Search the Community

The next step in my research - I go for my first consultation tomorrow with Slimband and then one on Friday with SWLC. I am very excited and anxious at the same time...lol My husbands insurance doesnt cover wls so I will be self paying. Of course I have all the doubts I am sure most of you had when self paying - such as - am I worth it, is it fair to put us in debt by getting a loan for the surgery, will it work. Well, I ran into the wife of a co worker today and I remembered she had the lap band put on almost 10 years ago. She is an amazing woman who is slim and so self assured. I told her I was going to the consultation tomorrow and she immediately pulled a picture out of her pocket and said - "this is me at 300 lbs. It was the best thing I ever did" I told her I was worried about the port being uncomfortable etc and she said, here touch my port. You could feel it through her blouse. She told me that when she first got it , it was about 3 inches under all her fat and now it is fairly close to her skin. She has had absolutely no problems with it. I was surprised at how small it was. Dont know what size I was imagining it to be - certainly not that small. So, I will see how I do in the next couple of days because I have decided I am worth it and it will be worth going in debt for 5 years to get my life back. Lynn

Live in Nova Scotia and banded by Slimband in Toronto Sherry.

Live in Nova Scotia and banded by Slimband in Toronto Sherry.

Paula... you were banded at TLBC (Slimband) by Dr. Yau? When was your friend banded? Is she in the Toronto or surrounding area? I host several coffee groups... she can join us for coffee... feel free to give her my e-mail address - tomander@rogers.com Did I add you to my lapband e-mail list. I send out recipes and also reminders about our coffee groups... but you can just delete those. Let me know if you would like me to e-mail you a folder full of information I've collected. Tom

Right on, cheers my coffee to the next 5.... I find that I still get exhilarated when I catch a glimpse in the mirror and see that this weight has stayed off. My brain sometimes just hasn't accepted the fact that I am no longer fat. I don't drink and I don't smoke, but I actually get a 'high' just from feeling thin and ecstatic that it has stayed off. I am finally free of that "heavy" that weighed me down for so long. My dearest friend just got banded this year. She has seen me lose this weight and keep it off for 5 years now. She is tired of trying the next program, the next diet. I am so happy for her and I am impressed by the support she gets from Slimband. Tom, it is good to hear your story and share Cheers again, Paula PS, I just can't imagine what the last 5 years could have been like, had I not made this decision. I feel so really very grateful!

Shasta the difference between a slimband and the realize band?

Hi all, while I'm new to the board not new to the band, I have had 2 fills so far and need a 3rd but Canada Drs. not willing to keep filling even though they have given me 2 so far cause I'm from states, I will pay for fills but need to know place in Michigan area that will fill a Slimband (Canada band). Any help appreciated.

I had my procedure done at Slimband in Toronto. One of their success stories on their website is a mother-daughter team. It might give some inspiration and confidence to you and your daughter. The website is www.slimband.com I have only had my band since July 28 so I don't have any experience yet, really. Take care and good luck to both of you!!

Have you called Slimband? I just got my slimband on July 28th but my understanding is that if you find a doctor willing to be trained they will train that doctor on how to do a fill for you. The other alternative might be to go to Windsor? Then it should be covered by Slimband and you shouldn't have to pay, right? Not sure where you are in Michigan. Hope you find a solution!!

I never heard of Slimband but you might want to try the lap band center at Port Huron Hospital. Dr. Bhesania has been doing lapband since about 2003 and was actually born and raised in Toronto. It can't hurt to ask.

Please help need fill in michigan for slimband from Tornoto, having trouble getting fills in Canada even if I pay for it.

Hi, I live in Ontario, Niagara Region, where are you located? I'm being banded on June 28 in Toronto (Slimband). I am so ready!! Especially after this two week pre-op... Going to Orlando this weekend so that will get my mind of this diet, and the surgery. Itsn't it strange how so many of us are excited about this surgery and starting their new lives with the BAND! Good luck with your consult tomorrow. Keep in touch.

Hi, I'm from Ontario, and we are not covered under our provincial medicare (OHIP) so I have to pay out of pocket. Did you check out slimband? I think they have offices in Montreal. I know they have in Ottawa. And they don't have a long waiting period. Just a thought. Good Luck!

