so done with it all

I think it's rude to ASSume it's okay to leave your shoes on in anyone's home. Had I just washed my floor and some jackASS came in and walked all over my dirty floors, he'd get a punch to the nose to have his blood dirty my floor. If I'm going to have to clean them again then it will be well worth my while to do it. I think it shows a lack of respect NOT to remove your shoes.

I'd never say he isn't a good surgeon but lap-band requires way too much aftercare to take our chances on a surgeon that has a pending hearing. If he's found not guilty then by all means, use the man but for now, no way in heck.

Does TLBC have another surgeon yet or is it just Dr. Yau still? SWLC now has 3 lap-band surgeons so with 4 surgeons at least between the 2 big ones, everyone should be able to get done within 4 to 6 weeks. That's not a very long wait for a reputable clinic in my opinion.

That might be a very good guess since I said He and there's really only one experienced surgeon out there that is no longer affiliated with any clinic.

Like I said it's rumor at this point but a very good rumor. I just can't wait to see the whole place flop to be quite honest. Anyone that would want to be near that man prior to his hearing is insane. Any clinic that would be affilitated with him before the outcome is not a clinic I'd even suggest to anyone looking into banding.

I always tell newbies to check out the 2 big clinics in Toronto but would most definitely tell them to stay the hell away from this one!!

Are you experiencing any reflux at all? If you are then you might be too tight. A lot of us have trouble doing anything but drinking first thing in the morning. Also if the food is hurting going down, make sure you are chewing properly before you swallow. Sometimes after we have been able to eat more and eat faster, we forget to go back to the basics after a fill. You might be at a good restriction so try those things first and if you are doing all that and it's still uncomfortable, I'd get a very small amount out. Sometimes .25cc can make all the difference in the world. Don't go through too long with any discomfort.

They have no experienced staff there in the surgical end. I'd not even waste my time with a consult. I've heard rumors of who the physician might be in the background but so far it's just rumors since they dont' have him listed on their site.

It will be interesting to watch this one go down the toilet!!

I did 4 Optifast shakes per day and I found I had no hunger at all after day 3. Meals were so easy, no thinking involved at all. Perhaps you are suffering from head hunger more than actual hunger. I drank a lot of Water and black coffee and tea and crystal light in between my shakes. I'm not sure if your doctor has you doing 4 shakes per day or the 3 shakes per day and 1 meal of veggies like some docs do. I lost 27 lbs in 3 weeks on the Optifast and it was the easiest quick weight loss of my life. Hang in there, it will help with the surgery to make your liver smaller.

To me it sounds like they have you on the RNY post op diet. All liquids go straight through the upper and lower stoma and there wouldn't be anymore churning with clear broth than with Water or with Protein Shakes. Your surgeon doesn't seem to be on board with what a bandster should be doing post op.

Giselle,

I was just on the SWLC website and Thunder Bay is listed as one of the cities where they have trained a doctor/nurse to do fills but it's strictly for their patients. I got a DVD and a CD from the SWLC once I found a doctor locally that would do my fills for me. The local doctor had to be approved by the clinic so as to not void the warranty on the band.

If you would like the name of the other clinics, I can provide you with their websites as well and am also trying to find out more info on the Winnipeg Clinic in case that is a better option for you as well. I had heard Dr. Barr's Plastic Surgery Clinic in Sudbury was thinking of doing bands but so far it's a no go.

I didn't have the same post op instructions that you have. I was allowed all the liquids I wanted for the first two weeks. They said to start out with like 1/2 cup but if I felt I needed more, I could have it. Don't forget, every clinic follows their own post op guidelines so what your clinic does will be different than many others. I say if you are still hungry, then eat more of the approved foods. They are just guidelines after all.

Giselle,

I'm not sure about TLBC but with SWLC you can do your consult over the phone to get all your questions answered. Neither clinic charges a consult fee either so you are best to talk to both places and find the one that suits you best. Both are great clinics and both offer different things that appeal to everyone. There are actually 3 other clinics in Toronto but you never hear of their patients so that's why I stayed away from them. The other 2 do a lot more per week and have been doing them for years now.

As for the BMI, a lot of clinics will put a baseline down but they will band lower BMI's. I know patients of both clinics and some started out very low BMI and they were still done.

If you want to get info from SWLC regarding their fill person in Thunder Bay just email info@lapband.ca and just tell them you are looking into the procedure and tell them where you live and wondering if they have a person in Thunder Bay still and find out what the cost if for an adjustment with him/her. Fills at the clinic are covered but fills with other people have a fee of anywhere from $75 to $125. I get mine done locally and it cost me a lot less to pay the minimal fee to get a fill at home instead of having to go to Toronto. That's a 2 day excursion for me to go back to the clinic so I gladly budget for fills locally since one trip per year to the clinic cost me as much as all my fills locally in a year.

The sleeve is fairly new and it's actually half of a DS(Duodenal Switch). It's much more invasive surgery just like the RNY(Gastric Bypass). Just keep looking into all your options and when you find the right device and surgeon, you will know it. I consulted for 2 years before making the plunge but when I met Dr. Cobourn, I knew there was no more looking involved. Most people I know in the banded community have all felt the same way with their surgeon of choice.

Good luck in your hunt.

Hi Giselle;

At my clinic TLBC it costs $16,000 incl Gst. for the Lapband and any proceedures for life.

At SWLC in Mississauga its $17,000 plus Gst. don't know how long you are covered for subsequent fills and revisions(if necessary)

At SWLC, it's $16000 period, no taxes since they do not charge tax and adjustments are forever. They've had to do band replacements and everything was covered.

