Very Curious yet Scared.... Any feedback would be great!!

you crack me up! REMEMBER! i had a head start, i was 221 day of surgery. i DO eat! well, kinda. LOL today i had my ff/sf vanilla latte, i ate a frozen macaroni and beef meal for lunch. ok, so i wasn't going to eat dinner, but that's because i ruined the chicken i was making in the oven and had to make frozen pizza for the kids instead! but your dinner sounds mmm mmmm good! i want your salad! kids are doing good, home from school this week and driving me nuts! but lovin spending time with them! lots of love! hugs and a

Actually she doesn't want me to go out of country..and she doesn't want to be responsible for my aftercare....nice eh?

Sherri - you have done fantastic. Your story with your ailments sounds so much like mine. I am so happy to be off all my meds, down 120 lbs with still about another 20-30 to go. I'm with you on the endos - far more than I want to remember but in the end all is well and life is great. Good luck to you

Well, my my my don't we just look georgous!!!! No doubt about it. You look fine. I love going to the thrift stores and finding great item for almost nothing. So much fun. Happy hunting. Deloris

Hi I have been dealing with weight issues all of my life. After mulitple tries of diets (weigh****chers, slimfast, atkins) my body has been like a yoyo. I would lose 20 pounds only to gain 25-30 once I had stopped. I am not a binge or compulsive eater. I am not a sweets kind of person ( I really dislike chocolate). However I still seem to gain weight no matter what I try. I have approached my doctor for help, because obviously doing this on my own is not working. My husband is very supportive, and tries to help as much as possible, but does not understand the extent of the situation. When talking with my Doctor, he is going to send me to a weight specialist here in ottawa (Dr.Dent). Not sure what to expect and how things will proceed. My current weight as of today is 225 lbs. I am really nervous about meeting with him, because i really never considered myself to be obese (just a little on the heavier side). I want to be healthier for my myself and my family, and I am an active person (I guess just not active enough). Sometimes I feel disgusted by myself, and don't want to do things or wear certain things because I do not feel good about myself. My breast have gotten larger, and my knees are starting to hurt. I have alot of water retention (which I cannot explain). I am getting very discouraged at working out, because Since January 1st am working out minimum 4 days a week on the eliptical for a minimum of 35 minutes. I am burning up to 435 calories per session. Within the last month I also added walking my dog for 1 mile per day. All of this and I have not lost any weight what so ever. ( You kind of get depressed). My family doctor mentioned the procedure with the band. I am really nervous about alot of things. A) I have never heard of anyone who has had this, and what are the results. B) Would I even be considered for something like this, because my weight is at 225 lbs. (mind you I am only 5 foot 5 inches). C) Can you still be fully active in the post -op stages. I was wondering if anyone could shed a little light on some things for me. I have been reading alot of your stories, and the things that you have overcome. And I am truly amazed, that there are others out there who feel the same way I do. While I await my appointment with this weight specialist, I am going to try to once again follow the reduced calorie intake, and continue with my work out regime. Thank you for your response in advance, or for just listening to what I had to say. :-s

Hi Rachael, I had my surgery for the band on 13th. There are several others on here also with the band. Feel free to ask any questions. Also if you look under forums at the top there is a forum for every type of surgery where there is tons of info. Good luck to you. Barb

I had Lap Band surgery March 10th and it the best thing l have done for myself. l started out at 260- and 5'2" and l am down 30 lbs and feel great. l love it and would do it all over again in a heart beat. As for not hearing about this procedure it is not widely spread l think in Canada, since it is not covered by OHIP, that is the only down fall.. but hey it was worth every penny so far. A lot of Dr.'s don't know about it either, well mine didn't know about it.. But it has been around for almost 20 years in Europe so it isn't like it is something that was just brought out and they are doing... It is in my opion the safest WLS avaliable.......All of my plumbing in still intack nothing has been rearranged which l liked. As for being active,, hell ya l am ,, We go to the YMCA a few times a week,, l usually do 20 minutes on the treadmill and then 45 minutes of aqaufit... and that is alot of work.. I took 2 weeks off of work only to make sure l had enough time for my body to heal properly,, l could have gone back to work in a weeks time, but l took the 2 weeks. The best thing l can say is do your research for a good 6 months and make sure you are mentally prepared for this cause it is a change in your lifestyle. Read as much as you can wheather it be profiles/info/boards, what every you can find read it. And in the long run it will benifit you in your decision. Best of luck

