jane.c

There's no need to get snarky with me, I am actually empathizing with your situation. Doddie did give you suggestions but you said you couldn't afford a flight so a lawyer would be even more expensive and possibly not get you anywhere. Lodging a complaint with the Better Business Bureau is always a choice you can make but it might not get you anywhere very quickly. I was merely suggesting that you keep trying to contact the clinic and get them to rectify this. We can give you all the support you need but we can't do anything about the situation is all I am trying to say. The only people that can give you fast results are the people at TLBC and if you feel they owe you something that was promised to you then you have to keep hounding them until you get an answer. Jane.

Jorja, Who promised you a fill person in Sudbury? I've never heard a clinic ever sending a fill person to us. They do try to find someone to do fills but sometimes it doesn't work out with the person they had in mind. Why aren't you contacting someone at TLBC to lodge your complaint instead of just complaining here where we can't do anything but listen? Jane

Peaches, There is an upcoming Christmas one in the Toronto area. I saw it recently posted on Canadian Lapbanders. I'm not sure if you are a member there or not but if you want the information, I could go back and try and find it. Jane

At least you tried, there really isn't much more anyone can do then. Doddie said she was able to be put in contact with Jill so at least everyone knows she is fine.

This website is for lapband discussions and I am free to discuss any part of it which includes my opinion of how a business handles their lapband staffing issues. Why would I apologize for the administration when I personally have nothing to gain by it? I was not even banded at TLBC so have no vested interest in anything they do. As my original post said, I was simply giving a different opinion as to how they handled things. And before you jump down my throat about posting in a TLBC thread when I was not banded there, that's my choice as well. I have friends that were banded there and I always read everything and my opinion about anything is my right. As I've told others, if you take issue with the way they have handled this then instead of bitching on a message board, contact them and ask to speak to someone more than the person who answers the phone. If you feel you are owed answers then do it with the people than can actually answer your questions. Jane

Here's a link to a tutorial someone wrote up. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f5/ticker-tutorial-pictures-41782/

Optifast is a vere low calorie meal replacement. A lot of clinics require it before surgery to shrink the liver. My clinic has us order it directly from the supplier after they gave us a prescription for it. You can't buy it off the shelf in any pharmacy. We order ours from Minogue Medical out of Montreal but not sure where Dr. Beausoleil will have you order yours from. It's about $50 per week so really no different than feeding yourself for a week. I found it very easy to stick to it and after the first few days, I felt wonderful on it once ketosis kicked in. You could discuss other alternatives with your clinic to see if they will allow you to do some other type of pre op diet but I'm' happy I did the Optifast since my liver was in great shape for surgery.

Others have said when they called for Jill, they were told she no longer works here. It seems as though that is their answer so not sure what else you are looking for but they are giving that answer out. If you feel you are owed more, then you should contact management and see what they have to say. For me, she no longer works here is all I need but if you feel you need more, then you need to make that call.

Actually Jody has been listed on the website for some time now so it's not like she just started. She was probably sharing the patients with Jill. I have hired many people as well and sometimes I have had to let employees go that customers loved but they didn't see all aspects of her like we did. Someone might be great with customers/patients but not so great with administration. I'm glad you were able to get in touch with her but I still don't feel as patients we are owed anything more than she no longer works here. Jane

My comment to Doddie was more about her comment that TLBC screwed up by losing her and not trying harder to keep her. The part about being owed an explanation was simply my own input and not as a reply to her. My relationship with my financial planner is as important as my relationship with my nutritionist is so I think it was a very good comparison. One is managing my investments and the other is managing my diet. I don't think it takes a rocket scientist to figure out that if Jill left on her own, she would have definitely let her patients know she was leaving. It's pretty evident to me that her leaving was not her choice and it was most likely a business decision that was well warranted even if the patients don't like it. Jane

Doddie, How do you know that she was a valued employee to them? Perhaps you loved her but they could have had problems that are none of our business as patients. And I agree that most businesses will do anything to keep good employees and perhaps this is not the case here. When my favourite personal banker left, it was none of my business where he went either and I was owed no explanation. When my favourite nail technician left, it wasn't any of my business either. I appreciate you had a good relationship with her but if she left on her own then it would have been her duty to tell her patients she was leaving and if she was walked out the door then of course nobody will ever tell you why? Just another way to look at this. Jane

I wonder where the thread about CIBO went? I thought it was rather interesting that it got removed. Any moderators out there willing to elaborate why it's now missing? Jane

Nisrine, The original poster asked for people that have had any experience with CIBO to comment here, and I think it’s rather unethical of you to come forward as the Director o f Patient Services and put your sales pitch in this support thread. You have no true experience as a patient with CIBO and we all can read the sales pitches on each and every clinic’s website. The original poster was asking for those of us that actually interacted with the CIBO clinic to respond here. I interacted with you for months and have relayed what I learned and felt. I still stand by that your clinic is not the place for anyone looking for professional service to go to. You were very neglectful in answering questions, answering emails in a timely manner or even being available for phone calls. My overall experience with you personally was less than desirable and I have told both you and Tom, the founder, as much. I will always speak very openly of our communications and how they were not at all professional. Your whole reply here is taken directly off your website and since the link is at the bottom of the page and has been posted in various threads, I don’t think you needed to even post what you did. This is supposed to be a support forum for patients not a forum for the clinics to try and drum up more business. If you were in fact a patient of CIBO then yes your comments might ring true but you were not banded there and are merely now trying to sell them. I am so happy that I listened to my gut and my DH and chose not to deal with you any longer than I already had. I cannot believe how ridiculous you are to post here as a non-patient and attempt to persuade anyone that CIBO is such a wonderful place to deal with. From the people that have dealt there and have posted here thus far, only one person had a positive experience. Jane

