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OK Heather. It is almost like "Thou protest too much". You and only you know whether Slimband has offered you something to be their eyes and voice on here. Your resume will not prove anything. Your conscience will be the final judge. Nonethess "Slimband" has posted on here so we know they are watching, and maybe postin through someone else as well. The point is that I can no longer trust that anything we read on here is truly unbiased. I will call Slimband myself and see if they have the integrity to admit to what they are doing. I have watched this board since I was banded by Dr. Yau last year and have never felt the nned to post before. I am disappointed that TLBC has violated my trust and aired their dirty landry here. I am doing fine with my band and love it. I am determined that nothing will change that. Cindy
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TLBC Clinic- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
susieq321 replied to *Love*'s topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
Oh my lord.. I am so not employed by TLBC or slimband I was banded long before they existed... look at my profile and you will see how long I have been a member of this site... want to talk to other bandsters who have met me and who also don't work for a clinic and I can provide those references hell I can even provide a SWLC employee as a reference and she will tell you I am not employed by Slimband... I am a software consultant... right now I work with a fortune 50 company in Colorado Springs... call Slimband and ask... people have met me... lots of them I hosted the Yahoo dinner I have been on here as a member since the site started there are times I have less time to post and more time to post... right now I am trying to refocus so I am making the time to post... people needs support at different times and I can tell that support is working so well on this page! I don't get why the accusations.... if you want a copy of my resume I will send it to you and you will see there is not one once of medical stuff on it.. and I don't plan on changing that. This is insane... people are people people get banded all the time, new people join, old people drop off, just because you don't like what I have to say doesn't make me a plant... Read and you might learn from me and as I read I might learn from you. Just as I might learn from others... and so can you As for why when people leave the clinics they can't set up their own businesses competing with the clinics I work contracts and standard in most of the contracts I sign as non compete clauses which means I can't take all the knowledge and contacts I made for a client and use that for my own gain... or that client can sue me for violating the non compete. The clinic may have similar things set up for employees I know when I was employer all the people who worked for me had long non competes which were very specific.. and almost every contract I sign has similar clauses. -
TLBC Clinic- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
susieq321 replied to *Love*'s topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
Doddie, I think that everyone needs to hear about the good the bad and the ugly.. .for some of us this is easier than for others. I have always encouraged people to post their challenges. I haven't read all 14 pages and I said that I have read the last 3-4 and some of that was down right nasty.. people saying their experiences were good and being accused of being staff and a plant come on please... if you can't see that you are one person and not everyone has your issues then maybe you are a plant... to make slimband look bad, someone a competitor is paying to take an issue and blow it up and discourage patients! (see that sounds crazy just like accusing someone who has a good experience of being a plant is crazy) Slimband is working to overcome their issues just like any other clinic out there. I don't think harping on the same issues for page after page doesn't anything but feel the negative... and focus on the negative and breeds more negative thoughts. I encourage people to post their challenges their complaints but I also encourage them to address their complaints in a manner that will get addressed by the clinic and posting them on here does nothing but vent which is sometimes very needed.. After reading three pages it is like come on if you change your focus towards the positive maybe more positive things will come of it.... I am not a huge fan of the secret but I have worked affirmations and meditation etc into my life for a lot of years and it works for me... focus on the negative long term and negative things will happen to you.. focus on the positive and the changes will amaze you that happen they may be small but they add up. So by all means everyone vent... but vent and move on and change your focus the longer you hold on to the anger the longer it will hold on to you -
Marivan I completely agree! But I did call Jill also today and she has told me she is not going to be doing any "Bootcamps" at this time. It has really left a bad taste in my mouth about TLBC! It also brings me back to something that has worried me since the change over to Slimband and that is when I paid my $16,000 and had my surgery in my contract it states that I have a lifetime of post op care of fill and defills. I was worried that Slimband would not honor this but I have spoken to my lawyer and he said that when he reviewed my contract that he felt confident they would honor this. But when you see stuff like this it makes me worried. However I doubt they would want the bad publicly that it would cause to renege on our contracts.
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So I guess that answers the questions about TLBC monitoring this board. It sounds like Heather is also a TLBC/Slimband employee. I have been watching this place for a while and have found it very helpful in my lap band jurney. However if TLBC is watching and posting how do we know what is true and what is not.:thumbs_up: How does TLBC have the right to stop someone from setting up their own bootcamp if it would help us? Now I am really confusd. cindy
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Thank-you Lisa for the clarification. Lisa what would be very helpful is finding out where and what the different bootcamps TLBC/Slimband is conducting. I have been on the slimband website and I can't find anything. I think maybe I should clarify also I was not going to approach Jill for a support group of TLBC, what I throughly appreciated and really benefited from was Jill's background as chef and nutritionist. She really helped me with my menu planning and food choices. She helped me with living with the band. And I found being part of a group that met once a week really gave me the accountability to know I was weighing in and that I had support of my peers to exeperience my success and my pitfalls. I'm still going to pursue the idea of seeing if Jill is interested in doing counceling for obesity, menu planning, and nutritional expertise. So if anyone is interested please let me know. Make it a great day everyone!!