Rachael, Welcome to the Ontario Board! First you need to research some or all of the 20 types of weight loss surgery (WLS). The three most popular types are the Roun-Y Gastric Bypass (also known as RNY Gastric Bypass or RNY or Gastric Bypass), the Bilopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (also known as Duodenal Switch or DS) and Adjustable Laparoscopic Banding (also known as the Lapband). OHIP will not cover the Lapband, but will definitely cover the RNY or DS in the US, the RNY in Ontario or the RNY or DS in any other Canadian province (there were two Ontario DS surgeons in Ontario until 2004 when they both retired, now there are none in Ontario). I have heard that OHIP may be starting to approve coverage for going to the US for some other WLS types, but I have not read any confirmation of WLS procedure types, or the actual names of OHIP approved US surgeons or OHIP approved US hospitals. After selecting your WLS procedure type, then select your surgeon. If you want OHIP coverage for an RNY in Ontario, all you need is a referral from any Ontario Physician to your preferred Ontario surgeon who performs RNY's. Current wait times for RNY surgery in Ontario vary from 1-1.5 years for Dr. Starr and Dr. Hagen in Toronto and Dr. Reid in Guelph to up to six years for Dr. Yau in Scarborough. The more experienced the Ontario RNY surgeon, the longer the wait. Most Ontario RNY surgeons will take two to six months to complete their pre-op testing and clearance requirements. Once you have done a lot of research, go to your family doctor armed with your information and a print out of some of the best websites for him/her to do their own research. Your family doctor must support your decision on what type of WLS procedure you want. If going for an Ontario RNY, give him/her the name, address fax no. and type of WLS procedure required for him/her to fax a referral to the Ontario surgeon and you are in business (and in for a minimum one year wait). Here is a list someone else gave me of Ontario surgeons and their approximate current wait times based on recent posts here and the OSSG (Obesity Support Group) Toronto Yahoo web site Dr. David Starr 671 Sheppard Ave W. Toronto, ON 416 749 2332 416 749 9712 fax RNY & Lapband (RNY about one year) Dr. Hagen 2111 Finch Avenue West North York, Ontario (416) 782-2616 RNY & Lapband (RNY one to 1.5 years) Dr. L. Klein 2111 Finch Avenue West North York, Ontario (416) 782-2616 RNY & Lapband (RNY two years) Dr. Ayres 3030 Lawrence Ave. East Scarborough, Ontario M1P 2T7 Office # (416) 438-6275 Fax # (416) 438-6274 Works out of Scarborough General Hospital Open RNY only (RNY two to three years) Dr. J. Joffee 4190 Finch Ave Lower Level Scarborough, Ontario Off. # (416) 292-6040 Fax # (416) 292-0026 Email: [email protected] Works out of Scarborough Grace Hospital Open RNY, VBG and Lapband (RNY/VBG three to four years) Dr. P. Yau 4190 Finch Ave Lower Level Scarborough Ontario Off. # (416) 291-1900 Fax # (416) 291-9469 RNY & Lapband (RNY four to six years) Dr. Reed 73 Delhie Street Suite 202 Guelph, Ontario (519) 763-8442 Open RNY (one year, but he only takes referrals beginning in August of any year) Dr. W. Abawi 222 King St. E. Bowmanville, Ont (905) 623-1884 Bowmanville General Hospital Open VBG only (three to four years) There is also a doctor in Mississauga (Dr. Christopher Cobourn) who only does Lapband. Lapband is only available as a self pay procedure in Ontario and there is essentially no wait for any of the above surgeons for having a Lapband procedure) If you decide to go to another Canadian province for an RNY, the wait times are in the same range as those for Ontario RNY surgeons, so why bother going to Quebec or some other Canadian province even farther away from Ontario than going to the US. The wait times for an RNY or DS surgeon in the states are virtually nonexistent. Some will operate on you in as little as two weeks including all required pre-op testing and clearances. Some US surgeons like the very well respected Dr. O'Malley in Rochester New York (DS and RNY) can take about six months to complete their rigorous pre-op testing and clearance requirements. Most US RNY and US surgeons will take one to two months to complete their pre-op testing and clearance requirements and including the wait for your actual surgery date. For my surgeon, it was about four months from my first OHIP OCC application till surgery, but I had to resubmit my OCC twice as part of my 'appeal'/resubmission after OHIP denied/'cancelled my original OCC application. I could have had surgery in weeks instead of months if I had not let my GP revise the first OCC application because he did not understand how it had to be completed to be approved. One very experienced WLS surgeon who has done a ton of people from Ontario is Dr. O'Malley in Rochester. He has done over 800 RNY's (open and lap) and has also been doing the DS for about two years. He just finished training to do the DS lap. Although he is a highly experienced WLS surgeon, it was his limited DS experience that led me to instead choose Dr. Lutrzykowski. If you want the most experienced Lap DS surgeon, you have to go to Dr. Rabkin in San Francisco. You really do not want to be someone who is one of the first 100 patients for a particular surgeon for any type of WLS procedure. For most US surgeons you can submit your OHIP Out of Country Coverage ****) application immediately after getting thee surgeon's contact information (i.e. address, fax and email address) and the contact information for the hospital they will do the surgery at (you need all of this information on the OCC application). If you submit you OCC application to OHIP without first completing an initial surgical consult with the US surgeon, then OHIP may only give you approval for the initial surgical consult costs and you would then have to reapply to OHIP for coverage of the full surgery and hospital costs. OHIP has apparently started approving some people in a one step approval process when they have previously approved patients with the same US surgeon and with the same US hospital. However, you would still be best to do your initial surgical consult immediately as a self pay patient (from US$150 to US$250) then apply to OHIP for reimbursement of these costs after getting your full surgery approval (so keep your receipt and the bank statement for buying the US Money order so you are also reimbursed for the exchange rate). After your initial surgical consult, you need the US surgeon to give you a letter for your Referring Ontario Physician (likely your GP or one of your specialists for one of your comorbidities) saying that you are a suitable candidate for WLS. This letter should be attached to your OCC application if you are trying to ensure a one-step approval process. Finally, your OCC application should be completely filled out when you take it into your Referring Ontario Physician for signature. You should also bring in with you a letter from your Referring Ontario Physician (that you prepared for him/her to sign or revise and sign). This letter from your doctor must describe 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..). To help ensure OHIP approval, you should also provide your doctor copies of letters called "Consultation Reports" from your specialists regarding your comorbidities. These letters, if possible, should also conclude that a delay in obtaining WLS in Ontario will result in an increased risk of death and/or medically significant long term tissue damage (you should also draft these letters for your specialists to sign or revise and sign). You should also have the letter form your surgeon saying you are a suitable candidate for WLS, 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. I would try and get an OCC application into OHIP as soon as you can identify a good US surgeon. Remember, it is not you who OHIP wants to submit the OCC. OHIP is expecting the OCC application and supporting letters to be issued by your Referring Ontario Physician. After putting the package together and getting your doctor to sign the OCC application and his letter, give him/her a copy for your medical file. You can still explore the Ontario options while moving forward with the US option, if you have decided on an RNY. If you want the DS, you need to go the OCC route. I can send you copies of my OCC application and all my supporting letters for your reference if you want them. The completed OCC 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. OHIP may answer your questions, but they prefer getting enquiries from the doctor or his office. I hope this gets you some idea of how to proceed. I hope this gets you some idea of how to proceed. Do a ton of research on surgery types. The DS is the best for long term excess weight loss, but it is a more complicated procedure with significant long term consequences due to its extreme malabsorption component. All WLS procedures are just a tool and all have similar rates of complications and death, but the types of complications and the long term side affects and risks vary for each procedure. You can succeed with most forms of WLS, but this is a major decision with life long implications so do your research thoroughly. You should check out the Duodenal Switch forum on this site and the amazing site www.duodenalswitch.com and any of the over 20 Yahoo support group sites for the DS. obesityhelp.com has a separate forum (message board) for all of the most common WLS procedures. You should also consider joining the OSSG Toronto Yahoo Group. The OSSG Toronto Yahoo Group has monthly face to face support group meetings in Barrie, Milton and Niagara-on-the-Lake and occasional meetings in Downtown Toronto. It is very informative and motivating to meet other pre-ops going through the OHIP approval and pre-op testing process and meeting post-ops and their loved ones who have new and better lives because of WLS. Good luck with your research and your journey and keep posting. David Duodenal Switch June 22, 2005 Dr. Marek Lutrzykowski Bloomfield Hills (Detroit) Michigan 399/229/?

