Kudos to Barbara Huffman

Thanks Barbara, for bringing us together at Golden Corral last night.You were very pretty in your size 16 dress I enjoyed it a lot and think it's a great idea to make it a monthly meeting place. It was really good for me to be there last night, I've been so discouraged due to the stomach ulcers I now have. I've actually been regretting this surgery I needed to see everyone there looking so good and feeling great.It was so nice to talk with others who know exactly what you're going through. It was truly a fellowship time and I look forward to the next one. Rachel

I wanted to add that I thoroughly enjoyed myself too. It is great to see others who understand where we are all coming from. Good luck to Mary and all the pre-ops. You post ops all look great. Love, Diane

Hey Diane, So glad you could make it. I know it was a welcome relief for you since you have been taking care of your Mom. I pray that she find relief soon too. Can't wait to see you again on the 25th for Fuzz's meeting! Have a great week, Barbara

Hi Kay, Welcome to the group. We are a great bunch of people. Lots of different experiences and lots of answers to questions. I'm glad you got some answers. This is a major step and it's always helpful to know you are doing things the right way. I had surgery at Barix by the way and they are wonderful there Take care Joyce

Did you go to the one in Detroit? I just received a brochure from Sue, email and phone call. She sounds very nice on the phone. Did you have a consultation there and if so do you have to pay for it or does OHIP pay for it? Thanks for your help.

Thanks Joyce!! I've read nothing but wonderful things about Barix which cemented my descision to choose them. I really can't wait to find out what happens from here. Hopefully i"ll be approved!!

Hey Leigh Ann, I imagine at your age this is so much tougher. I was partying pretty hard when I was your age as well. See if you can stomach some vodka and grapefruit juice if you must drink. That's what we always called our diet ****tail. It's called a greyhound if I'm not mistaken. It is low cal and well...cleans you out big time the next day. As for the eating....man it gets so much tougher. One this you might want to try is denser protein. Things like yogurt go through our pouch very quickly and therefor we are hungry soon after eating. Try replacing that with denser protein like meat. For breakfast I am always on the run and usually grab some canadian bacon and cheese or maybe some jerky or turkey pepperoni. Hope your motivation returns and you find yourself on the losing track again. Christie

The suggestion for denser protein is such a good one, Christie. A co-worker/friend who also had GBS put me on to that yesterday when I complained that I'm eating what I should be then I get hungry again right away. So, for lunch today i'm having cottage cheese and jerky instead of yogurt and cheese sticks.

I am right there with you girl with gaining a bit. I feel out of control with the carbs and sweets. I need to get a grip on it all! Leigh Ann gave you some great advise...maybe we should both give it a try. I don't have much advise but I do have the support. I am now trying to drink more water...I slacked in that area and also I would love to get myself to start drinking at least 1 protein shake a day...maybe that will jump start things. Do you exercise? I haven't and maybe if we try to start slow and add a bit it also will help. I wish you the best of luck and keep me updated if you make progress. HUGS Julie

Kay, Welcome to the Ontario board! This is a great site for info and support. In order to get a WLS in the USA you need to fill out the OHIP Out of Country Coverage ****) application on behalf of your doctor, get your doctor (GP or specialist) to sign the completed OCC as your Referring Ontario Physician and submit it to OHIP with a letter from your doctor (you should write the letter for him/her and get them to put it on their letterhead and sign it for you). This letter form your doctor must describing your obesity condition (i.e. height, weight, BMI, waist circumference, co-morbidities and treatments/consultations for your co-morbidities, etc.) and concludes that a delay in obtaining WLS in Ontario will result in an increased risk of death and/or medically significant long term tissue damage (e.g., knees, discs, heart tissue, etc..). You will need to have the name of your surgeon and their hospital with contact phone and fax numbers for both included on your OCC application. If you can get letters from any specialists (or write letters for your specialists to sign) that have seen you related to co-morbidities that would also be a great help to your application. This is where you would add the letter form your surgeon, if you have completed an initial surgical consult. I would also recommend you attach to your application a personal letter of appeal from you and a photo of yourself in your underwear. I have been told that no one who sent in a photo of themselves in there underwear has ever been denied by OHIP. It is great to hear that you have already spent a lot of time reading about WLS. Keep doing your research as this is the most important decision you will ever make. Then do some more research. You will find that there are 20 different types of WLS. These various surgery types can be a successful tool to achieve your weight loss goals. Have you considered a duodenal switch (DS) procedure? The DS has statistically the best results in terms of amount of excess weight loss and most importantly, the best results for long-term excess weight loss. The statistics are even better when looking at long-term results for super morbidly obese patients (i.e. BMI over 50). I highly recommend self paying for an initial surgical consult immediately so that you can apply to OHIP on a one step approval process. After your initial surgical consult most surgeons will prepare a letter for OHIP immediately that gives their opinion that you are a suitable patient for WLS. You can later apply to OHIP for re-imbursement for the full cost of the surgical consult so get a receipt from the surgeon and a receipt form the bank that shows how much exchange and service charge you paid for the US money Order. Keep track of all you travel km's, hotel and meal costs for all trips to your surgeon as all of these costs are tax detectable. I can send you copies of my OCC application and all my supporting letters for your reference if you want them. The completed application and supporting documents should be faxed or couriered to the Ministry of Health & Long-term Care in Thunder Bay. The latest processing times seem to be one to three weeks. If you have not got a letter by courier to your referring physician (i.e. your GP/Specialist) or your surgeon within three weeks then you need to have your doctors office call OHIP to follow up your application. I hope this gets you started. Feel free to email or call anytime. If you want any more information on the DS just ask. I found the best information and support for the DS on the Duodenal Switch Forum on this site and on the www.duodenalswitch.com site. Keep posting on your progress with your journey. David Duodenal Switch June 22, 2005 Dr. Marek Lutrzykowski Bloomfield Hills (Detroit) Michigan 399/239/?