Thanks for the kind inquiries. I now have a surgery date on June 1 for a laparoscopy and possible repair. The slimband surgeon did not have the CD of the Upper GI when I saw him last week but booked the surgery anyway because of my history. I continue to have constant gastritis and obstruction in my throat. I am praying that they can do a simple fix and I can again work with my band. It has been the best thing for me to control my weight finally. Because I can still hardly eat anything, my weight is almost down to my lowest but I was debating whether I need to lose maybe 15 pounds from that. I just hope I don't ricochet up again after surgery depending on what happens. I thought I had finally found the utlmate weight loss tool for me when all this started. I will let you know what happens. I am not on this site very much but I get your messages in an email. Lynda

I am a former Slimband patient would would like to share my story so that I can help others avoid what I went through. At the end of the day, the decision is yours to make but having some honest perspective is important. I had my Slimband surgery on March 30, 2011 and had it removed 5 days later. Biggest mistake and largest regret of my life. I was in constant agony and was nauseous from the moment I woke up from surgery to the point of having the band removed. Additionally, I had to fly back to Toronto to have the band removed as local ER's consider it a cosmetic procedure and they aren't interested in any of the literature that Slimband sends you home with. During the 5 days I had the Slimband, I was unable to keep even Water down and was severely dehydrated. It was an incredibly traumatizing experience and not what I was expecting or was told to expect. To add insult to injury, I am trying to work with Slimband on some kind of refund. I am not looking to get 100% of the $16,000 back or be reimbursed for my $2,000 travel/accommodations costs back to Toronto, but the surgery was just one piece of the total package. I will never have access to all of the support, doctors, require fills or take advantage of any of the items they sell you as part of the package. All of a sudden, the attentive folks that wanted my money will not return my calls or emails. This is not a story of bitterness, this can happen and it can happen to you. I know very well all of the reasons why this surgery seems so appealing. All I am asking is for you to consider if this is really right for you and are you prepared to lose this much money if something goes wrong.

I'm sorry you've had a bad experience. I had the same doctor and found him to be very helpful. During my first week after surgery, I couldn't drink anything at all - a sip of Water came back up looking like white foam (soap suds). So I called the clinic and they told me to get a defill and made the arrangements immediately. Still had problems - Dr Kundhai himself called me at home and gave me his cell number, imploring me to get to an ER and get an upper GI etc. Happily, I didn't need to as the swelling went down and (having had the defills) I was able to start drinking again. But I was impressed that he called me and gave me his cell number so that I could have the ER ring him (Note: I live on the other side of Canada from where the surgery and Slimband is, so I couldn't just go in there.) As far as your refund - I would have agreed to you getting a refund if you had exhausted all of their options and still had problems. But you refused the exploratory surgery they offered (which would have just been a laproscopic procedure) and didn't get another medical opinion either, so I personally believe you acted too hasty in having it removed. Best wishes for the future - I hope you are able to find peace.

