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Originally i asked my facilitator through Hospital Angeles who i would see in my area. Did they not give you a referal? Unfortunately i think the lady i found, i found by sheer luck. I just kept searching online for anyone i could find. Unfortunately she is no longer taking new patients. I think that being near toronto you should be able to find clinics near you that will do the fill. I only say that as i wasn going to orriginally go through with "slimband" which i believe is based in toronto. Sorry i couldn't be of more help. I really hope you are able to find someone.

i know how you feel. i've known about the slimband for about 2 years and thought and thought and thought about it. kept putting it off because of the cost but my mom happened to mention a commercial she saw a few weeks ago and that's all it took. within 2 weeks i had already had my first meeting to find out all the ins and outs, paid the deposit and book my appointment. it's amazing how just a simple bump starts things rolling. i think the timing is right in other ways too because dh and i have been trying for 4 years to get pg again and have a second child. i think my weight has played a huge part in not conceiving so maybe in a year or so i can report that we're expecting our second child. :biggrin:

I live in Kelowna, BC and am also self pay. I spoke with Dr.C and SlimBand over the phone and then drove to Victoria to meet with Dr.Tang. I found Dr.C very helpful and great mannerisms while speaking with him. Overall I decided to go with Dr.Tang in Victoria BC. He is very honest and genuinely there to change peoples lives and overcome weight problems. I also found the cost to be lower ($15,300) for a grand total since i have to travel a long distance as it is an extra 2 hour ferry ride doesnt seem so bad for a lower cost. I wasn't overly impressed with SlimBand because I felt like it really was a sales pitch and Toronto is a little far. So I made my decision based on who made me the most comfortable and at ease. Congratulations and I wish you all the luck on your journey

I was also at Slimband in Toronto for my surgery. I got in on a deal, and paid upfront, so I paid $12,900 for mine. I didn't have to do anything special for pre-op, just a low carb, high protein diet, so lots of chicken and broccoli, I was able to use my airmiles to fly my hubbs and I, and we stayed at my cousin's house for 2 days, so I was able to save quite a bit there. I'm now 9 days post-op, and in what is called "Bandster Hell". Its alot of hungry, I'm not going to lie. I'm on full fluids, and feeling well enough to eat, and I crave real food, but I know it will hurt me to do that. So I try to get enough protein in..80-100g/day, lots of "bodybuilder" protein shakes have LOTS of protein, and that fills you up really well. My post surgery pain wasn't bad at all. I had 3 incisions, one right under my breastbone, and one about 3 inches under each boob, with the port on the left. The port is tender, and its hard to sleep on that side. My gas pain didn't go into my neck and shoulders, as alot of people had said, but I had really bad gas pains in my chest.. like a really giant sore burp was stuck, but gas-x becomes your best friend. Day 2-3 were my worst, saddest days. I was sore, and tired and cranky, and wondered what the hell I had just done to myself, but that feeling goes away.. You start to feel better, I promise.

I didnt go to slimband. I went through the surgical weight loss centre in toronto.

Hi all! I'm 31, a marketing consultant and I live in Ottawa, Canada. I've been overweight my entire life and have considered having WLS a few times. I never really took it seriously until my uncle had it done in January 2010. Although he went to Mexico for his (he's doing great!), I opted to have mine done here in Canada at the Slimband clinic in Toronto. Dr Yau performed my surgery on Friday, April 16th and I've been on the liquid diet since. Just took off my bandages today and everything looks and feels pretty good today. I lost 6lbs during the pre-op diet (one week) and I've already lost another 4 since the surgery. I've got another 120 to go but looking forward to the journey ahead!

Yes a lot has happened since I posted my displeasure in 2007. The False Creek Clinic, Dr. Woodhead in Delta is with Slimband, etc. Fills are still tough to find if you are not with a major clinic but there are some GPs that do them, just have to find them. Seems more and more doctors are becoming more knowledgeable on the issues of weight control (not just exercise and starve). However in BC, age discrimination is alive and well. I am advised that anyone over 65 can't get a band in BC yet in Toronto any age is acceptable. Progress is slow.

Hey Professor, You just made my day. I regret using Slimband, they've just left me high and dry and I can't afford them any longer, so I will take your advice and see that doctor in Mississauga. I really appreciate your feedback and sympathy! If they see my comments about them on this site, they can sic their legal team on me. What have I got to lose? I'm not saying anything that isn't true Have a fabulous weekend. I'll keep you posted with my progress.

Slimband is the same, just the name I have been struggling for over 8 years with obesity, been overweight since starting a desk job years before that. I am very anxious and often get cold feet! Nice to meet you.

Is Slimband similar to a Lap Band? I was banded 3/22/13 and It was the best decision I have ever made. I have lost 34 lbs and feel so much better already.. Good Luck I had anxiety also.. Especially during the pre-op diet. I am 55 years old and have been overweight for 15 years (since a hysterectomy) and then gained 40 lbs quitting smoking and the lbs just kept adding on.

I was banded by Slimband 11 years ago and still have my band. However, I have helped others have their band removed and have the band-to-sleeve or band-to-bypass revision surgery done and they are soooo happy. I can also help ones that just need to have their band adjusted to a proper level of restriction. DM me if you want to talk about getting fills/defills or about revision to a more effective weight loss surgery.