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NOTICE Kindly be advised that Jill Seward is no longer employed with TLBC/Slimband. She is therefore not authorized to represent TLBC/Slimband in any way or conduct bootcamps on behalf of the company. The bootcamps provided by TLBC/Slimband are proprietary to the company and cannot be offered by 3rd parties. For information about support groups for patients please contact TLBC/Slimband directly. Lisa Borg Director of Marketing & Communications Slimband
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Yes Heather what you post is absolutely true. We should all be upbeat and have spring in our steps as we journey along. But that is not always the way it is in real life. Real people have their ups and down and sometimes this site is the only place to express their feelings. Try to disuade people that post negative thoughts is not helping them in any way. I am thrilled you have seven years of wonderful progress and I personally like to hear about your journey, but I also want to hear from the souls who are struggling. I try to read into what they are saying and hopefully I can give them a little light at the end of the tunnel. The TLBC (Slimband) is my clinic and I still feel they are the best but they have struggled recently in reorganization. The previous posts were people who were frustrated and needed to vent. Going public with complaints about a company after numerous unsuccessful attempts to solve a problem quite often brings a solution. It did in the most recent post. So I would encourage anyone that is having issues to post your concerns and not stifle them. Getting your feeling out in the open is the only way you can solve them. Keeping your thoughts to yourself will only fester and we all know where that leads us ---to more eating.
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Slimband Clinic 2008 Tononto, ON- A place to post your experiences
susieq321 posted a topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
So I mentioned started a new thread for Slimband. Last years thread was getting up there to over a dozen pages, lets post our experiences, desires, victories what is working for us and questions that we have! This thread is primarily for Slimband patients formerly TLBC but anyone is welcome but please don't get upset if we talk about our surgeon positively or our clinic in glowing terms. Nothing against any other clinic but we choose our clinic for a reason and that is because it was the best choice for us and we thought it was the best period! I hope this year kicks off a year of losses in weight and gains in so many other areas of people lives! Heather -
I lost 150 in about 18 months and have maintained that loss over 5 years now... that is a big thing you need to talk to people about on top of how much they have lost... maintenance Almost all the bypassers I know have regained weight and some significant weight at about the 5-7 year mark... their body has adjusted to the malabsorpation and the reduced calorie intake and they tend to gain. Ask about maintenance and regain it is a biggie for me... I can always get my band adjusted there is no adjust a bypass Good luck with your decision. I can say I love my clinic and my surgeon and he has been great with me. If you want more info on the clinics I can tell you about Slimband. Heather
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TLBC Clinic- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
susieq321 replied to *Love*'s topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
I haven't read the over a dozen pages but I hope they are not all the same I know the last 3 or 4 I read were nasty and not helpful. TLBC and promises, I would encourage anyone who has a special deal ie fill Drs, anything out of the norm with any surgeon or staff member to get it in writing then there is no confusion as to what and who promised anything. Until you have it in writing there isn't a whole lot you can do about it because it becomes a he said she said situation. As for the rest of it Slimband is a great progressive clinic and they are willing to do things to help their patients. I was looking at the event calendar and things like lectures by Dr Barry Simon who I have heard speak and is amazing he actually gets that our heads are different than people who have never had a weight issue. Today marks my seventh year of banding and I can't tell you how far things have come. When I was banded there were no clinics and lots of promises, I could go on but as I posted somewhere else it is kind of like listening to your parents who walked 40 miles to school in ten feet of snow up hill both ways.... remember it is all about you and you are the one who can do this and you are the only one who is responsible if you succeed or fail! There is absolutely a need to get all the details out good and bad and where you succeed and where you fail but focusing on the negative will only breed more negative. Focusing on things like the compliments you got, how you feel in your body as you lose weight... how you move better how your back hurts less and your knees don't creak... those need to come out too. Maybe this is the time to start posting what works for you... what in the clinic worked for you what you would like to see more of? Maybe with the new year it is time for new goals and new attitudes. It might even be time for a new thread.. to start the new year right and focus on where things are going and good they are. Heather -
Maybe I am a grouch.. But after recovering from my motorcycle accident and two surgeries thereafter and trying to keep my business afloat and run a household while my husband works out of town all the time...I have no time to go to Toronto for my fills and that was a point that I brought up to Dorothy who assured me again it will be fine. So now I feel with no fill dr in Sudbury I am screwed, I have paid for this surgery for nothing since I cant get my proper fills. This is a whole different experience and just dealing with the weight loss end of things and then all the other crap on top of it has absolutly drained me. I cant "eat" my stress away and I'm trying to deal with all of this in a new way and its hard..so yes I snapped. I dont have anyone else to talk to about this slimband and I thought I could come here to vent...my apologies to anyone I have offended. I guess the topper to all my stress was finding out I possibly have melanoma prior to this change in plans. Many thanks to my friends on here for being so supportive. Spanish Lady...good luck with your weight loss I'm glad you arent having a hard time.