Giselle,

The doctors and nurses trained by the SWLC can only do fills for their patients. If you are going elsewhere, then they wouldn't be able to do fills for you. They have Thunder Bay listed as a place where they have trained someone so if you want to know the name of the person up there, you'd have to contact the clinic.

Here's their website and they have a place where you can ask them questions.

Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass

Good luck in your decision to pick a surgeon.

I know where Marathon is and I believe the SWLC has either a doctor or nurse in Thunder Bay now that will do the fills so you don't have to return to Mississauga but you still have to go to Mississauga for the surgery. There is a new clinic opening in Manitoba or it might already be open but not sure who the doc is.

I live in Northern Ontario and all the clinics are located in either Toronto or Mississauga. I chose Dr. Cobourn at the SWLC and have been happy with everything. He trains doctors and nurses all over the country to do fills for out of town patients. I know he is looking at finding one in North Bay, Sudbury and the Soo. I'm not sure what part of the North you are from but you might want to check his clinic out.

I've been banded over 2 years now and in the beginning it was always Dr. C. that did the fills. Now it's Tammy or Sue that does them unless you specifically ask to see your surgeon. There is never a barium swallow or a fluoro fill unless there is a problem.

I was at a great level of restriction from November until February then it got uncomfortably tight so I just had .6cc taken out of 8.9cc then I noticed all summer, it was getting tighter and tighter on its own until a month or so ago, it took me 4 hours to drink one black coffee so we took 2cc out. It is still tightening and loosening on and off so I'm going to get a fluoro to see if everything is okay in there or if my band is just being the fickle bitch it likes to be.

As far as fills/defills our whole lives, lots have never touched their fill level since they have been at goal unless they needed to be defilled for major surgery.

After your consultation, find out how early in January you can get it done then figure out what stage you will be at by the time of the Florida trip and if you are on solids, I'd still do both.

If you get banded the first week of January, there is no reason you can't go to Florida the last week of January. You will be more than healed by then and close to getting your first fill. Depending on which surgeon does your surgery, some people are getting fills as soon as 4 weeks post op and are on solids already by then.

Did you think it would take you longer than that to heal or do you want to be on solid foods first for quite awhile before you go? I wouldn't put either off.

I lost quite a bit with each fill actually. I've only had 5 fills in almost 2 years and have not had a fill since late last November. I had to have 2 defills since February when my band started to tighten for no reason so now I'm back down to below the level I had after my 2nd fill. I started to gain weight since my last defill so I will get another fill soon somewhere between this one and the last one and hopefully start losing again.

I'm 90 miles north of North Bay but go there often. I've actually organized a few bandster lunches there in the past. There are getting to be quite a few over in the Sudbury area as well.

I've been banded almost 2 years and all follow-up has been done with Dr. Cobourn. When I was banded, there was only him and his nurse, Marie, that did any follow up. I got a phone call the day after surgery from one of the OR nurses but I also saw Dr. Cobourn the next day as well since he insisted on seeing me before my 6 hour drive home.

As others have said, if you want to talk to Dr. Cobourn, all you have to do is ask. I correspond with him whenever I have a concern and he's very quick to reply either by email or by phone.

If you are having a problem with his booking staff then let him know. He WANTS to know these things and has told me many times that he would much rather hear it from us so he can deal with it. Don't hesitate to bring your concerns forward with him, you might be extremely pleased at how receptive he will be since he wants us all to be extremely happy with our journeys in weight loss.

I stayed at the Holiday Inn every time I have been down and was always happy staying there. You can request a microwave and a fridge in your room if you have to stay a few days. I didn't bother because I was just there overnite but it is close and convenient to the clinic.

Someone commented that you are saying goodbye to food forever but you are only saying goodbye to it for a brief period of time. You do the pre op if your surgeon has one and then you have your eating plan post op to follow. After that you can still eat any food you enjoy, just in smaller portions. I can eat anything that I could eat preband but just in smaller quantities. I also choose not to eat the junk as often now cuz I'm no longer starving all day long.

Don't worry about having last supper syndrome, so many do. Just try telling yourself that you are not giving up food forever, just giving it up to prepare and heal after surgery.

OHIP doesn't pay for tummy tucks at all, what they do pay for in some cases are called panniculectomy. This is a very different surgery to a Tummy Tuck. A tummy tuck involves cutting off the excess skin, making a new belly button, pulling the muscles tighter and some contouring. The one that is covered by OHIP is strictly the removal of excess skin and nothing else. It is very difficult to get it covered and your doctor has to apply to OHIP to get it approved. You usually have to be medically supervised for recurring rashes under the apron and yeast infections in the skin folds and so on and even then they might say no.

As someone else said, don't count on it and start saving your pennies for PS.

You dont' pay an additional $70 for the dinner. That is included with your registration fee along with the rest of your food for the weekend. You just pay for your room on top of the registration fee. They break it down to the dinner only because some people don't do the conference part and just go for dinner. Last year it was a murdery mystery dinner theme and I'm sure they are doing something different more than just dinner again.

Here's the details from the website.

Fees to register for the entire 2007 Canadian Bandster Bash

are: $ 175.00 Cdn$ ($150.00 US$)

Special: $150.00 for the full weekend if you register & pay by

Dec. 31, 2006

The $175.00 fee includes use of the conference facilities at the DELTA MEADOWVALE RESORT, admissions to all presentations and educational activities, Friday night Welcome Party, Saturday Brunch and Dinner, and Sunday Breakfast. It also includes admission to the vendor area, a registration bag with bandster related merchandise and samples from the different vendors present at this years conference.

Other Registration Options: