Weight Wise - Another Year - Trying to be patient

I was referred to the weight wise clinic in October 2006, attended the orientation in April, and had my assessment appointment with the nurse this past Monday. She says I have to prove myself for another year before being considered for surgery. I know they are doing their best with limited resources, but I'm finding it hard to be patient. I've been trying to lose weight for so long, but have had very limited success. I have an underactive thyroid and have now found out I have insulin resistance, so losing weight is extremely difficult. I don't want a quick fix - I just want something to work. I have been on synthroid for the underactive thyroid for many years, but my levels have only been stable for about a year. My doctor couldn't figure out why I still couldn't lose weight, and finally tested my insulin levels last month - my blood sugar levels are in the normal range. So, now I'm taking metformin and hopefully that will help. I'm told I may be able to lose 30 lbs in the next year if I work hard. Sorry, but since I need to lose 150+ lbs, that's just not enough. I have an appointment with the nurse and Dr. Davey next month, as well as an appointment with the Dietician. In the meantime, more food and exercise logging.

wow-you have way more patience than i do. good for you for sticking with it. keep your eye on the prize. you can do it. have you considered dr. farries in red deer? just wondering...less wait maybe. might be worth a call. whatever you decide-you are incredible for having the patience and agility (jumping through hoops). keep up the good work!

During this year will you be at the WW clinic and seeing the dietican? That year goes really fast, I know you find it hard to belive but you see them every 6 weeks and the the dr. usually 2 times so you at least feel like something is happening. You need to also be prepared that the Drs do 50% bands. It seems like they are getting away from the bypass. I dont know which surgery you are intrested in. Hnag in there I did, was banded June 3 and am down 16 pounds!

Hey, Its me again, I just wanted to let you knw, I went to see the Dr and nurse last week, i spoke to dr. sharma and he wrote an requsition for surgery gastric bypass to dr. birch? I m just wondering < Dr. Sharma told me taht it should go very fast from here on. He sais possibly less thatn 3 month, can this be??? He said that sice I tried everything he thought i was ready, is this a good thing??? so i already have an apt with dr. birch feb 9 2009 and i have no idea what to expect then? dr. sharma gave me a sheet to not drink pop, sugar, fat, etc.... what happened to you when you had your first consult with the surgeon. Im really really happy, it seems like htis is not happening, as i only stgarted the program las yeast may so its not even a year, but ive been documenting al the time and going to the gym regularley im sure this helped dr. sharma speed up theprocess and i hvae not lose any weight, weird, but will soon be skinny. hehehe, I cant imagine i could have surgery before 3 months,,,, so will dr. birch give me a surgery date rgith aways on february 9 th you think??? or send me for classes and test before??? hiow many mroe time will i see birch before suregery??? i know this might be bugging you but i know you passed throguht this , thanks aso much , have a nice day

I am so excited for you...today you celebrate. Thanks for your honesty and knowing that we all need to work hard and learn what we need to learn in the in between times :) I think I have learned more than I expected while in the waiting phase. I agree this will improve my chances of success. Keep us posted

I understand how frustrating the process is. I was referred to the clinic in April 2007 and it took ust about a year to get into the Weight Wise clinic, under the new and improved operations. I did the orientation in April 08 and had my initial assessment in late May 08 and my first follow-up appointments are in mid and late July. Admittedly, the initial wait wasn't bad as I have heard horror stories of 18-24 months of waiting. Personally, I find that the 6 week intervals between appointments are more painful as I know when things are going/expected to happen. Anyway, you mentioned that you attended the orientation in April. So, you are aware that there is a waiting list of 2500 people to go into the clinic and you also heard that they have room for 2 surgeries a week. So, potentially, up to 100 surgeries a week. The interesting tidbit of information that I heard recently is that the WW clinic has several openings for surgery on a regular basis. The clinic can't find enough patients who are prepared mentally, physically, and emotionally to have surgery and be successful afterwards. I'm not saying that you are not ready. I'm saying that the WW clinic are doing what is in your best interests and their end goal is your success. If another 6-12 months is the ticket for that, it's agonizing, but it's also a small price to pay. Once doesn't want to go into this process unprepared and fail on the other side. I attend a monthly peer support group in Edmonton with other WLS patients. Mostly post-op, but some pre-op, as well. The care and attention that you are recieving now, some would have killed for when they went through. Something to think about. Just my two cents. Cheers! -- Xcalibur

