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What is the message board like at SWLC? Does it follow a similar format to this forum? The slimband one is simply not very good. I think it could be much improved if they just made it function in a manner that is familiar to most users.

I was banded just over two years ago. BEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE! Sorry for shouting, but I am happy every day since getting my life back. I check in with these message boards regularly, just to keep on top of things. I find it helps keep me on track. Where are you getting banded? I was at TLBC (now Slimband) and have had a very positive experience.

Hi Debbie. Yes I go to Dr. Woodhead (referred to by my clinic) and hopefully a few of his patients will respond to your post. I like him very much. Dr. W. does not have a clinic but he does his surgery at the Delta hospital. I find him very supportive. Here is a list of questions prepared by a successful bandster. I had my band in Toronto, but the distance is so far away that I cannot take advantage of the support so I pay for my fills. I get my support from Dr. W. and the Support group that meets at the Lions Gate Hospital and from the Slimband website. These are just a few of the questions that come to mind that are important in helping to make a decision in deciding which band surgeon and/or clinic to go with: · Is there a fee for consultation? · Are any of your staff at the clinic banded? · What other staff are available to patients such as dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists? o Is there a cost for their services? · Does the clinic have a website and a messageboard and or chatroom available for Lap Band potential patients to access? · What percentage of your bariatric clinic is devoted to lap band patients? · What is your medical education? · What experience in term of years and number of procedures do you have in lap band surgeries? · What experience do you have in performing revisions? · If you are a revision, what tests will you need to have done ahead of time to be sure you can have a lap band? · Do you have any statistics regarding your lap band practice and number of patients who have had slippages, band erosions or other complications? · What type of warranty comes with your lap band surgery? · What type of bands do they use and how do they determine the type and size? · Is there a pre-op diet you need to follow? o If so is there a cost involved? How much? · If I don't follow the pre op diet perfectly am I still allowed to get the surgery? · What tests and paperwork do I need to have done prior to being accepted for banding? o Is there any charge? How much? o What is the time span? · Is the surgery performed in the clinic or at the hospital? · In case of an emergency what is the procedure that is followed? · How soon after surgery can I go home? · What type of accreditation does your clinic have? · How do your operating rooms compare to those in a hospital if surgery is performed at the clinic? · Can you give me references from other patients I may talk to, especially those who are a revision from past weight loss surgery? · How long am I required to be in town before my surgery? · Is there a hotel that is recommended? o If so, is there a preferred rate at this hotel? o Is there a shuttle available from this hotel to clinic and back and how much does this cost? · Are my family members allowed to remain in the waiting room while I am in surgery or are they asked to leave until I am in the recovery room? · How long after I wake up can I go home? · What special medications will I need to purchase before hand? o Gas-x? liquid Calcium? chewable multi Vitamins? .... · How long would you recommend I take off work after surgery? · If I have a hernia do you fix this? o Is there an extra cost associated? · How long do I have to have a caregiver with me after surgery? · Is there someone I can hire to be my caregiver if I come alone? · Do you use latex? · Is there a deposit I have to pay to hold my surgery? o How much? o Is it refundable if I change my mind? · How must my final payment be made -- money order/visa/cheque? o Does it have to be in before my surgery or do I bring it with me on my surgery day? · If I have further questions may I contact you or your clinic with them? Even more important is follow up care: · What type of aftercare program does their clinic have? · What is covered in the cost of your surgery in regards to aftercare? · Is there an after hour phone number in case of an emergency or concern you encounter outside of normal business hours? o Is he/she available on call to answer or return your call? o Who responds to calls? · Do you have support groups available locally and in my area? · Is there a fee for any aftercare services? · How soon after surgery is your first fill usually? · What hours am I able to come in for fills and days? · How often between fills are you eligible for your next one? · How are the fills performed and are they with or without fluoroscopy? · Do you have to pay for your fills or are they covered in your surgery fee? o If they are not covered what is the fee? · If you live far away from the band clinic, do they have anyone local or closer to your home who is trained by the clinic to do your fills? o If so do you pay a fee to them and if so how much? · In case of complications post op, if you had a slippage or worse case scenario band erosion is any further surgery to remove the band covered or would you have to pay? · In case of a defective port or leak is the surgery to replace it covered in the lap band surgery cost? · In case of a defective lap band is it replaced at no cost to you the patient? · If you needed a new band for any reason such as the above or band leak, etc., is it replaced free of charge to you? o If not what type of cost would you be responsible for? · At the clinic does the surgeon do your follow up fills or fill nurses? o If nurses, what training do they have and can you meet them before committing to this surgery? · What criteria do they base your needing a fill or defill? · How long does it take when calling to book a fill does it take to get an appointment? · How much time is the fill nurse allotted to spend with you answering any questions or concerns also? · Are any of your staff at the clinic banded? · What other staff are available to help patients, i.e., dieticians, nutritionists, psychologists? o Is there a cost for their services? · Does the clinic have a website and a messageboard and or chatroom available for Lap Band patients to access? Pick out the ones may help you to make a decision.

