Who were you banded by?

argon · March 2, 2006

Cloe,

I haven't gotten my band yet, but I can at least say that from talking to him, he seems super nice, and so do everyone at the clinic that I've talked to. His nurse, Marie is sooo nice!

Whereabouts do you live? If it's far enough away from the clinic, you should see about whether you can have a phone consult. I had mine a couple days after they got my consult fee. Dr. Cobourn called me at home at 8 oclock at night! How cool is that?! We talked for about half an hour, and that was considered my consultation. I have to have a quick meeting with him the day before surgery, but that's it.

Good luck,

Mandi

CLOE · March 5, 2006

Hi Crazy, I'm actually only a couple hours away from Dr. Cobourn,so its not to far for me. Keep me informed how this experience is going for u, I'm kinda freak'n out a bit, hope Dr. Cobourn can ease my nerves, I want this to work soooo bad! Take Care, Cloe:nervous

Diana Moragon · March 11, 2006

I am supposed to get the band on March 23, 2006. I am still trying to find someone who has been banded longer than 8 or 10 years so that I can talk to them. Does anyone know of anyone banded that long?

Thanks,

Diana

argon · March 12, 2006

Hey Diana,

Are you from Canada? Who are you getting banded by?

I think you should post this question on a 'main' board, like here :

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17 ... make the topic "looking for long term banders" or something like that to make sure it catches their eye.

I don't know if there's anyone on here banded that long, but give it a try. I read your previous posts and it seems like that's your main concern. I don't think it's been done in North American longer than that, so it may be hard to find anyone banded as long as you're looking for, since this seems to be a predominantely American board.

You said that from what you read, no one's been able to lose all their weight and keep it off. I don't agree with that at all. I think you should read some more. I'm scheduled for March 29, and I'm not worried. I know that whatever happens, I'll be better off than I am now. What I'm doing is much more safe than getting the RNY I was initially shooting for, and even if I lose half of the weight I want to, it's better than nothing and better than I likely would have been able to do on my own. If you're not sure you want to do this, than don't do it. If you think you can lose all the weight on your own again, that's awesome, and all the more power to you.

Good luck.

greenday123 · March 24, 2006

hi all,

my question probably sounds dumb but i am living in fort saint john, BC and i wanna do lapband but dun know where to go to. I doubt fort saint john has any.....so i'm hoping that i can do it at quebec or vancouver....pls advise on the locations of the doctors that i can go to? If there is a contact no. or email address or website, it's even better...

what is the cost like? and do i have to wait ages to do it?

I reallie would appreciate having advice from all of you as i want to do this badly...

cheers

canadian bander · March 24, 2006

HI Greenday

I was banded by Dr. Woodhead in Ladner. There is also Dr. Leung in Surrey BC. Dr. Woodhead's address is:

Woodhead R V Dr

4515 Harvest Dr 206, Ladner, BC V4K4L1

(604) 946-6500

The cost was 13,500. This includes all fills. It wasn't covered by medical.

I hope all goes well for you:p

argon · March 24, 2006

canadian bander,

how long was the wait for you?

Mandi

canadian bander · March 26, 2006

About 2 months. You must have an endoscopy before he does the surgery.

argon · March 26, 2006

interesting... and that's why it took 2 months, because of the wait for the endoscopy?

canadian bander · March 26, 2006

no, it might of been done even sooner except it was around the Christmas holiday time. I had the endoscopy the next day. I work in a hospital and so it was easy for me to run downstairs hand have it. I believe the waiting time is about 1 - 2 months with my surgeon. I'm not sure about other surgeons though in BC.

Good luck with you surgery. I see you only have 3 more days to go.

argon · March 26, 2006

Oh, ok... gotcha. I had a 2 month wait as well..

Thank you, I'm pretty excited!

Mandi

greenday123 · March 27, 2006

HI Greenday
I was banded by Dr. Woodhead in Ladner. There is also Dr. Leung in Surrey BC. Dr. Woodhead's address is:

Woodhead R V Dr

4515 Harvest Dr 206, Ladner, BC V4K4L1

(604) 946-6500

The cost was 13,500. This includes all fills. It wasn't covered by medical.

I hope all goes well for you:p

Hey thanks...i reallie appreciate that....do u think you could gimme me Dr Leung contact number, address or website at Surrey, BC? how long did u have to wait b4 your turn? I heard that the waiting could take years...is that true?

Cheers...

canadian bander · March 27, 2006

I had to wait 2 months. Medical Insurance doesn't cover this operation and so the wait isn't long. If you are getting gastric bypass (in Victoria) this is covered by medical but wait is very long. Last I head about 3 years. Here is Dr. Leung's info

Leung W M Dr

13798 94A Ave 200, Surrey, BC V3V1N1

(604) 581-2515

greenday123 · March 27, 2006

I had to wait 2 months. Medical Insurance doesn't cover this operation and so the wait isn't long. If you are getting gastric bypass (in Victoria) this is covered by medical but wait is very long. Last I head about 3 years. Here is Dr. Leung's info
Leung W M Dr

13798 94A Ave 200, Surrey, BC V3V1N1

(604) 581-2515

hi hi..thanks a lot for that info...i will give them a call and see what i end up with....i want to do this as fast as i can..... so i am feeling very excited now despite the risks...

the $13,500 that u paid...did u had to pay everything in cash upfront? Or could u pay by instalments or any form of credit financing? Are the interest rates high? Does the $13,500 cover everything, including hospitalisation & medication?

and and and i'm soooo terribly embarrased by the next question but what is a "fill"?

canadian bander · March 28, 2006

don't be embarrased! Everybody asks me that at work. A fill is when you go into your surgeon's office ( I went in about 6 weeks following the surgery) and he puts saline in the port with a needle. This will tighten the band slightly. The port is located under your skin. It makes it more difficult for the food to go down when you have a fill. I had to have two. The first one didn't do much. Sometimes you have to have many before you get to your "sweet spot". That is when it isn't too tight or too loose.

No, I couldn't pay on installments. I had to pay before I had the surgery. I believe it was a week or two before the surgery.