Well, I had my first day with the clinic today. It was a little nerve-racking, so my Blood Pressure was a little high when they took it...lol It was a clean, calm, and comfotable environment and met a couple of great people there... Julie from Cupar, who is being assessed the same time as me, and Dave, who's in his 4th month in the program and down 50 lbs! Deciding to have Bariatric Surgery is probably the scariest and best decision I've ever made in my life. I decided I had too much to lose and too many people depend on me. If you're a lurker, just reading posts, that's kewl. If you've posted before, I recommend you do it again. Let's start up a dialogue and see what happens when we work together and support each other. Thanks for reading my little rant...lol Joel

My name is Joel Sopp and this will be my first time being interviewed on the radio about Obesity and The Saskatchewan Bariatrics Surgery Support Group (SBSSG). Please listen this morning and leave your feedback here. Go to www.sbssg.ca to listen at (GMT -06:00) Saskatchewan. Tune In and Listen Up! Joel Sopp - President of the Saskatchewan Bariatrics Surgery Support Group (SBSSG) will be interviewed live, Tuesday, June 10th, 2008 for a full 30 minutes from 11:00 AM - 11:30 AM on 91.3 FM's - Listen Up! Listen Up provides an "Ear to the Community", where special guests inform and educate our listeners about activities and events taking place in the Regina area. It also affords the opportunity for community-based organizations to profile the good work they do and to promote their upcoming special events. Tune in every Tuesday at 11am for news and views about your community. Joel will be speaking about Obesity and the Saskatchewan Bariatric Surgery Support Group, Inc. Please support us by listening to the radio show from 11:00 AM until 11:30 AM, on 91.3 FM, and e-mail us with your feedback at [email protected] Thank You for helping us become a better Support Group. Joel Sopp President Saskatchewan Bariatrics Surgery Support Group (SBSSG)

Hey Dion, I know exactly what you are gogin through! on October 25, 2006 I weighed 525lbs and my height was 6'0" so that means a BMI of 69 !!!!!!!!!! and i was only 23 years old, I am now 400lbs so that is a bmi of 55 !!!!!!!!! I did exactly what you are doing right now wondering wondering if it was too late to help or if there was any magical drug to take or anything, but it had to start with my mind, my way of thinking about food, and more inportantly the way i thnk about myself! We can not use food to comfort us when we are sad or eat becasue we are bored, it would be like a meth addict saying it was ok to do it when they are sad or board, we have to admit to our selves that we have a problem adn that we have an addiction, thaty in my mind is more dangerous than any narcotic, simply because we are not going to jail for getting our fix, we just get looks and head shakes. My first step was to admit to my self that "YES I HAVE A PROBLEM", the next step was to start getting out more, even if it is just to go for a short walk, next is diet, not a fad diet or drastically cutting out all foods, it was simple things like (for me this was a good thing) buying watermellon instead of chips, not drinking soda, it is true i still drink soda like coke 0 or pepsi max, and before everyone says thats no better, i would rather have some aspertaime than straight sugar, don;t look at it like it is the only drink, look at it as a treat. Dion if ever wanna chat hit me back on here i will talk if u need man good luck

Hi Margaret, Thanks for the site. There is a woman local to myself that had the procedure done in March with Dr. Corvala, however I have yet to have a chance to speak with her in regards to her experience. In my research I have found many positive and negative things in regards to different Doctors in Tijuana and really am having trouble deciding on who to have do the surgery. I will contact Shirley and see how I make out. Once again thanks for the info.

I am considering travelling to Tiujana for a lap band and have been doing some research but would like to talk to anyone that has had this procedure done. I want to know which Doctor you choose and how your experience went.