Sorry to inform you that you are incorrect. I suggest you speak with a tax accountant or even go to the Welcome Page | Page d'accueil website and look under medical expenses. You cannot carry forward medical expenses. They have to be claimed for any 12 month period. If you made more than 1 payment then you can use each payment as your 12 month period but there is no maximum except for dependant adult children and other dependant adults besides a spouse. The $10000 maximum is not applicable to yourself or to your spouse. My best advice is to either contact a tax accountant or Canada Revenue Agency directly.

Stanley, I have read many of the posts of the three people you mention and other than their concerns over this CIBO Clinic,I have never seen them be negative at all. They are very supportive in fact and I believe they have good reason to have apprehensions about CIBO. They have everyone's best interest at heart and have learned things along the way that are important things that we need when banded. They are simply warning us to research and make sure we know what we are buying. I was going to be banded at CIBO even after hearing some of the comments on here but after corresponding with them and not being able to get answers to my questions nor get a person on the phone, I decided to go elsewhere. Even with all the negative comments, I still chose to do a consult but it didn't work out. I am not impressed at all with this clinic and would never recommend them and that is speaking purely from my own experience. Do your research and take the good with the bad because you will never get 100 percent of the people to agree on anything. Discard anything you don't like but no need to lash out at people that are very supportive all the time. Jane

There are many wonderful places for bandsters for support and information. My favourites are swlc forum and canadian yahoo group for bandsters. They are a lot more active than this one.

Without ruffling your feathers here, you have been banded less than 1 month so I'd hardly call any post op care they have given you to date much to go on to so highly recommend them. I somehow feel you are probably one of their own employees pretending to be a real patient just to promote their own clinic. Nobody else has had anything but negative experiences and you come out with a stellar review for them. Something stinks here!!:biggrin:

Congrats on your successes to day. Just curious why you say if you had to redo it again, you would have gone to Mexico yet you say that you are happy with your clinic here in Canada. Enquiring minds need to know. lol Congrats again, you look great and must feel so much better.

Where did they end up banding you since their own OR is not ready yet. They told me when I was looking at going there, that it would have to be done elsewhere. They mentioned possibly Sarnia or another private clinic in the GTA?

You have to remember that for the money you are getting a lot more than just fills. They are providing you with the full service of the clinic whether you choose to use it or not. It's not just the fills that you are receiving. They have a support forum for their patients, they have trained doctors/nurses all over the country to give us fills/defills should we need them, you have a dietitian available to you if you require that, they have web seminars that feature people from many different areas that will aid us for our journey with weight loss. You have doctors available for emergencies 24 hours per day. It might sound like a lot of money but when we choose to pay $16000 to be banded in Ontario, we are not just getting the surgery for that price. They will actually break it down for you as to the cost of the band, the cost of surgery and the cost of follow up so in essence the $5000 they are asking you for, is the same $5000 that the rest of us are paying for in that $16000 for follow up. I also live in Northern Ontario and will have to travel for fills unless they find someone close to me to do them. I think the closest person they have to me is in North Bay but that's still over 4 hours away.

Cindy, You read it wrong. Your medical expenses have to be 3% of your income or $1926, whichever is less. So if your income is $65 000, then your expenses have to be at least $1950 before it will make any difference on your return.

The maximum applies only to other dependents besides a spouse or children born 1990 or later. Your husband can claim your full expenses if you are his spouse. Your expenses might be higher than what you are eligible to claim though but not because there is a maximum cap that they allow. Your medical expenses have to be more than 3% of your net income(line 236) or $1926, whichever is less. If your income is not high enough in any given year then it won't matter how much your medical expenses are, they won't change the outcome of your return.

Medical expenses are for any 12 month period ending in 2007, anytime in 2007. ie. If you were banded January 2nd, 2006 then you could go from Jan 2, 2006 to January 2, 2007 and do all your expenses in that 12 month period. You can't carry forward medical expenses unfortunately.

Juney, Here are the websites for the 2 most popular clinics in Ontario. Laparoscopic Band Surgery (Lap / Stomach Band Weight Loss Surgery) | TLBC (The Laparoscopic Band Centre) TLBC Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass SWLC I wouldn't go near CIBO with a 10 foot pole after the hellish experience they put me through. It looks as though 3 of us had contact with them and all 3 of us have gone elsewhere. Check out the 2 links I provided and start corresponding with them to see where you feel more comfortable. Both offer free consultations so you have nothing to lose. What are of the country are you from? There are other surgeons in other provinces so if you let us know, we can help you find one out of Ontario if you happen to live out of Ontario.

I'm glad you were able to go with the clinic of your choice. I'd sooner wait years for the funding to be in place and go with the clinic I feel good about than to get it done now with someone I felt bad about. This is a lifetime relationship so it's not worth settling for anything but the best for yourself.