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I did mine in Toronto and it was $16,000 Canadian - which would definitely leave you budget on your insurance for fills locally. Good surgeon too - Dr. Yau at Slimband. Have a look at their website.
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TLBC Clinic- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
canadiangirl replied to *Love*'s topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
Congrats on your surgery, I am happy that everything went great for you! However I wanted to remind you that this is a post regarding TLBC a.k.a. SLIMBAND, and it is nice to have a forum to see the positives well as the negatives. The problems that SOME of us have with TLBC does not mean that everybody goes thrught the same issues, but for me I have been talking to Jorja about going through some of the same issues ie: fill Dr.'s and appt. cancellations, and it is nice to know someone else is going through the same things. I have met Jorja in person ( I flew to TO. for my first fill...thats another story regarding TLBC), she is not a negative person she is just like ther rest of us trying to get some support and insight from eachother. That is what this forum is for...isn't it? Everyone is going to make their own decisions about their surgery. I am sure that for some of us, it has been smooth sailing with TLBC, but for others it hasn't. I loved Dr. Yau, he has a great reputation, my surgery went great and my aftercare nurses were awesome, Belina has been trying to make things better for me, but relying on Toronto promises, when I live in Alberta has been difficult. I have worked through some of my issues but I still think that TLBC isn't the greatest when you live long distance (that is my own experience). In my opinion, I have heard better things from SWLC regarding long distance care. Good luck on your journey! -
TLBC Clinic- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
canadiangirl replied to *Love*'s topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
Jorja, I just wanted to say that you and I have dealt with some of the same issues about Slimband. Don't let anyone discourage you on this site! You have my support! Doddie, I think that you are a great role model to all of us that are new to the banding experience, I'm glad that there is someone like you on this site to help us out. I know that you would be the first one that I would go to if I needed any advice! Thank-You. I always love to read your posts. Keep it up! -
Please don't apologize for looking for support. Jane was totally out of line in her first message. She attacked you and your motives then comes back later to clarify what she meant. Which in my mind was not too much different to the first attack. When persistant attempts to communicate with a company fail, they you must go to the very top. The have a new CEO now. Long distant patients have difficulty dealing with Slimband because it appears there is no clear cut policy about what their aftercare is for us. The thing you have going for you is that "someone" promised you a fill doctor "before" you had the surgery and now refuse to give that service. Talk to another slimband person and they give you a totally different version of the policy. Try one more time by telephone and requesting to speak to the CEO. Have your questins ready and no satisfaction, then the other remedies could be tried. Please keep posting for support because we all know that stress such as you are going thru causes emotional eating. Ignore the negative posts and take solace from the encouraging posts. :biggrin:
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Very simple, you have a wonderful doctor. Some doctors do not consider the CD as training nor do their assocations. My doctor said he would then backtracked. Also, support is not 100% fills. Support is being able to get answers to worries or questions ASAP. As the band is a new experience, I had some concerns in the first year. Now I am a bit more comfortable and we have an established support group things have gotten better. The fact Slimband staff did not consider travel costs and just cancelled the fill appointments is a classic problem I went through. They did a blanket cancellation with no thought to the expenses long distant travellers must pay. All though all the staff are very nice there just seems to be a lack of communications between each other. Hopefully, things will improve as this new group get themselves organized.
