kero

Hi there, I am conflicted about my experiences with TLBC. On one hand, the surgeon is the best - no issue there and given the seriousness of the surgery, that reassurance is needed. On the other hand, I have found the follow-care to be quite poor given the $16K I spent. For instance, they switched the time of my surgery and forgot to tell me (I just happened to arrive early so I made it on time but they rushed me through and made me feel like I was inconveniencing them because I did not arrive at the earlier time - even though they acknowledged that they "forgot" to call me), they rushed me out like cattle, and no one called me after the surgery. I went 6 weeks with not even a phone call to make sure I was alive - I had better service when I had my thyroid removed and none one made any money off me that time! I have left messages for Kathy that she NEVER returned, I don't find Jill very helpful at all, and frankly, the only person who does respond promptly to me is Nancy. I admit that Nancy does not have excellent people skills, but I really feel this is a language barrier, not a personality issue. I communicate almost exclusively with Nancy via email and she responds very quickly, but one read of her emails and you can see very clearly that French is her first language and her communication skills in English are less than perfect. I think this is why she comes across as 'cold' to some. After some issues I was having, and a trip to the ER (where, as people say, they could do nothing for me but refer me back to the TLBC), I asked to see Dr. Yau again personally. I drove 3 hours to Toronto and got about 4 mins of Dr. Yau's time in which he shamed and humiliated me, suggested I must be lying about what I was eating and then promptly passed me back to Nancy. I just wanted him to listen to me. He gave the ER doctor who called him more time - perhaps because he was a doctor. I was humiliated and in tears. Nancy gave me a shoulder and a de-fill and I left. She continues to see me every few weeks - 11 months after my banding. I don't think their follow-up care is optimal and I hear better things about the other clinics, but my goal was to have the best surgeon and while his after-care skills seem poor, I still feel he is the best at the technical procedure. Being a registered MSW (social worker), I also feel that the TLBC does little to address the emotional issues related to over-eating and I do not feel that ANY of their staff are qualified to do this. I also questioned Jill's qualifications - she was a chef, they call her a nutritionist - I wanted to know if she is a "registered dietician" because there is a difference - they were not very receptive to the question. I think they need more psychological support and I feel they need more options for patients who can't take off work and just "drop by" any day of the week for a meeting, fill or consultation. Those are my thoughts. Good luck!

I feel your pain. I have been banded for 11 months and have only lost 50 lbs., all of which I lost in the first 6 months. Now I go up and down 5 lbs and have lost nothing in the past 5 months. It is very frustrated. I had my thyroid removed due to cancer so I take replacement hormones so I am told that can't be an issue. I feel I am doing the same as before, but am I really? I am not as active as I was in the first 6 months because I am getting back in the rut of being depressed about not losing and eating crap when I am depressed. I also have had issues with not being able to get the right restriction level - most seem to get there in 3-6 fills, I have had 12 or 13 fills and have to keep going in every few weeks to either be filled or de-filled. When I am overfilled I lose weight - but only because I can't eat anything solid (the pain is too much even when chewed to death), so then they de-fill me and I can eat solid food again, but then eat too much apparently. Then they fill me again and I get back to a liquid-only diet, I lose a bit, but get frustrated, want to eat solid food, and then they de-fill me because this plan is not suppose to encourage a liquid-only diet for the rest of one's life. Then there is the issue that I have severe TMJ which results in severe pain in my jaw muscles that throb all night long when I engage in serious chewing of solid foods - basically I seem to be (pardon my language) 'screwed' no matter what I do! It is very frustrating and I have really thrown in the towel the past month or so. But I am coming up on my one year anniversary and told myself this morning that I am not going to throw $16K out the window and have to try something to motivate myself to get over this hump...that is why I am here today.....I don't know if that helps or is just depressing...but I am hoping some encouragement finds me soon! lol Best wishes!

I am kicking myself for just logging on here today and seeing this now. I would have love to come! I could have really used the support at this point. Please let me know when another is scheduled!!! Thanks!

