cattipat
I had gastric bypass surgery in Rochester NY 2005 (I was 40). I'm 5'7 and my max weight was 294 lb. I went down to 135. I managed to keep the weight off until 2013 when I started to regain and my weight went back up to 225. My family doctor is prejudiced against obese people and believes we should just go on a diet, so she refuses to refer me for revision surgery or even test me for the sleep apnea which has come back. I tried a self paid lap band but it made no difference to my weight. Last year the band started causing problems with acid reflux and keeping food down, so once again I tried to convince my doctor to refer me for surgery. She referred me - but she lied that she'd finally referred me to the bariatric surgery network (I live in Ontario Canada). So when I saw the surgeon and he told me he'd only been told to remove my band, I lost it and hit the ceiling. He agreed I needed the DS so he referred me to the bariatric surgery network right away (November 2019)! He also told me that the DS is the best option for a RNY revision with longer term weight loss, but he doesn't do that procedure. He removed my lap band on December 31, 2019. He found that it had no fluid in it at all and was probably defective from the start - that's why it didn't work.
I just received a letter from Toronto Western Hospital, on less than a week's notice I have to go to their first orientation session. The letter said I was being referred for a gastric bypass even though I need a duodenal switch, and it told me to call them to confirm attendance at their orientation. I called them and firmly informed them that I need a REVISION of a gastric bypass, a Duodenal Switch. I was told not to worry, they have to assess me first. I looked the hospital up online - it has the highest wait times for bariatric surgery in Ontario (a year and a half!), AND they only do RNY and Gastric Sleeve, neither of which are suitable for me. So now I'm worried that my time is being wasted, being sent to the wrong hospital making trips back and forth for all the tests and assessments for over a year and then probably railroaded into a procedure that is wrong for me, will have poor results and is NOT what I want! I'm not getting any younger, I am now in my mid fifties and I frankly don't have time to wait 2 years for the wrong surgery and then have to go back in a few years' time for the surgery I should have had in the first place! At this rate I won't get my weight back down to stay until I'm in my sixties - that's if I make it that long with untreated diabetes and sleep apnea.
About Me
Before & After
rollover to see after photo