I start the solid phase tomorrow and am looking forward to what the future has to offer. ISITWORTHIT - What clinic were you banded at? I had mine at Slimband and I am on pureed until day 20. Please be sure to contact your Dr and get everything checked out due to your vomiting.

I was banded at Slimband (formerly TLBC) and it took 2 months due to insurance approval. If you are self pay though you should be able to get in as soon as your pre-op diet allows.

I had my surgery yesterday. It was with Dr Yau with Slimband in Toronto. I arrived at 8:20 a little early for 9 am. At 9 the nurse came and got me to go get weighted, BP and change into the most flattering gown and robe From there DH and I just waited. Dr Yau came to speak with us and the the drug pusher came for a chat. The OR nurse came to get me around 10 am. We walked to the OR and I sat on the bed. She strapped these bootie type things on my calves to aid with circulation. Then I was given my IV and oxygen. A little while after that I was out. I vaguely remember going from the recovery room to my bed. So very sleepy. I remember them coming in to remove my IV then a whil elater the nurse dropped off my clothes and said that I could get dressed. I was amazed that I was able to do that on my own. I was so out of it. By 1:30 pm I was released and on my way home. Last night wasn't too bad by the gas is really coming in now. Not really hungry. So here we go.

I was banded at TLBC (now Slimband) too. My process was 5 weeks, but took that long only because I had some commitments to get through first.

I am from Edmonton and called Slimband in TO. on Nov.3rd for a consult and flew to TO. on Nov. 20th for my surgery.

I was banded at TLBC (now Slimband). From the time of my consult, I could have booked the surgery for 2 weeks later, after doing the pre-op diet. It was due to my schedule that delayed it for a few more weeks after that.

I am going with Dr Yau at Slimband. I have had the consult and everything seemed good. Good luck with your search and your procedure.:thumbdown:

I am trying to research places in Toronto ON for a Lapband Procedure in the near future( I hope) Can any of you recommend I have read SLIMBAND websites...and "The Toronto Surgical Weight Loss Centre" Both sound awesome. I have a consult with one of the surgeons tomorrow ( via telephone as i live 13 hours away), But it would help immensely if someone could give me advice if you were a person who had to travel a distance to get banded. Thanks Shel

see...this is a good reason why we need to stop using old threads to post new questions. I don't think Heather realized that she was responding to a post from August 2006!! I took HD Gloria's question out and posted it in a new thread for reply. Same thing with the TLBC and Slimband threads. There have been extraneous discussions that aren't specific to tlbc/slimband .....for example one about body buggs, that perhaps could be the subject of a separate thread.

Well these are old wounds and I don't wish to revisit them suffice to say, I was led to believe that support was part of the $16000 along with life time fills/deffils and any emergency to the band. In those days we didn't get anything in writing. If I had to do this all over again, I would in a flash, but I would ask for a written cntract. Slimband has a long way to go to catch up with SWL when it comes to suport. Now if you wish to continue this discussion I suggest we go private, because we seem to be the only two mainly on this link.

One of my concerns is the local residents have access to a psychologist (so the event calendar indicates) but we don't. As tango indicated if she had access to some mentoring on how to deal with frustrations and stress without the use of food, the situations may have been handled better. Many people spend their life savings or go into debt to have the band so can't afford private sessions. When Slimband have such an individual available to some clients the effort should be made to make it available to all. And yes, I have expressed this opinion to them.