Thank you for your responses. You are, of course, absolutely correct. I was expressing in my post my inital disappointment as I didn't realize prior to the appointment that there would be another wait before surgery is a possibility. Now that I've had some time to think about it, I realize that it is in my best interest to be absolutely prepared before facing this type of drastic action. I know there are things I still need to work on - I haven't even been completely consistent in recording what I eat. I also haven't reached 10,000 steps even one day in the last month since I've been recording! I've also really come to grips with the fact that the poor quality of food I am eating is the result of me not taking the time or expending the energy to be organized and plan ahead. Obviously, I need to make this more of a priority - if I do have the surgery I won't be able to get away with this kind of behaviour. I also recognize that I may have some emotional things to work on - my marriage ended in a particularly painful way 7 months ago. I guess I'm just anxious to get going on making a new life for myself, and with my medical issues, I know the only way that is going to happen is surgery. Thanks again for the straight talk - I appreciate it. Xcalibur - is the support group available to anyone going through this process? If so, could you give me some more information on how I could join?

The support group that I attend is the Edmonton Bariatric Support Group. EdmontonBSG for short. We have an online presence as a Yahoo group and can be found at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EdmontonBSG/. You'll need a Yahoo account to access it. We meet once a month. The next meeting is scheduled for July 21st at the RAH, in the same building as the Weight Wise clinic. More information can be found in the EdmontonBSG calendar on Yahoo. From what I understand, the Weight Wise clinic is in the process of trying to create their own support group. What that will look like or how it will run is still up in the air. However, we are hopeful that the clinic will inform us once it gets up and running. EdmontonBSG, I believe, will continue along side whatever form of the official group comes to pass. We feel that it's important to have a peer operated group that can meet informally and talk candidly in an open forum without fear of censorship If you have any additional questions, please let me know. Cheers! -- Xcalibur2572

I hear you! Good luck with your next year and stay strong!. I have had to arrange to take a leave from work because my mobility is so compromised with my weight and arthritis. I have/would like to lose at least 150+ lbs. When will our Health care and extended benefits people realize that providing funding for out of province or private clinic referrral would be so much more cost effective never mind the improved quality of life. Hang in there you'll make it. Lois

Hello, just to let you know, i started the WW program here in Edmonton on May 2008 as well, I had a consultation with Dr. Sharma and the nurse, and they decided since my blood pressure and cholesterol are border high, to lean towards the surgery right away. I also was told a year before they even considered e for surgery but They were wrong, Dr. Sharma said 2 months ago to try meridia, weight loss pill it was 130/00 per month, super expensive did not help me lose weight. he said come see me again if you didnt lose well start the process for gastric bypass. I alreay have an apointment with Dr. Birch on Feb 9 2-009, so a couple of weeks from now. Dr. Sharma told me taht it should take less than 3 months for surgery.  I also weight 281 5''3 and I tried every possible diet on the market, I am 29 years old, I started gaining wight after my daughter 10 years ago, since then down fall.  I know at first i was very disapointed witht eh clilnic, i was almost willing to quit, and then last week dr. sharma said surgery is around the corner so im so so happy. i did my food journalling from the first. But now its even harder as he gave me a list of food not to eat, my goodness, htis is so hard, no pop, no sugar, no fat, no restaurant, he wants me to lose 15-30 pounds in 3 months, i am determined to do it do. i just wanted to write you this info to make sure you keep attending and keep positive, as there is a light ata the end of the tunnel, i fyou wish, email me bacvk and i will discuss fruther with you. sometimes you have to be pushy withe ht dietician and say i wanna talk to the doctore...... let me know.