Hi Rachel nice to see another person from Ottawa on here. I have been a patient of Dr. Dent since Feb 04 at which time I did the weight management program. The program is 26 weeks of fitness, nutrition and behaviour classes with a 12 week cycle of optifast. It is a good program and you have a large support network during the 26 week program. Dr. Dent is nothing less than honest and helpful and will give you the straight goods when you see him. He is the one *****commended that I have the surgery and referred me to a local surgeon. Have you looked into this program yet? You can get all the info if you click on the weight management link on the Ottawa Hospital website. Looks like you're a "lightweight" with a BMI of 37 and have a pretty active lifestyle already. Surgery is something to consider but I would consider giving the program at the civic a go. It is expensive initially (about 2600 dollars) but you'll get a good chunk of that back on your tax return. There is an obesity surgery support group here in Ottawa, if you're interested I can send you a link to join. Pre-ops meet the first tuesday of the month at the civic hospital in the cafeteria at 7 pm. You might want to come and ask questions to some of the post-ops who attend the meetings. Please feel free to e-mail anytime at [email protected] Cheers Jen

Hi there, Just a few words of encouragement. If you are going to the gym 4 times a week, and working so hard on the eliptical trainer (35 minutes WOW, I can barely do 5 without passing out!), you may not show any weight loss because you're gaining muscle mass. And muscle weighs more than fat. Should always measure inches as well as weight. I would get very discouraged when I would go regularly and nothing would show on the scale. (I had to force myself to walk away from the scale, otherwise I'd weigh myself ALL the time). But as someone who weighs at least 100 pounds more than you, I can say I understand your frustration. Take the time to research all your options and choose what's best for you and your body type. Whether it's with surgery, or Weigh****chers, or your own diet and exercise plan, the important thing is to know and believe that YOU CAN DO IT! Good Luck!