My name is Leah Davies I am 26 years old and i have been battling with my weight for my whole life,on august 20th 2010 i had the lapband procedure done at the slimband clinic in toronto the procedure was done by Dr. Pavi Kundhal. for the first 3 weeks i was on a strict liquid/soft pureed food diet then i was able to go to solid foods and i started having problems eating the very first day, the food would get stuck and this caused a great amount of pain and if i was lucky it would go down on its own after a few minutes but most of the time i had to bring the food back up in order to dislodge it. So the first time i contacted the Support staff at the Slimband clinic i was advised to go back to soft foods for another few days that maybe the swelling from surgery had still not gone down and once you vomit there is a good chance it will happen again because now that area is irritated. so i went back on soft foods for another week and i was still experience the same issues even with those.once i stared back on solid foods for the second try the problems persisted but i tried my best to get through it. i followed the advise of the support staff to the fullest i would have a hot drink before my meal like i was advised to try, i chewed my food until it was paste i took my time eating and still no relief from the food getting stuck. in October i had my first follow up with the doctor who asked me the same questions do i chew my food? do i take my time? and do i take small bites? and i answered yes to all these questions so he then sent me for my first defill the band was then loosened and even then i still could not eat with ease. i had phone appointments with nutritionalist Arlene who i was very honest with when telling her what i was eating and how i was eating and was advised by her that i was not eating enough to get the bennifit of the band although all the problems i had been having made me scared to eat why would i want to put myself in that kind of pain and discomfort? I was advised to eat 3 meals a day and 2 to 3 snacks to get maximum weight loss well to be honest at this point i would have been more satisfied with not having to chock up everything i ate! i threw up everything from water to meat and everything in between then in December i went for a second defill because this was the only solution and still no relief by the end of December i had my 3rd and final defill because as i was advised by the doctor who did the defill the band was nearly empty there was nothing left to take and the eating problems never got better the vomiting got so intense my nose would bleed and i would cry from the pain this was becoming a serious problem to me. and i had voiced my issues with everyone at the slimband clinic that would listen and still no one could offer me any resolution in this time i had visited to ER on 2 separate occasions because the pain was so excruciating i was concerned with all the vomiting i had done some real damage and i was just fluffed off as to having heartburn.My mother was so frustrated one day and so concerned that she emailed a letter to slimband insiting someone do something to help me i then got a call from Dr Kundhal who i again voiced my issues to he then advised me to go for an upper GI to get a view of the band to ensure it was placed properly so i made an appointment and had that done in February, the hospital did not send the results i did not know that so i sent the results myself through the mail and they were never received so i then had to drive them out to the slimband clinic to ensure they were received made an appointment for the doctor to call me to go over the results on the day of the appointment the doctor did not call so i called him waited on hold for 20 min so my appointment was past due by 40 min and when he answered the phone he had no idea who was calling and when i told him who i was he then had no idea why i was calling, i had to tell him i was calling for test results and he just bluntly said there was nothing wrong with the band.Although when i had a follow up with my family doctor to go over the same test results because she received them she advised me i had a hernia. a hernia which i was advised was repaired during surgery so i mentioned the hernia to Dr. Kundhal and asked him if there was a chance that was what could be causing my problems he advised me no that the hernia would not be causing these types of problems, i am not a doctor and have no idea but i was left to wonder if he even repaired it in the first place if it wouldn't cause problems why bother doing extra work? but i am still unsure as to that point if the hernia he said he repaired during surgery that showed up on my Upper GI would cause problems. so what were my options? i have been in pain and discomfort for 7 months at this point and no one could figure out why and to be honest every person i talked to didn't seem to have any information or answeres no one was familiar with why i was calling even though i had called the slimband clinic up to this time and spoke with a number of people but did not get the feeling of concern for my situation so the day the doctor gave me my test results he gave me one option to have exploritory surgery and i was not ok with this option i could not take time from a new job to recover and the fear of then having the same problems once he told me again there was nothing wrong i was affraid of choking all the time i have had to pull over to throw up i have thrown up in the car in the parking lot and bathroom of work this was not something that only happened once in a blue moon this is really a problem that had been going on for the entire time i had the band in so i decided to have it removed i decided this was the best option for me to reclaim my life i was not getting the assistance and support slimband promises and i feel and still do feel that i did my fair part in trying to get this resolved took time off work for appointments and took tripes out to the clinic on days off to deliver test results i gave them more than enough opportunity to at least try and help me and i have never felt that anyone cared enough to even try so i had the band removed on April 12th 2011so now i am trying to get a refund i spoke with the pre op administrator Robert Hollis who is really just the accountant and told him the reason i had the band removed and requested a refund on April 13th i then called in back today on april 18th and he advised me today they will not refund me my only option is to seek legal action so that is what i am going to be doing but i wanted it to be known whoever reads this that this is not right i did not remove the band because it didnt help me lose weight and i just wasnt happy with it i removed it because i was throwing up to the point my nose would bleed and coughing so hard to get the food to come out that i was affraid i might actually choke to death its scary to not beable to breath i was coughing so hard and painful so i took the band out so that i could stop those things from happening. and i really dont agree with slimband keeping my money or anyones money that has gone through something like that this surgery costs 16 thousand dollars i was really wanting it to work for me to help me lose weight if it had of worked the was it was supposed to i would have kept it in forever with no complaints but it did not help me all it caused was pain Slimband claims this surgery is the best option because it does not require you to make life altering changes to your eating habits except to eat less which is only expected with any weight loss method but the problems i had did not allow me to enjoy going to a restaurant because on 2 occasions i tried i ended up in the bathroom and once running out of the restaurant leaving my boyfriend sitting at the table to throw up in the parking lot i had to turn down lunch invitations from co workers and i was not able to even eat lunch at work because i simply did not have enough time to try to eat anything and in all honesty i was sparing myself the embarrassment of having to bring it up or explain whats is wrong with me so this did change my whole life for the time i had it in because eating less and eating more healthy was never my problem it was the pain and suffering the band caused. i do wish it would have worked for me and i hope to anyone who has it that it works for them but to anyone thinking of getting this surgery please do the research and really think about it and make sure you are aware of all the things that could go wrong because if you have problems like i did there might not be any other option for you either and if you take the band out you will be relieved from the pain and discomfort but the slimband clinic still made 16 thousand dollars off of your negative side effects.I am going to take legal action that is the next step and i will do whatever it takes to make it known that it is not right that slimband break all promises of support and assistance and when i was at my wits end with nowhere to turn for help i make the decision that is best for me and slimband thinks its right to keep the money i paid .