Tango, I don't agree with you but I empathize with you, if you feel you are not getting what is promised starting a petition is not a bad idea. Working in the business arena and for many years with clients and customers my advice is a) write down exactly what you think the issues are so what were you promised that you are not getting personally I haven't been promised anything that isn't available. But truly spell it out, if you think the post op care is missing something and you were promised that with others write it out be specific and really anything promised should be in writing, make sure it was a promise and not a rumour you heard from another patient. :thumbup: do not do this as an internet petition have individuals write out their letters addressing what their own issues are real people who are real clients of the clinic. Each person will have different experiences and what their issues are may be vastly different from yours. c) Make sure the letters come from real clients with real names so the clinic can address those clients. Since it is a medical practice you can collect the letters but there is no possible way that anyone from the clinic can address anything about me as a patient with you they can't even acknowledge I am a patient to you. So the letters can be given as a collective whole but really they will need to be addressed individually to the person who has the issue. I think there are a lot of trolls on the net who like to stir up trouble and a lot of people who have some issues but aren't willing to take the time to address them by doing something like writing a letter, make this a serious effort to produce the results you want. d) make an appt with the mgmt of the clinic and present the letters after ensuring the people are real patients of the clinic. There would be nothing worse than presenting a bunch of letters to find out a majority of them were not written by real patients. But present the letters along with a summary of the most common issues and ask them to address the issues as a whole and to the individuals. Me I have no issues with the clinic Slimband has always been great with me, I like the staff, I have no issues getting fills with my travel schedule, I have never been promised something that wasn't delivered on time and correctly. I have had one problem and I addressed it and as far as I know it was taken care of in house. But I have found in the past dealing with companies the most effective way to resolve issues is to put things in writing making sure they are well written, concise and well presented, don't make it a bitch session that you don't like what you hear or read from others, make sure your issues are legitimate issues and only write about your issues not your friends. They can't address what is happening to others with you, only your real issues and what has happened to you. Good luck Heather

hi everyone..this is going to be im sure very much me rambling..i just found this site and besides a vlog that im doing on my laptop i think its also important to articulate my thoughts on this process and my soon to come transformation. today im 203.5, 5'5", my birthday just passed this past tuesday..i decided just recently to pursue this journey. i had a consult at the slimband centre in toronto on thursday. to give you a little background on me.. i had gastric bypass in 2001 in toronto with dr. joffe..it was a pretty quick process i really wasn't mentally prepared for the weight loss and the attention that went along with it. now don't get me wrong i was used to male attention but at 255-260 a lot of it was from the wrong kind of men.as i started to lose my ego kinda went out of control, i didn't obey the food plan, i didn't exercise, i didn't tell anyone...at all. so i ended up regaining some of the weight..since then i have lost some again and kind of reached the 200 point numerous times. i have been able to get below that a few times to as low 176 through dr. bernstein (a pretty popular & expensive) program here in toronto. so i have decided to do this..in canada we have to pay for this surgery out of pocket and its not cheap.. $18k to be specific..but i feel that this will be worth the initial investment. i am again this time not going to tell anyone which makes things slightly awkward. at my consult i was told instead of having the day surgery at the clinic i have to go to the hospital for an overnight stay so that means someone has to pick me up..who the heck is that going to be..i don't know..i have a little more than a month to figure it out..im thinking my ex since he and i are really good friends..i dont know..and the time off work kind of screws some things up.. the surgeries in hospital are only done on mondays..so i guess i will have to take the week off work..sucks..im in sales so time away from work is crucial..i was told that the earliest date available would be may..so im hoping for a cancellation or something so i can get it earlier..im also going to be working on another designation for my career during my post op time so i hope it will not interfere with my concentration..im thinking if i get the surgery in may i should be down 50 pounds by new years..im hoping i think im going to go now look at some you tube lap bandsters to get me pumped.. oh and i guess a little more personal stuff..im single, no pets, i live in downtown toronto alone, i love fashion, tv shows: 30 rock, the office, seinfeld, clothes, ..wow when i write it down doesn't seem like i have many interests..believe me i have more but i think im all typed out.. talk to you soon everyone! hope to talk to many of you..

:biggrin: hi everyone..this is going to be im sure very much me rambling..i just found this site and besides a vlog that im doing on my laptop i think its also important to articulate my thoughts on this process and my soon to come transformation. today im 203.5, 5'5", my birthday just passed this past tuesday..i decided just recently to pursue this journey. i had a consult at the slimband centre in toronto on thursday. to give you a little background on me.. i had gastric bypass in 2001 in toronto with dr. joffe..it was a pretty quick process i really wasn't mentally prepared for the weight loss and the attention that went along with it. now don't get me wrong i was used to male attention but at 255-260 a lot of it was from the wrong kind of men.as i started to lose my ego kinda went out of control, i didn't obey the food plan, i didn't exercise, i didn't tell anyone...at all. so i ended up regaining some of the weight..since then i have lost some again and kind of reached the 200 point numerous times. i have been able to get below that a few times to as low 176 through dr. bernstein (a pretty popular & expensive) program here in toronto. so i have decided to do this..in canada we have to pay for this surgery out of pocket and its not cheap.. $18k to be specific..but i feel that this will be worth the initial investment. i am again this time not going to tell anyone which makes things slightly awkward. at my consult i was told instead of having the day surgery at the clinic i have to go to the hospital for an overnight stay so that means someone has to pick me up..who the heck is that going to be..i don't know..i have a little more than a month to figure it out..im thinking my ex since he and i are really good friends..i dont know..and the time off work kind of screws some things up.. the surgeries in hospital are only done on mondays..so i guess i will have to take the week off work..sucks..im in sales so time away from work is crucial..i was told that the earliest date available would be may..so im hoping for a cancellation or something so i can get it earlier..im also going to be working on another designation for my career during my post op time so i hope it will not interfere with my concentration..im thinking if i get the surgery in may i should be down 50 pounds by new years..im hoping i think im going to go now look at some you tube lap bandsters to get me pumped.. oh and i guess a little more personal stuff..im single, no pets, i live in downtown toronto alone, i love fashion, tv shows: 30 rock, the office, seinfeld, clothes, ..wow when i write it down doesn't seem like i have many interests..believe me i have more but i think im all typed out.. talk to you soon everyone! hope to talk to many of you..

