is our Canadian expert on obesity and management of obesity.  Here is the link to an article of his from June 16th, 2010 :

http://www.drsharma.ca/obesity-compounds-pain-in-fibromyalgia.html

Rhonda

Rhonda