Helloooooo anybody home..where are all the BC sleevers???

Hoping to connect with local people who have or are waiting for surgery! I'm in Central Vancouver Island ;-)

Hi there. iam from Victoria. Havent had my surgery yet. iam hoping to have the sleeve. My surgeon is Dr. Malik. I have had the orientation already. Done some of the tests. Have my next assessment in June. Where are you from?

Hi I had my orientation and first visit with Dr. Malik in the middle of March. Also, had my visit with the nutritionist.  Have had my blood work and EKG done and now am waiting.... not sure what happens next. I am hoping to have the sleeve also. I live on the mainland.

Hi...The big thing with Malik is you prove you are trying...do not gain an ounce or he's pretty tough.  Read as much as you can, if possible find a WLS support group. It's a long process and a really long wait list. It took me 3.5 years to get a surgery date! Malik, Amson and another surgeon have combined their lists in Victoria. I was told upfront a 3-5 year wait list..but they keep saying they are trying to get more OR time to get the wait times down.  It was suggested to me if I could afford it to go have it done in Mexico. I'm just being honest with you so you won't get frustrated with the waiting. The not knowing is hardest! If you have a comorbidity like diabetes you may have a slight advantage, as they realize this cures diabetes right quick!  Hope that helps you... 

Dr Malik is very tough! The doctor he took over for (I can't remember his name off hand) told me I was ready and top of the list. Then I had to still have I think four appointments and another year with Dr. Malik. He is however, very good! My last appointment prior to surgery, I basically had my husband in with me and TOLD him I was ready and was at the top of the list from the previous doctor. It's like he was waiting for me to stand up for myself?

The waiting game sure does mess with ones head! I'm a month out now and stuck in my first stall..second worst head game lol....but I won't whine and complain too much..I'm down a fair bit regardless ;-))

I'm not on the island (I live in West Vanc.) but am happy to connect with you here!

I will be having a sleeve but do not have a date yet, although I have my orientation and meeting with Carla on April 27th. Since I'm in Vancouver and have been seeing Dr. Zenter for a few years already, I have been doing things somewhat out of order. I am excited for my appointments in 2 weeks - we shall see what they say as far as wait time.

Best of luck to you all and keep us posted!

Kim

Hi Kim..from across the ditch lol. Carla is?? I'm day 13 of 22 day pre op..lost 14 pounds so far! Keep in touch ;-)

Haha! Yes - a really big ditch with bunker fuel in it now:(

Carla's the dietician I am seeing at Royal Jubilee. I've chosen to travel to Victoria as the wait time for Richmond is atrocious. You must be so excited. Congrats on losing that weight pre-op - well done!! How long do you have to follow the 'shrink your liver pre-op diet' for?

Enjoy the countdown

I thought you maybe meant Carla! I'm nervous as all heck today!!! TOMORROW is surgery!! I started my preop on the 2 of April and finished yesterday the 22 so 20 days ( down 18 lbs before the bowel evacuation lol )...today is the bowel prep and have to be on clear liquids... 4 litres of water..plus also things such as gatorade and apple juice..can even have pop  (which I don't drink yuck too sweet for me). Going to shock the system with having this much sugar..but I guess it flushes right out! 

The preop was a lot easier than I expected...wasn't really hungry...tired of protein shakes though as it's all sweeter tasting..could have a cup of broth though which tasted like heaven! The worst part for me was the constipation from drinking the 4 cups of 1% I made the shakes with plus of course the whey protein. ( Most use Ensure or Glycerna but I can't tolerate both the sucralose or how wired up I feel after even one let alone 4!)  OMG tried Milk of Magnesia, Colace and suppositories...finally took an fleet enema to fix the problem ..sorry TMI I know but best warned.  

Well about to take the first nuclear concoction ..wish me luck!  Keep in touch on your journey too ;-)