waste of 16 thousand dollars

[Pain and Problems 0]

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 .

[TKW 501]

I can't believe that is all the support you got from your surgeon and his staff. They should have been bending over backwards to help solve you dilema. Good Luck to you!

[cheryl2586 3,053]

[elcee 3,341]

Just tried to read this to see if I could offer support. However because of the way it has been written I had to give up. With no paragraphs it is too much strain on the poor old eyes!

[onikenbai 33]

Please, please embrace capital letters and paragraph breaks. You will get more responses that way.

I also am a Toronto bandster and am having problems. I don't get stuck pain, I just get this overwhelming nausea when I eat and then I have to go throw up. It seems the better the food for me, the more likely I am to throw it up. I am an involuntary bulimic. I cannot eat in public or with other people for fear of puking all over them. To boot, I'm not losing any weight. I cannot wait to get this damn band out of me as my quality of life has sunk like a rock since it went in.

I also will not be getting a refund on my 18K as they say there is no problem with the band. They do not seem overly concerned that I am puking all the time and keep telling me that "I'm not working the tool I've been given". Now, my dinner of two bites of fish, four green Beans and a half a yam I think is pretty reasonable, but puke it up I did. What do I end up eating out of pure hunger and desperation? pudding and whipped cream. I can plainly see why it's not working; the crap stays down, the good stuff comes up, but why!?! They cannot give me any answers as to why the nausea . Been checked for slippage, too tight, general problems and no, it's all apparently good.

I share your frustration.

[Momto3redheads 18]

I am so sorry you have had so many problems....I don't know what the answer is, but I can only imagine your frustration. I hope you get some relief soon --- and find another way to continue your journey to wellness.

Kim

[m1aman 944]

geezus! who could read all of that?

[123crod 170]

Wow that is a long post. Did you do your research before getting the Band so you would know a lot of people have trouble adjusting to the Band. I think you should have spoken to another surgeon and got a second opinion before having the Band removed. Another surgeon might could of helped you. I say you should not get your money back if you did not go and get second opinion that could have proved Dr did something wrong. Also if you think he did something wrong or would not help you fix the problem why would let him cut you open again?

Cheri

[TKW 501]

I agree... he's a quack.

I would find another Dr/Clinic and have it checked out.

[mountain 0]

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.

[Ready2 4]

Just tried to read this to see if I could offer support. However because of the way it has been written I had to give up. With no paragraphs it is too much strain on the poor old eyes!

I'm with you. My eyes got lost trying to get to the next line.

[stephanie1975 0]

To the OP. I would seriously spend the money and do a consult with a different doctor. It is NUTS that you had ANY Fluid in your band at the surgery. I did not get a fill until about six weeks in. I am in BC and my doctor is helpful, but it's a little far for you:(

[pearlfidler56 0]

I too am having issues with Slimband and after the surgery in 2012 it may have been affective for 6 months to a year then it stopped restricting...i told them and even had my family doctor send me for exams which indicated there was minimal restriction...gradually the heartburn and acid reflux started and no matter gow many times i told them i met with ridiculous requests of sending in food logs...which had nothing to do with wether or not the band was working....the doctor form band says its probably not a good idea to get it tightened/repaired...further surgery which requires travel from Alberta to Ontario...but i have to pay to get it removed...almost 5 years and no results...16000.00 plus 1000's in admin fees!!! Im looking to file a class action lawsuit!!! Who else is looking into this...Dr. Yau was my surgeon and has since not had good reviews!!! Anyone???

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