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I had this done 2 years ago. It seems like the issues here stem from a lack of success. I'm doing great. Some days are a bit more harder then others, but overall. I'm really happy I did this. My life is much better. I'm more healthier. I have more fun with my kids. And I get to eat the same things they do. I would be happier if it cost me only $50.00. But it is still so much better then any diet out there. I'm also glad I did this with Slimband. I've never had a problem getting a hold of anyone whenever I needed advice. I would highly recommend people do their research, ask a lot of questions but go in with a great attitude.

I was banded by Slimband. I've had a feeling that things weren't going well at 'head office' but wasn't sure. I anxiously await your post...

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

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:

Slimband is also $16,000, with unlimited fills (and unfills) and follow up visits. You can also claim this on your income tax; it helps out some.

Thats weird about what TLBC says about Jill. They had told me the same about my consultant Dorothy being fired for the same thing..un-proffesional behavior. Really gets you wondering. Just to let everyone know so as not to dwell on the negative and make some of you believe I'm a negative person.... Belina at Slimband has been working hard to help me with my issues and they (Slimband) are bringing the fill nurse up to Sudbury for us northerners which has me pretty excited. After almost getting squished by a transport the time I went for my first fill. I am absolutly terrified to go back to Toronto again this winter. Has anyone else here , not lose any weight after their first fill?

Its taken me a little longer than I wanted to post this..dont know where the time has gone. In february I was delighted to know Slimband arranged a fill session only 2 1/2 hrs away from me and saved me a great deal of time and money so I wouldnt have to got to Toronto. Nancy was the fill nurse they flew in and she was great! My first fill at Slimband was extremely painful and took four needle insertions to find the port since mine has tilted. So needless to say I was terrified of the next fill. I was So happy with Nancy..I didnt even feel the needle!!! Plus I met a few other ladies with lapbands as well and we had a great chat. I needed a de-fill before I left because my water was getting stuck and now I think i have hit my sweet spot. Only frustrating thing is I'm not seeing a huge difference on the scale but my clothes are really baggy and I know thats that most important thing. I cant wait for the snow to GO and I can get outside more and get moving around more. How is everyone else doing on there journey?? This forum has been so quiet lately and I need to talk to my lapband ladies!!

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.

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

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

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.

HI: Why don't you start one say "Slimband aka TLBC cont'd" :tt2: I am not a great computer "geek" and find myself happy I can navigate these sites. Let us know how you are doing in your quest to get under or at your goal. Nice to see some different topics here. Can't we start a new thread though, so we can have less pages to wade through? Mary

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)

Hey freshair, I have recently been banded and I too live in Canada. Yes I made the investment and paid out of pocket. I chose to go with Dr Cobourn in Mississauga Ontario. I looked into slimband but found they were too commercialized. The clinic that I deal with has been nothing but upfront and factual with how the band works. If you have done some research then you should know the general basics of how the band works. Dr Cobourn stated straight to my face that the band is a tool that will help with satiety. You have to follow the diet recommendations and exercise daily. They tell you that the band doesn't stop what you put in your mouth. If you make poor decisions you WILL NOT get the results you want. I have seen the slimband commercials and yes they could be miss leading but I think if you are going to invest $16,000 out of pocket you better be educated about your investment. I have been doing well with the band. I follow the recommendations made by my Dr and I feel amazing. I am down 30 lbs and 2 dress sizes. There is nothing better in the world than feeling good about yourself and knowing that this is a life changing procedure.

Hello I would like to join the April band buddies.. My surgery is April 24th and I am getting the Slimband in Toronto.. I am nervous and excited.. I have to do a 10 day low cal diet.. No carbs, no fat, no fruit.. I guess its not too bad but will be hard to find stuff I can eat...I would love to chat with you all and compare our progresses and different things we do as the time goes along.. Please keep this thread going as I need something to keep me going.. My best friend was going to get it done too but she had hiatis hernia operation a few years back and they were wanting to do her banding in the hospital and costing her an extra 2900 so she opted out.. Now I need a partner or even better a few partners to chat with.. It was nice meeting you all and hope we can chat..

I'm confused - you are a Slimband patient but they won't do your fills?

Hi: This clinic is realtively new, but we have a few that have had surgery with them. They have a good followup aftercare. Their dietician attends our meetings. Please feel free to come to our meetings and get a variety of opinions on all clinics, Mexico, Slimband, Woodhead, Leung, NWLSC, and soon a new clinic will be opening up put on by Dr. Colbourne. We welcome everyone, pre or post surgery. Doreen

FWWAB, There is the myslimband.com forum that is for Slimband patients... you can join there and post. I am enjoying it more than i enjoyed the last TLBC board. It has a pretty active participation and they will email you about discussion and sessions etc once you join. I like both sets of forums but if you want slimbandsters specifically they are at the myslimband site. Good luck with losing Heather

Thanks Heather, I don't live in Toronto but four hours away. I do get down for busitiess from time to time .My issue is that this faciltity is becoming GTA Centric. I used to be able to drop into Jill's groups without registering because of my reality. For istance I could participate in any session if I was in town as my schedule is unpredictible. I don't believe this latitude is currently available. To their credit they are attempting outreach for fills but it is still 1.5 hours from home for me. For many reasons Toronto is more convenient. I have not needed a fill for months. I agree that the previous system was flawed. However it doesn't sound like the new process in much better as it could lead to never ending telephone tag. On the rare occassions I need a fill or defill, I don't have much lattitude in terms of time frame. I realize this is as much my problems as theirs. However, before I has the proceedure I was assured that I could be accomodated. Moreover, the aftercare pitch is what sold me on this clinic. Perhaps I expect too much, but for the first 8 months they exceeded my expectations. As far as the website is concerned, I have to disagree. I am not a newbie when it comes to the internet and I believe the site could be better. I don't see the similarities with this one. I also find the postings to be sanatized and sweet compared this one and there are portions of the site that are by invitation only. For instance blogging. It seems to be more about the sales pitch than anything else. At first I was excited about the slimband site. But that soon turned to frustration and I haven't been there in months. Maybe I should check it out again in the future but still don't think I would find it a good fit. This is the last time I will post on this issue. My entire weight loss experience has been very postive. I guess I'm feeling a little isolated and I'm disapointed that the website did not meet my needs or expectations. I will have to find an alternative support systems.