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I had my surgery in Toronto at Slimband a.k.a TLBC, I was told that the Dr. they are going to use in Edmonton for their fills is Dr. Hartman on 28th ave in Towne Center. I'm not sure if he only does Slimband patients. But it doesn't hurt to ask. Good Luck
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TLBC Clinic- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
canadiangirl replied to *Love*'s topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
I totally know what you are going through Jorja, I am from Alberta and I just got a call this morning as well, and they wanted to reschedule my appt. on Monday for Wednesday. Why would they do this?? I am really disappointed in them. I didn't reschedule... I told them that my flight is booked and so is my hotel, so they kept the appt. I was told before I booked my surgery that there WAS a fill Dr. where I live...then I was told that there wasn't by a fellow bandster from Edmonton (after I booked my appt. paid $2500.00 and booked 2 flights for my husband and myself to go to TO.) she told me that she had to fly to TO for her fills. So called them to "straighten out the situation" and I was told that they just finished training a Dr. where I live to do fills so he will be set up to do them by the time i have my surgery. Then surgery day comes and I was told that I need to fly back to TO. for my first fill because it is really important to go to their "fill seminar" and that it would be easier for the Dr who was trained to do fills where I live to find the port because there would be saline in it. So I booked my flights and hotel, and today I was told that there will be no fill seminar for me. (apparently its not as important as it was on Nov. 20th). I could have stayed here and got my fills from their Dr. in Edmonton (if there is one, who knows if they have been truthful).I seem to be spending more and more money and I am getting frustrated with SLIMBAND a.k.a TLBC. I recovered great from my surgery, I have no problem with Dr. Yau as a surgeon, and the nurses were great to me before and after the surgery, but the clinic is going to suffer if they keep this up. Unhappy in Edmonton!!!! -
Hi eveyone, been reading lots on this site and learning a lot. I've made the decision - I am going for the surgery! Now I just have to decide where and when. Previously, there had been almost nothing but positives about TLBC/Slimband but now I'm starting to have second throughts. I really like that it is so conveniently located to me and they do seem to promise you all sorts of after care support - but they can "say" anything right? So I guess I'm asking - what have you received? Particularly those who live in/near the clinic? What services have you used or been able to access? Other than fills, what do they do for you after the surgery? Are the support groups or other follow ups? Thanks everyone and congrats on all your progress - I look forward to beginning my own journy soon!
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I'm sorry I had to give the bad news. :grouphug: I recently got my surgery @ TLBC a.k.a Slimband. in Toronto. They aren't equipped to do fills in Edmonton yet. They told me that they were, but I found out from a fellow bandster from Edmonton that she had to fly to Toronto for her first 2 fills (i'm flying to TO on the 15th for my first fill). TLBC hasn't been that Alberta friendly for me. I was told that they just trained someone to do fills in Edmonton, but they are not ready yet and it is important to see the fill nurse in TO for a seminar. ( I was told that the morning of my surgery). Dr. Yau was great but the aftercare sucks, hopefully that will change. If I had to do it again i'd go to the Winnepeg clinic or the SWLC in Ontario. (cheaper flights to Winnepeg)
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I called TLBC (or slimband as they are calling themselves now) and I asked to speak to Jill. The girl on the phone went quiet and then said "she doesn't work here any longer". I said "I hope she is okay", again the total quiet and no comment! It's like she died and they don't want to say anything. I really liked Jill and I hope that she left for her own reasons and not because she was in any way pushed. I spoke to the new nutritionist Jody Hill and she also wouldn't say anything about whether Jill was all right or not (I know, none of my business, but you would think they'd have agreed on something to say about a well-loved member of their staff). I explained that Jill was in the process of referring me to the hospital at Yonge and Elginton for a metabolic rate and Jody had no clue who that would be and suggested first that I'd have to pay for this (Jill had said that it is covered by OHIP) and then suggested that I see a naturapath! I told her that one of the ways a friend convinced me to spend $16,000 on this op was that I had likely spent more than that over the years on various alternative doctors that hadn't helped anything but to make my wallet thinner! So I am not going that route ever again. She asked that I give her some time and she'll get back to me. I also asked her about the rumour about the 3 year limit and she assured me that patients that had their operations when TLBC promised "Life time" care, would be still covered. I understand that they don't want people in and out after three years and I also want to have this weight off in under two, but if in four years I have to have a de-fill for a medical reason etc, I was promised it was covered. Apparently it still is. So I am very sad to hear about Jill and once again, their bizarre way of dealing with things. I'll let you know if I get any help from Jody. I have to agree with you dodie, I think Dr Yau is first rate but his clinic is a bit funny. Mary
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Until the clinic (now slimband, I think) starts giving some explanations as to what is happening in that organization, I truly cannot give my reference to anyone thinking of banding. I gave a reference to a lady in Vancouver and she has had nothing but difficulty which put me in a pretty embarrasing position. Dr. Yau in my opinion is still the surgeon I would recommend, but it appears the supporting management are letting him down.
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I am personally disappointed with the new website that TLBC has put together. I find it confusing and it lacks basic navigation instructions. Am I missing something - do others like this new site?
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I met with Dr Woolfson a few weeks ago, I've had a lifelong realationship with this hopsital and the doctors there and love my family doctor at Credit Valley but I wasn't sure about the aftercare program there. Plus I now live in Toronto so I've also met with a consultant at TLBC/Slimband. How have you found them after the surgery? Are they flexible in appointment to get a fill or available if you have a question. What do they offer in terms of their aftercare program, the surgeon said it was complete but didn't really go into detail.
