New to Calgary..and the country
Hi all. My husband is originally from Calgary, but we just moved here so he could be closer to family.
I've always had to fight the fight and until 7 years ago, the fight was gainly slowly, but then BOOM! I've looked at my fitday records and in the last 6 years i've managed to gain 75 lbs to bring my 5'1 one body to 321 lbs. When I was in the military my BMI was 18%, i'm now at 58%, and i'm scared..literally to death. I can be sitting here doing nothing and cannot breathe.
So...
Where do I start here? I do not even have a family or personal doctor yet. I was approved in the US a long time ago through personal insurance for the lapband, but my company pulled the 'your to valuable to lose you for a few weeks' guilt trip speech. I held off, and then the company folded. LOVELY! I've not had insurance since.
What tips do you guys have? If you could start over from day one, what would u like to have known then that you know now? Walking into a doctors office for the first time as a Canadian citizen, what can i expect and how long can it take?
I've done WW with small success, then stopped smoking..18 months now =)....and gained back all the WW loss and more to boot. I never thought i would be a yoyo dieter, but I am. The more I gain back, the less i want to diet, cause I know sooner or later i will fall off the wagon and it's so very hard for me to get back on it. I'm sure someone has/had the same feelings.
I miss the days of softball, racquetball, coaching cheerleading, etc. I've always been extremely active. A car wreck helped end that in 98. My back kills me, so i'm not active, and now that i'm so huge, my back hurts even more, so i'm even less active. HATE IT. God I hate it so much.
Sorry, I need to stop now. I've never been a pitty potter, and not ready to start today, but man. I just want to stop joking that i'm 'twice the woman i was back then'. Ha ha. i'll make the jokes before others can. Ick.
Anyways, any help is hugely appreciated.
Jacquie
New to the North
I've always had to fight the fight and until 7 years ago, the fight was gainly slowly, but then BOOM! I've looked at my fitday records and in the last 6 years i've managed to gain 75 lbs to bring my 5'1 one body to 321 lbs. When I was in the military my BMI was 18%, i'm now at 58%, and i'm scared..literally to death. I can be sitting here doing nothing and cannot breathe.
So...
Where do I start here? I do not even have a family or personal doctor yet. I was approved in the US a long time ago through personal insurance for the lapband, but my company pulled the 'your to valuable to lose you for a few weeks' guilt trip speech. I held off, and then the company folded. LOVELY! I've not had insurance since.
What tips do you guys have? If you could start over from day one, what would u like to have known then that you know now? Walking into a doctors office for the first time as a Canadian citizen, what can i expect and how long can it take?
I've done WW with small success, then stopped smoking..18 months now =)....and gained back all the WW loss and more to boot. I never thought i would be a yoyo dieter, but I am. The more I gain back, the less i want to diet, cause I know sooner or later i will fall off the wagon and it's so very hard for me to get back on it. I'm sure someone has/had the same feelings.
I miss the days of softball, racquetball, coaching cheerleading, etc. I've always been extremely active. A car wreck helped end that in 98. My back kills me, so i'm not active, and now that i'm so huge, my back hurts even more, so i'm even less active. HATE IT. God I hate it so much.
Sorry, I need to stop now. I've never been a pitty potter, and not ready to start today, but man. I just want to stop joking that i'm 'twice the woman i was back then'. Ha ha. i'll make the jokes before others can. Ick.
Anyways, any help is hugely appreciated.
Jacquie
New to the North
(deactivated member)
on 5/1/12 11:25 pm - Canada
on 5/1/12 11:25 pm - Canada
Hi! I'm American too. I've been here for 9 years now. The health system is way different here. Where in the states are you FTP
? How long have you been here and do you have AB healthcare yet? I'm not sure how it works in Calgary because I'm in the Edmonton area. However here we call a booking number and schedules some modules. Once you do that you go to your primary Dr and tell them you need a referral to the weight wise clinic. I even just printed out the referral form myself and brought it in. Once you are referred it takes a couple months for your 1st appointment. From there they say it can take from aprox 6 months to a year for surgery. My email address is [email protected]. Please message me if you would like to chat some more in the future
? How long have you been here and do you have AB healthcare yet? I'm not sure how it works in Calgary because I'm in the Edmonton area. However here we call a booking number and schedules some modules. Once you do that you go to your primary Dr and tell them you need a referral to the weight wise clinic. I even just printed out the referral form myself and brought it in. Once you are referred it takes a couple months for your 1st appointment. From there they say it can take from aprox 6 months to a year for surgery. My email address is [email protected]. Please message me if you would like to chat some more in the future
Where to start?
Lets see, first you need to be here 3 months before you can apply for Alberta Health and you need proof that you are a residence of Alberta and there are a few other things on the application that you will need. Can't remember them all right now.
You will also need to find a family doctor and have him or her refer you to the Weight Wise Clinic in Edmonton. Travel is a bit of a pain but so worth it. You will have to complete I do believe now it's 10 modules before you can see the clinical team.
Please Please do your research also as lap-band isn't really the best choice for someone who wants to lose a larger amount of weight. So many people I have met at the clinic totally regret their choice of having lap-band and are looking to be revised to a gastric sleeve or by-pass. It's doesn't work as well as the other choices and requires a lot of maintenance. Again it is personal choice but for me it was never an option and I probably spend with no exaggeration hundreds of hours researching my options.
Start now by tracking you food intake, moods, exercise or daily steps. Try not to drink and eat together such as stopping liquids 30 minutes before eating and 30 minutes after. Give up pop if you are a pop drinker and limit alcohol. These are all things the clinic will ask you to do so starting these things now can help you out one in the clinic.
If you have any question, just ask. We are all here to help.