My name is Leah Davies I am 26 years old and i have been battling with my weight for my whole life,on august 20th 2010 i had the lapband procedure done at the slimband clinic in toronto the procedure was done by Dr. Pavi Kundhal. for the first 3 weeks i was on a strict liquid/soft pureed food diet then i was able to go to solid foods and i started having problems eating the very first day, the food would get stuck and this caused a great amount of pain and if i was lucky it would go down on its own after a few minutes but most of the time i had to bring the food back up in order to dislodge it. So the first time i contacted the Support staff at the Slimband clinic i was advised to go back to soft foods for another few days that maybe the swelling from surgery had still not gone down and once you vomit there is a good chance it will happen again because now that area is irritated. so i went back on soft foods for another week and i was still experience the same issues even with those.once i stared back on solid foods for the second try the problems persisted but i tried my best to get through it. i followed the advise of the support staff to the fullest i would have a hot drink before my meal like i was advised to try, i chewed my food until it was paste i took my time eating and still no relief from the food getting stuck. in October i had my first follow up with the doctor who asked me the same questions do i chew my food? do i take my time? and do i take small bites? and i answered yes to all these questions so he then sent me for my first defill the band was then loosened and even then i still could not eat with ease. i had phone appointments with nutritionalist Arlene who i was very honest with when telling her what i was eating and how i was eating and was advised by her that i was not eating enough to get the bennifit of the band although all the problems i had been having made me scared to eat why would i want to put myself in that kind of pain and discomfort? I was advised to eat 3 meals a day and 2 to 3 snacks to get maximum weight loss well to be honest at this point i would have been more satisfied with not having to chock up everything i ate! i threw up everything from water to meat and everything in between then in December i went for a second defill because this was the only solution and still no relief by the end of December i had my 3rd and final defill because as i was advised by the doctor who did the defill the band was nearly empty there was nothing left to take and the eating problems never got better the vomiting got so intense my nose would bleed and i would cry from the pain this was becoming a serious problem to me. and i had voiced my issues with everyone at the slimband clinic that would listen and still no one could offer me any resolution in this time i had visited to ER on 2 separate occasions because the pain was so excruciating i was concerned with all the vomiting i had done some real damage and i was just fluffed off as to having heartburn.My mother was so frustrated one day and so concerned that she emailed a letter to slimband insiting someone do something to help me i then got a call from Dr Kundhal who i again voiced my issues to he then advised me to go for an upper GI to get a view of the band to ensure it was placed properly so i made an appointment and had that done in February, the hospital did not send the results i did not know that so i sent the results myself through the mail and they were never received so i then had to drive them out to the slimband clinic to ensure they were received made an appointment for the doctor to call me to go over the results on the day of the appointment the doctor did not call so i called him waited on hold for 20 min so my appointment was past due by 40 min and when he answered the phone he had no idea who was calling and when i told him who i was he then had no idea why i was calling, i had to tell him i was calling for test results and he just bluntly said there was nothing wrong with the band.Although when i had a follow up with my family doctor to go over the same test results because she received them she advised me i had a hernia. a hernia which i was advised was repaired during surgery so i mentioned the hernia to Dr. Kundhal and asked him if there was a chance that was what could be causing my problems he advised me no that the hernia would not be causing these types of problems, i am not a doctor and have no idea but i was left to wonder if he even repaired it in the first place if it wouldn't cause problems why bother doing extra work? but i am still unsure as to that point if the hernia he said he repaired during surgery that showed up on my Upper GI would cause problems. so what were my options? i have been in pain and discomfort for 7 months at this point and no one could figure out why and to be honest every person i talked to didn't seem to have any information or answeres no one was familiar with why i was calling even though i had called the slimband clinic up to this time and spoke with a number of people but did not get the feeling of concern for my situation so the day the doctor gave me my test results he gave me one option to have exploritory surgery and i was not ok with this option i could not take time from a new job to recover and the fear of then having the same problems once he told me again there was nothing wrong i was affraid of choking all the time i have had to pull over to throw up i have thrown up in the car in the parking lot and bathroom of work this was not something that only happened once in a blue moon this is really a problem that had been going on for the entire time i had the band in so i decided to have it removed i decided this was the best option for me to reclaim my life i was not getting the assistance and support slimband promises and i feel and still do feel that i did my fair part in trying to get this resolved took time off work for appointments and took tripes out to the clinic on days off to deliver test results i gave them more than enough opportunity to at least try and help me and i have never felt that anyone cared enough to even try so i had the band removed on April 12th 2011so now i am trying to get a refund i spoke with the pre op administrator Robert Hollis who is really just the accountant and told him the reason i had the band removed and requested a refund on April 13th i then called in back today on april 18th and he advised me today they will not refund me my only option is to seek legal action so that is what i am going to be doing but i wanted it to be known whoever reads this that this is not right i did not remove the band because it didnt help me lose weight and i just wasnt happy with it i removed it because i was throwing up to the point my nose would bleed and coughing so hard to get the food to come out that i was affraid i might actually choke to death its scary to not beable to breath i was coughing so hard and painful so i took the band out so that i could stop those things from happening. and i really dont agree with slimband keeping my money or anyones money that has gone through something like that this surgery costs 16 thousand dollars i was really wanting it to work for me to help me lose weight if it had of worked the was it was supposed to i would have kept it in forever with no complaints but it did not help me all it caused was pain Slimband claims this surgery is the best option because it does not require you to make life altering changes to your eating habits except to eat less which is only expected with any weight loss method but the problems i had did not allow me to enjoy going to a restaurant because on 2 occasions i tried i ended up in the bathroom and once running out of the restaurant leaving my boyfriend sitting at the table to throw up in the parking lot i had to turn down lunch invitations from co workers and i was not able to even eat lunch at work because i simply did not have enough time to try to eat anything and in all honesty i was sparing myself the embarrassment of having to bring it up or explain whats is wrong with me so this did change my whole life for the time i had it in because eating less and eating more healthy was never my problem it was the pain and suffering the band caused. i do wish it would have worked for me and i hope to anyone who has it that it works for them but to anyone thinking of getting this surgery please do the research and really think about it and make sure you are aware of all the things that could go wrong because if you have problems like i did there might not be any other option for you either and if you take the band out you will be relieved from the pain and discomfort but the slimband clinic still made 16 thousand dollars off of your negative side effects.I am going to take legal action that is the next step and i will do whatever it takes to make it known that it is not right that slimband break all promises of support and assistance and when i was at my wits end with nowhere to turn for help i make the decision that is best for me and slimband thinks its right to keep the money i paid .

