I have my surgery date for Lap Band!!!!

HI all, just thought I would send out a message because I booked my surgery for my lapband yesterday. I am going to the Toronto Lap Band Centre on Sept. 20th! I am so excited and nervous and everything in between. Dr. Yau will be performing my surgery and I have been in contact with all the support staff there. If anyone has recently been there, please let me know your experiences!! Thanks!! Soon to be Shrinking Shanan

That is great news! Fingers crossed that all goes well. Shirley

Thats great to hear! How did you end up with this clinic? Do they do fills in NS? I'm very excited for my surgery only 29 days left now, the clinic I am attending has a great message forum so everyone has been helping me to figure out travel plans etc. We are only a day apart in surgery, I arrive in Toronto on the 20th! Where are you staying when you arrive, I mean do they have a hospital. I am staying at the Heritage House, it is a place for plastic surgery patients to recover, hehe maybe I should get a face left while I'm there Hope all goes well and keep us up to date. Take Care!

Without being too personal, how much does lap Band cost? I too am in Nova Scotia, and can't find anything on line. I did see one post on here that said over $15,000. If that is the case, I could never afford it in a million years! Congratulations on your upcoming surgery. Cheryl

Hey Suzy Q, The cost of the lap band is $16,000 at TLBC (Toronto Laproscopic Band Centre - Dr. Patrick Yau). It is a lot of money, but I am so sick of being sick and feeling tired and having to face yet another failed diet. If you are serious enough, there are places that finance this type of surgery, too.

Congrats, to you, too! What clinic did you choose? I chose TLBC because the people there are great, the amount of surgeries Dr. Yau has performed and the info I got back from them. We are staying in the city, have yet to book a hotel. We will probably do it through hotwire. We are renting a car and hopefully by Saturday I will get a chance to go to IKEA, if not, I will be back in TO in 6 wks time for my first fill and I am sure I will feel fine enough then to do it. I fly up the 20th and fly home the 23rd. They do not do fills in Nova Scotia, but my family GP is willng to do them. They are sending me home with a DVD for her on the fills and I guess this is what they suggest for out of province patients. I do know there are others getting fills done in Halifax, just not sure where, and with whom. Let's keep in touch!! Countdown is on!!! Shanan

Hi there, I chose the Surgical Weight Loss Centre in Mississauga. http://www.obesitysurgery.ca that is the link to their site. On their main page on the left hand side read down and you will find the Message Forum, I highly recommend it, as it has info that applies to all of us. My clinic has a "fill person" in Pictou, which is great! As for the price mine is $16000 as well, but like you I am sick of being sick. I know many at my clinic have used Medicard for financing, they say it is easy to be approved and they are fast processing the application. In the clinic forum under General Surgical Weight Loss Discussion, under the topic "help traveling alone" the members gave me all sorts of great advice on traveling, where to stay etc. You should check it out, the ppl on the site are great. Take Care, and I will keep in touch!

Hi Shanan, I read your posts on the boards. I am booked at the TLBC centre for May 22/08 (in 20 days!!) . Very excited but nervous too. How was the experience for you? Is it going well with fills and follow up? How about weight loss? It is a lot of money but hopefully it will be worth it. I am committed to making it work, anyway. I also chose TLBC for the people. I called several places and they were the ones who were the most helpful and accessible. One place in Montreal was dowright rude and unhelpful. Not sure why you wuld pay money to go there and be treated like that. I know you can now get the band covered in NB now but there is a 5 year wait just to see the doctor. I can`t wait that long: life is too short! I would be really appreciative of any advice or pointers you might have. Hope it is living up to all your expectations! Christine in Moncton hope to be shrinking soon too. I am aiming to lose about 90 pounds to reach my healthy goal.

just a question...doesnt msi cover the surgery for you? I am waiting for my surgery ...any time now...but id be waiting a long time if i had to come up with 17,000! My surgery is covered...just wondering why yours wouldnt be?

Hi Wanda, the surgery is covered by NB medicare if you go through the hoops: There is a 5 year waiting list just to see the ONE doctor who does the band for an INITIAL consult. After teh initial consult, it can be more than a year before the surgery. I admire people who wait and do it that way. I am not morbidly obese and not sure I woulds even qualify for the medicare coverage. I have about 90 pounds to lose on a tall frame. I have managed to scrounge the money by borrowing from family. Not ideal but if this works (and I am committed to making it work) then it will be worth it. C.