i wonder if others are as upset as i am about the post operative care at TLBC i know many people are from the conversations in the waiting room. I would like to get a letter signed by a number of us expressing how the changes they are making in the clinic since they became Slimband is not resulting in better care or results for us patients. Let me know if you feel the same

I am so glad that you are considering something other than TLBC (now Slimband). I wish I had not chosen TLBC. Their post operative support is terrible even though on paper it looks like they have a lot of stuff. I have been unable to get personalized support for my circumstances. You are told to just go to classes and that personal nutritional consultations are not possible. I could tell you tons of stories. TLBC has changed a lot in the last year and it feels like I am being herded along rather than people listening to my issues and offering solutions. I have been banded for one year and have only managed to loose 15 pounds even though I run 30 km per week and do 3 hours of personal training sessions per week. I feel like I made the wrong choice for sure. Do your homework very carefully before choosing a clinic.

no i did say her name. So i guess that was a no no. I was hoping that the big changes would help things out with slimband and their customers. I havent had to call them since my last fill. I hope things have improved for all who is taking this journey with them.

So far, slimband clinic has been good to me. I'm preparing myself I guess!

Hi Julie, I haven't been on this site for a year, but I just wanted to let you know that I was banded at TLBC now Slimband by Dr. Yau. I paid 16,000. It was the best thing that I ever did. I wish I had done it sooner. There are a few of us that meet for coffee in Bells Corners once a month and we have a group on yahoo. I think Secret Innocent post the link a few posts ago. You are welcome to join us for coffee and ask questions. We have all went to different clinics. Cindy

Doddie, I think that people need to get the anger out and vent... don't get me wrong about that... but what I don't get is the need to go on and on and on... let it go and get on with living life and doing it better stronger faster slimmer... when you spend your time focusing on the negative over the positives that you are doing to improve your life... you hold the negative and never get over it, so it tends to feed how you live your life. We have all met the people who on the surface have it all on the outside but on the inside they are bitter and angry... that is what reading posts from people who harp about the issues forever seems like to me. But I think people need to post the good bad and ugly... I think people need to know this is not always the easiest thing in the world to do, to change who you are... how you life and form better habits. I think a lot of people don't do the research and go into banding like it is a magic bullet and will do it all for you... it won't and it isn't... and people need to know that... they need to know this is real work for the rest of your life! People need to know about complications and how they are solved and the challenges. I really don't care though if people hate other people, or love other people.. hate the clinic staff or love the clinic staff... my experiences have been great with Slimband and that is what I judge them on my experiences not yours, not someone elses, just mine... and as long as they continue to be great they work for me. And I think people need to post that just not dwell on it... same with good experiences post but don't dwell... live your best life as Oprah would say. Heather

Heather, I agree that this forum is gotten to be more of a downer. Lots of bitching and disagreeing and I've made a decision to stop looking at forums now and concentrate on my own progress. I also find I often get ignored when I ask a question and end up reading pages and pages of complaints. So I have to agree with you there. As for slimband's site. What section did you post that threat to? That's my issue with the site. Once I've read a threat, I can often not find it again because of all the categories. I design websites for a living but find that life's too short to spend half an hour looking! It would be nice if they had a search option (perhaps they do and I haven't found it yet). Thanks for your help and comments. Mary

Doddie, No problems... as I said to Mary different strokes for different folks... I loved yahoo for ages.. I understood it when I first came on LBT I hated it!!! Now I get it.. and it is ok... Slimband was easy for me I am an IT geek so it made more sense... just to my geeky mind. I am sure like LBT it gets easier with time. Heather