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, Once you get used to it, you might like it... I don't mind either forum style for posting I had to get used to this one after the canadian lapbanders forum on yahoo and disliked it forever. So there are different groups and all the postings originate in the group forums... On the right hand side select groups and then which group you want. If there is a group you want added email the admin. I did that for a general forum so we could discuss other things there. If you click on the group you want, fills, buddies, ask the nutritionist, general etc it will bring up all the active topics in that group. So then you can respond to the topic you want by clicking and reading similar to on here or start a new topic I think the add a post button is at the top. It is very similar to how this group works when you break down how the pages are designed and programmed... but as a general rule I know for me anyway I skip over the main forum and come right to the Canadian pages and then I can see all the posts and topics. The myslimband site has that same segration as we do here ie general, canadian, 40's, 50's and then postings underneath... it just doesn't seem that way to people who don't play on computers all day. So my slimband has the segration at the group name level and then you get into the postings similar to on here. I find the people on myslimband pretty cool and working towards their goals in my clinic's setting... and it is nice to read some positive stuff in there along with the not as positive stuff... and the other advantage I like is you get access to the slimband staff like Lina, Hanna, Jodi etc they check and post and will respond to questions so you are getting your clinic recommended answer rather than just the answer of another bandster. Both may work... but one may be more right with your dr... Does that help.. or did I get to technical? Heather

Hi there, My slimband surgery is scheduled for Dec 1, 2011. I am nervous, not so much about the surgery but the after part. The stories are scary I will admit they have me a little freaked out. I'm trying to focus on the positive things I read about which tend to out weigh the odd negative ones. After failing at everything for the past 16 years I'm praying this decision takes me to that place of self love and the land of self confidence.

July 2013 I thought I had the answer and after having many conversations with an employee of Slimband and stating she had the procedure done was honest enough to move me on to another employee because I was asking and trusting her personal opinion and experience. I believed she had a conscience and realized with my hesitation and state of mind, which was not in logical, healthy manner, she gave over my file to someone else who more and less bullied me into agreeing with the procedure. I have regretted this decision from the moment I had the procedure done. Even before the operation started my blood pressure was so high that they delayed it for a little time so that it could come down, but it never did. I quickly had a chat with the doctor who I felt was not coherent, spaced out and told me that I had to just watch my diet. This is not what I was told during my orientation. I realized moments before going into the surgery that I had been duped! Ashamed I never told my husband how I felt when I was in the other room having this conversation. So, because they are booked with surgeries I was rushed in, high pressure still not down, put under and woke up groggy and sent out the door. During the operation my bladder let go and therefore I had to leave the resident in a wet dress. I have experienced nothing but pain, cannot eat properly because I am throwing up so often, sometimes cannot eat for two days because food is stuck. I have not lost any weight with this procedure. They only thing I lost was 16 000.00 dollars, time from work because I am sick, avoiding events because I know that I cannot enjoy the experience of going out with family and friends in case I have to make many trips to the restroom to vomit. Embarrassment and pride and disappointment that I allowed someone take advantage of my desperation to lose weight forever or at least that is what I was told would happen. Now I just want my band removed and my money back! Shame on the doctors and Slimband as I never received any support after I left Toronto to come home east. This was a costly decision that I put a lot of consideration in and still was misled, deceived, and bullied. I wish a class action can be done to compensate me.

Just like Doddie63, I'm joining this thread so that I can read about other Slimband-sters. I was banded on Dec 11, 2008. I'm satisfied with my progress. I wish I could lose more, but I'm losing the healthy, recommended amount - and that's o.k. I'm attending two of the Supercharged seminars at the centre, and I find I get something out of each. I didn't know there was a "Slimband" website 'til yesterday. I don't know how I missed it - I had been checking the calendar on the TLBC site. I've had two fills, and have an appointment for another next week. I believe I'll ask for a little bit more, as I don't think I've reached my "sweet spot" yet. Close, but not quite there. Someone here recommended a central place for Slimband/TLBC people to gather. Is there a way to get a forum specific to us, I wonder?

Wow! Sandy thats is incredible! I was suppose to go on Wednesday nite but unfortunately I had a minor car accident in the afternoon on Wednesday and was unable to go. I wouldnt have wanted to be there! I'm meeting with Jill later today so I hope she is ok. Good luck with your surgery Sandy, I have heard good things about the clinic you are going to! I have the name of a great nurse practionier that does fills and defills so just drop me an email and I will set you up. I'm embrassed that TLBC/Slimband acted this way! Wow! I've been in business for 15 years and I have never heard of crazy behavior like this. I think Lisa maybe needs some anger management treatment! Good luck Sandy! I look forward to meeting you at Jills program next week! Enjoy the sunshine everyone!