I was equally alarmed by that sensation when I was newly banded. It does go away, don't worry. What they often don't tell you is that it moves from the chest into the shoulders (with some of us) and that will reappear once in awhile for years to come. I have been banded for 11 months and still get it once in awhile. My fill nurse has been banded 3 years and she tells me she still gets it in her chest and shoulders once in awhile. It becomes tolerable as you heal, and I find that a heat bag helps my shoulder now when it happens. Back at that stage, walking around and moving your arms around helped most - even now, when I get it in my shoulder I just roll my arm around about 50 times and apply heat. Good luck!

Thanks for the info!

I went 6 weeks being overfilled and it was a nightmare. I was dehydrated because it was painful to drink all the water you are suppose to. I threw up daily and began to throw up a nice frothy white foam. I had to go to emerg twice because I felt like I was having a heart attack - if you are overfilled, any stress will result in you feeling like there is a giant clamp around your chest - trust me, it is not worth it. Take your fills slowly, it will come.

Hi all, I am 12 days post-op, and still feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest. :heh: My shoulder pain finally subsided, but I do feel nauseated and have pain around my port site. Does this sound normal? I have progressed from clear fluids, to full liquids, but tend to get more tightness in my chest when I have anything creamy or milky. I haven't gone back to work yet, as I don't know I will manage taking my crushed meds & painkillers, eating so little, the nausea and the stress of my job. The surgeon also had to repair a hernia (that I didn't know I had), so I am wondering if I am not recovering as fast as others because of this? I have read that some people are up cleaning their houses after 5 days, but I am still in bed most of the day (I do get up walk around every few hours) so I feel I am lagging behind! :cry The clinic I used hasn't been very helpful, so I am wondering where other people were at 2 weeks post op? Thanks!

I am going in for my first fill at TLBC in September. I am very nervous about it because I can't take time off work to be travelling to Toronto frequently in the event they get it wrong (I also have to drive in and that is probably more stressful for me than the fill itself - I live 3 hours away). Is 5 cc's the standard first fill, not that I really know what 5 ccs is?!? Do you go back in two weeks to have it checked? Are you finding you can eat enough not to be hungry? I am really worried about being over restricted, to the point that I can't eat at all and get ill....how is it going for you?

My anethestetic was two phased, so they did phase one, which just closed my eyes and made me groggy, but I was still conscious so I apparently made them lift the mask of my face and tried to yet "don't start cutting yet, I'm still awake!". I heard laughing as I blanked out...

Hi all - thanks for all the replies. It has been 25 days now and I am feeling much better, and much more optimistic. I am glad to hear I wasn't the only one not up and running a marathon in the first 2 weeks! I still have alot of port pain, but only if I press on it - and have been feeling okay, except for the day I ate some broccolli - I wouldn't recommend it. I guess I need to accept that I can't eat everything I did before, and for he most part I don't want to, which is good - just didn't think that broccolli would have me up all night screaching in pain - oh well, live and learn. I hope others are coming along as well. Now I get to enter the scary 'first fill' phase of my journey....... we'll see how that goes, most importantly - I am down 21 pounds and counting. Yey!

I had to laugh at the "growlies". I have been hearing that as well and thought "what the heck is that?". I assumed it was a hunger pain, although I wasn't sure I was 'hungry' - it's kinda hard to tell at first, because you are right, I never waited until I was hungry to eat. If I had, I probably wouldn't be in this predicament. It is an odd sensation but I am actually glad to assume that my body is still able to actually signal me in this way. I would have thought that this mechanism would have retired by now!

I was banded on Aug 2nd, and I have the same problem. My stomach is just disagreeable, no matter what I do or don't do. I am curious now though, I thought the 'no drinking during or right after eating' rule only applied once we have a fill and are restricted? When we are not yet restricted, why would it hurt to drink before/during/after our meals? Does anyone know? Have I got it wrong - if so, maybe that is why I am feeling nauseated, I am drinking every waking hour and didn't know I wasn't suppose to yet?

They didn't let me wear underwear, but I was told that they put a giant adult diaper on all the patients because - and this even grosser (if that's a word) - they did my surgery with my legs up in stirrups so there is a diaper put on because the CO2 they use to inflate the torso will inevitably exit your bottom during the procedure. I haven't had a period in 2 years so it wasn't a problem for me, but I woke up with a big adult diaper/pad thing on anyway, and I was told that this was why. Good luck!