I had my surgery at the Slimband clinic too on the 7th of April and i flew back to Edmonton (4hr flight) on the 8th. I did not have any issues at all. My surgery went really well and the pain was minimal. I was scared of having nausea during take off and landing, but I had none of that. On the whole it was a pretty good experience. Good luck with your surgery

You said that you were in the airport and on your way home....just wondering how long was your flight and were you in much pain? I go into slimband on May 6th and spend the night as I am travelling alone. I will return home May 7th and will be flying alone. Just wondering what the experience is like.

My surgery was yesterday and I honestly had a really good experience the surgeon and staff at the slimband clinic were great. I was done at about 2pm and was back at my hotel room @ 5pm. I have no gas pain at all (touch wood). The pain from the surgery itself is very minimal and I only get them when I try to sit or stand. I slept really well only woke up once to take painkillers. So far so good, I pray that the rest of my journey is as easy as this. I have only had water and a glass of apple juice since the surgery and I am noy hungry. In the airport right now on my way home to start a brand new life. Wishing all of you yet to be banded all the best.

Not sure if you're having the same issue that I did, but I found that I was constantly spitting up hundreds of bubbles (they looked like foam from a bubble bath). Turns out I needed a de-fill (my surgeon put 2cc in during the operation - Slimband now do partial fills during surgery as part of practice). For days, every time I sipped anything, it would come back up as foam, so they removed 0.5cc - and that didn't help, so they removed another .5cc. So now I only have 1cc in my band and am looking forward to the five week fill, as I have no restriction now that the swelling has gone down! Good luck and remember - the side effects, however nasty, will seem like a distant memory soon

From the time I called Slimband to the time I had surgery was a total of three weeks. I never met a doctor until moments before surgery. In fact - I didn't meet anyone from Slimband at all until I arrived at their medical centre in Toronto an hour before my surgery! I did talk to one of their representatives over the phone, and had a medical questionaire to send them back (after which time, their nurse called to discuss everything). They also sent me a form to get blood tests and an EEG done, as well as instructions for their one-week pre-op diet. So - no psych evaluation, no face-to-face consults, no lengthy waits...it was a very simple process. That said - I'm self-pay (goodbye $16,000!) so maybe that's why it's slightly different. But hey - the surgery went well, and I feel like I'm on the road to a new me, so it's all good Good luck!

Yes, I'm also wondering if self-pay patients have to pay for the surgery to repair the slip. I assume that we would have to pay, but can anyone with experience tell us how much it was for them? I'm with Slimband, if that helps.

Has there been any studies demonstrating that some brand of gastric bands are superior to others? I will be banded with Slimband which uses the Cousin Bioring and I'm worried that it will be inferior to the LAP-BAND. Do they all get about the same results?