Hi Everyone!!! I was hoping for some assistance - I am not sure what to do! I am a former TLBC patient of Dr. Yau's - we've been dropped by the clinic and no longer receive support. I am completely done with my lap-band and I have been told that I can have it removed by the nurse at Slimband and have the procedure covered by OHIP. I was hoping to get some advise from any patients of TLBC or others who had their lap-band removed in Ontario. What steps did you take? Was the procedure covered by OHIP? How long did take for you to have a surgery scheduled? I appreciate all help! Thanks Anne.

My Fellow Albertans! If you are able, and need your band adjusted, I am organizing a Fill Day in Edmonton, AB on Thursday, October 10th and then in Calgary, AB on either Friday, October 11th or Saturday, October 12th. If you are interested, please contact me! If you can't make those dates, reach out to me anyways and we can talk about options. Hope I can help those Slimband / CIBO / Smartshape / other lapband bandsters that need support! Hugs, Niki

I am fine right now, but this Slimband Calgarian is really happy to see that there is some support for us still!😊

Hi Vickey, I would absolutely do it again, my husband has said he would have paid double. I am now recovering from a lower body lift. If you have a lot of weight to loose there will likely be excess skin. I went to Slimband, they were very good to me then. I barely call them now, my last fill was in March/April. In the beginning as I did, you will need a lot of support and Slimband had a very good support system back then I can only imagine it has been fine tuned in the five years since I've been banded. I am sure the same can be said for the SWLC, those I know who have been banded there are very happy too. My recommendation is go with either Slimband or SWLC, both have lots of patients in the north and can help you meet other bandsters. Nadine

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 am looking for a place in Toronto (GTA) where I can get a fill adjustment. Some clinics are asking $5.00.00 just for registration with them! Supposedly that's how much they need 'to take care of me'!!! Is there a place where you can go and get a fill like in the old times?

Hi, Do you know of any fill doctors/nurses in Toronto, Ontario CAnada, other than Slimband

Hi all, I'm considering having a gastric bypass. I currently have the band but it has done nothing for me and Slimband has been the worst to deal with. I'm currently on the Bariatic Registry List in Ontario and have my first consultation in June. I'm just looking for some advice from those who have been through it. It really scares me because I've heard the nightmares of people dying. The recovery I can deal with. I've had 4 surgeries with Slimband re: complications. I want to hear from everyone, the good, bad and ugly. I'm also worried about the access skin after weight loss.

Hi! Nothing yet, but I am looking to set one up. Nice to meet you! Please keep in touch. I'd love to hear about your experience with SWLC. Do they have a fill clinic in Ottawa? I'd only heard of them after signing up with Slimband.

I started to look in to Slimband over a year ago but chicken out do to cost and lack of knowledge.My best friend looked in to the band more recently and she ended up booking. She rekindeled my interest and I started researching again and got approval for financing (I'm in Canada so I'm self-pay).. I've done a lotof research and decided I wanted to the band but was still a little hesitant to book. Today I took my friend to her slimband surgery and the staff were excellent and the clinic was very nice. I got a chance to meet the surgeons and anestheologist (sp?). I took the plunge and booked my surgery while I was waiting. All the papers are signed and the appointment is booked for June 22nd!!! They had plenty of appointments before that but I work FT shift work and am not entitled to vacation so it was difficult for me. Now I'm sitting here freaking myself out. I'm excited but I'd feel better if i had the full suport of my family. My Husband is supportive of me and will help me but he feels it is a waste of money and is too risky. I've explained the pros and the reasons why I feel it is the right decision for me. he's still not on board. My Mum supports my decision either way but wont really talk to me about it and I know not to even tell my Dad. I'm glaf I'm going to have the support of my best friend and hopefully some more support from my husband. I start my pre-op June 12th for 10 days before my surgery. I know it's a while away but I am looking forward to meeting more June Bandsters! btw, my friend is doing VERY well. She was wide awake whne they let her out of recovery. She said she doesn't 'hurt' shes just uncomfortable. I'm excited to see how her recovery goes.

Hi, I'm new here and looking to have the Lapband done in the new year. I met with a very nice person from Slimband last week, but I'm concerned about some of the stuff I've heard and read about that place. I have an appointment with Smart Shape (SWLC) in Mississauga on Wed. Has anyone been to either of these clients? Which one is better/has the better reputation? Thanks in advance!!

Definitley SWLC....they know what they're doing! I did mine there...a girl I know did slimband and ended up with some problems....

I was banded in 2015 and went online to search Slimband because I didn't have their phone number and a site came up saying they have closed their doors. I did some research and found out that the owner of slimband also had a previous clinic that closed and was then changed to slimband. Wondering if he is going to do the same thing and re-open under another name? I have emailed someone that is posted as a support email have gotten a response but I am now worried as far as medical help if there are complications down the road are we left with nothing? I am pretty sure my port has flipped but was told not to worry .........if anyone has had any communication please share. I did ask about fills and am waiting a response but I am not hopefull we will be getting fills anymore now that the clinic has closed. I believe the support person who is emailing me is just someone that has been previously banded but not a RN. Will update when I hear back .

I notice a lot of neighbors to the south in the forums. Is there anyone out there scheduled for surgery in the near future from Canada? I am scheduled for slimband surgery on Dec1st.