Kee.
Lets see, first you need to be here 3 months before you can apply for Alberta Health and you need proof that you are a residence of Alberta and there are a few other things on the application that you will need. Can't remember them all right now.
You will also need to find a family doctor and have him or her refer you to the Weight Wise Clinic in Edmonton. Travel is a bit of a pain but so worth it. You will have to complete I do believe now it's 10 modules before you can see the clinical team.
Please Please do your research also as lap-band isn't really the best choice for someone who wants to lose a larger amount of weight. So many people I have met at the clinic totally regret their choice of having lap-band and are looking to be revised to a gastric sleeve or by-pass. It's doesn't work as well as the other choices and requires a lot of maintenance. Again it is personal choice but for me it was never an option and I probably spend with no exaggeration hundreds of hours researching my options.
Start now by tracking you food intake, moods, exercise or daily steps. Try not to drink and eat together such as stopping liquids 30 minutes before eating and 30 minutes after. Give up pop if you are a pop drinker and limit alcohol. These are all things the clinic will ask you to do so starting these things now can help you out one in the clinic.
If you have any question, just ask. We are all here to help.
Kee.
HW:274 SW:238 CW: 150.0 1St goal: 199.8 2nd goal:174 (100 pound lost)
My Persoanl Goal: (HIgh)150 (Low)140
1st goal acheived December 27th/2010. 1 week after my 3rd month surgery anniversary.
2nd goal acheived June 4th/2011. 2 weeks after my 8th Month Surgiversary.
Gall Bladder surgery April 12,2012
You can either believe it will happen.....or believe it won't. Both are self fulfilled prophesies. For Me it has happened. My Surgery was September 21/2010
Hi Jacquie,
Welcome to Calgary!
So here is what I can tell you: The good news is that there is a weight management program in Calgary through Alberta Health Services, so if you can get through the program and are chosen the surgery is covered. The bad news is that they only have about 25 or so surgeries (they won't tell us the exact number) to spread over about 200 people who want it. I have been going through the program hoping to get a gastric sleeve and was dismayed when the nurse came to talk to us about surgery last week. She said that since there are so many more people who want surgery than can have it, the sickest people (with lots of comorbitidies like diabetes etc.) will most likely get the surgeries and those of us who are very overwieght but otherwise relatively healthy will not. On some level I understand the reasoning, as there are some very unwell people in the program. On the other hand, I would rather get my weight taken care of BEFORE I have a bunch of comorbilities. I have two little ones at home, and I feel like I am missing out on their lives.
I had the lapband in 2009. I paid for it privately since at the time the wait list in Alberta was equivalent to about 8 years (I think that they have done a total of about 25 in Calgary since 2007 or something--My numbers here might be a bit off, but you get the idea). The lapband was a total bust for me. I couldn't get much healthy food down, so ended up eating "slider" food to feel some sense of fullness. I didn't lose any weight at all. I have gained about 70 pounds in the last 6 months and I am miserable (I was already more than a hundred pounds overweight). I finally had the band taken out in February because I was sick of vomitting every day. Over the last week I have decided that I cannot wait to get sick enough to have the government pay for my surgery. Life is too short. I have booked surgery in Mexico on the 14th of June. I was a bit leery about going to Mexico (you hear so many horror stories) but I have found a surgeon who is American Board Certified and operates out of a hospital. He has gotten great reviews over the internet so I am crossing my fingers. There is part of me that is afraid of mutilating my body and the long term effects of this type of surgery (especially given that I was not successful with the band). However, carrying around 350lbs is doing a real number on my body as it is. Surgery is risky, but being this fat is a death sentence.
Hope this helps a bit. Feel free to msg me if you want any more info.
Jenny
Welcome to Calgary!
So here is what I can tell you: The good news is that there is a weight management program in Calgary through Alberta Health Services, so if you can get through the program and are chosen the surgery is covered. The bad news is that they only have about 25 or so surgeries (they won't tell us the exact number) to spread over about 200 people who want it. I have been going through the program hoping to get a gastric sleeve and was dismayed when the nurse came to talk to us about surgery last week. She said that since there are so many more people who want surgery than can have it, the sickest people (with lots of comorbitidies like diabetes etc.) will most likely get the surgeries and those of us who are very overwieght but otherwise relatively healthy will not. On some level I understand the reasoning, as there are some very unwell people in the program. On the other hand, I would rather get my weight taken care of BEFORE I have a bunch of comorbilities. I have two little ones at home, and I feel like I am missing out on their lives.
I had the lapband in 2009. I paid for it privately since at the time the wait list in Alberta was equivalent to about 8 years (I think that they have done a total of about 25 in Calgary since 2007 or something--My numbers here might be a bit off, but you get the idea). The lapband was a total bust for me. I couldn't get much healthy food down, so ended up eating "slider" food to feel some sense of fullness. I didn't lose any weight at all. I have gained about 70 pounds in the last 6 months and I am miserable (I was already more than a hundred pounds overweight). I finally had the band taken out in February because I was sick of vomitting every day. Over the last week I have decided that I cannot wait to get sick enough to have the government pay for my surgery. Life is too short. I have booked surgery in Mexico on the 14th of June. I was a bit leery about going to Mexico (you hear so many horror stories) but I have found a surgeon who is American Board Certified and operates out of a hospital. He has gotten great reviews over the internet so I am crossing my fingers. There is part of me that is afraid of mutilating my body and the long term effects of this type of surgery (especially given that I was not successful with the band). However, carrying around 350lbs is doing a real number on my body as it is. Surgery is risky, but being this fat is a death sentence.
Hope this helps a bit. Feel free to msg me if you want any more info.
Jenny
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