Try Isopure. It is flavoured water with a whopping 40g of protein per bottle. It is quite good and little to none fat, sugar & carbs. It was recommended by my clinic, and I like it so much I am going to keep drinking it from now on - it's a little more expensive than most water, but considering it has more protein than your typical protein shake, the $5/bottle is worth it!

I was banded on Thursday :whoo:and doing well overall. The only problem is that the pain meds make me nauseated (Demerol), but when I stop taking them, the pain in my chest and shoulders is unbearable. How long do people find this tightness in the chest and pain in the shoulders lasts?

Wheatabiz sounds good. I don't think they sell it in Canada though - here's another cultural difference - what is vegemite?

Hi there. I just wanted to say that I see it differently than some, I don't think it has anything to do with 'good intentions'. What your parents did to you was abuse, plan and simple. It was physical and emotional abuse, physical via a medical procedure that you did not want or need, and emotional in the sense that they were not reinforcing your reportedly positive pre-surgery body image. I too am curious where you are from though, since, in my country at least, 18 is the age of adulthood and one's parents could not complete paperwork or even be that involved in a process such as this - the surgeon would have been required to speak with you directly, and any ethical surgeon would have picked up on your reservations and lack of enthusiasm. At the same time, you were 19 and some would say that you were old enough to excercise free will. That is why I am hesitant to call it 'child abuse', because you are not a child. Either way, I am sorry to hear of your experience and hope you have resolved the situation and are looking forward to a brighter future! Good luck and keep us posted.

Thanks Munchkinkan, Big Wave Dave. cookielover etc. . You guessed right. I was panicking this past weekend. It was odd. I suddenly felt like I was taking the easy way out and got quite down on myself about it. I started to tell myself I was weak and just needed to buckle down and diet properly. I think this was fueled by losing weight on the pre-op diet, seeing that loss actually gave me false hope that I could do it on my own..... then I cheated, and now I have gained a few pounds back, which reminds me of the yo-yo dieting I have done all my life and the fact that I don't want to do it anymore! I know I have to do this, but part of me still feels that I should be able to do it on my own, I guess that feeling is just culturally reinforced and will probably stay with me. But, it is Monday, and I am being banded on Thursday, and I will do it! And can't wait for the rest of my life to start! Thanks sooooo much for all of your support..... it is so helpful to hear from people who understand the emotions behind these issues! THANK YOU ALL!

Just wondering.... if you change your mind before the surgery, do they have to give you your money back? I know some is a non-refundable deposit (here in Canada at least) but I was wondering if they have to give you back the rest? Does anyone know?

Hey there - not so good I'm afraid. I am panicking and I cheated today. We don't have to do optifast, we are just told to put protein powder in milk or yogurt or water. I cheated today with a piece of pizza. It's depressing, tomorrow is a new day though and hopefully I'll behave myself. I did stop at one piece though, which is better than the usual 'whole' pizza. I hope my fatty liver doesn't get in the way!!

Don't worry about a chicken breast - just down the street at the TLBC (the other Toronto clinic) we can have a chicken breast daily. As long as it was skinless and not slathered in cheese or sauce, you should be fine! I am on day 7 of the pre-op diet and I am about to throw the protein shake, and the chicken breast, out the window!!! Good luck!

7 more sleeps until I take the plunge as well...... good luck to you !!

It took me as long to finally take the plunge as well. I am having the surgery next Thursday. Best of luck to you - I hope you are keeping dry over there!

What clinic are you attending? I would kill for Slimfast, or anything remotely chocolate in flavour......

Hi all, I am struggling with the fact that I have twice contacted my clinic to ask about what guarantee I will have - in writing - as to what is covered by the 16K I am spending. I was told it would be faxed to me. Instead, I recieved a one page consent that didn't specify anything that was included. I know the website states that lifetime fills are covered, and the nurse told me that removal would be covered, but shouldn't I expect to have this in writing BEFORE I send in my final payment? The nurse told me what was covered, but 4 years from now I don't want to be arguing with someone on the phone about something a nurse told me years before. I am not a stupid woman, so I am surprised that they would think that I would just send $16,000 in the mail with nothing in writing that would stand up in court as to what I was paying for. What have other people gotten???????? Am I the only one concerned about this?