Congratulations!

Can you tell those of us who are heading into orientation (mine is on June 13th) a bit about the process from orientation to surgery?

I am assuming they will require a pysch eval, possibly counselling, and visits with a dietician on top of the surgical consult. How many appointments did all of that add up to? I'm asking because I live in the Okanagan and I'm trying to determine realistic expectations for how many appointments I'm going to be attending (though, I'm hoping I can see a dietician and counsellor in my area if they allow it). According to the website, the time from orientation to surgery at RJH is about 8 months. Was that about right, based on your experience?

Thank you in advance for any information you have to share!

Hi Brenda! I'm also scheduled for orientation in June in Victoria. Do you mind me asking if your orientation is on June 13th? If so, we will be in the same orientation session!

When the woman called to book me into the orientation she told me that it would take about 1.5 hours. From my understanding, it will be like a presentation where they go over all the details of the two surgeries they offer (gastric sleeve and gastric bypass). She said that if at the end of the orientation I still wished to pursue surgery then I would be given a form to have labwork done and that the labwork would have to be completed within 2 weeks. From there, you will be scheduled for a 1-1 appointmet with your potential surgeon and it will be up to the surgeon to work with you to decide if surgery is right for you and, if so, which surgery is the best option for you.

Like you, I don't live in Victoria (I live in the Okanagan) so I have some questions regarding travel, etc. that I hope to ask at the orientation. According to the website for the Royal Jubilee's Bariatric clinic, it says that the approximate time from orientation session to surgery is 8 months.

Hi all, I'm new here. I know this might be a loaded question as everyone's journey is different. But I was finally after 2 years, 4 months of waiting after my referral went in, contacted for orientation, which is in June 2018 in Victoria. Wondering what exactly the orientation covers? what happens after that? how long wait is from orientation to surgery? I don't live on the island so how many times am I going to have to travel there prior to surgery? Just if anyone can walk me through rtheir experience that would be greatly appreciated. I am on lost to for Dr. Mason at Royal Jubilee Hospital. Thanks ?

Karen! Good for you contacting her! Could u fed me the email too ? [email protected] ? thx!

You have already taken the hardest step by saying enough is enough and now I want to get back on track. I maintained 118-125 for over 10 years after losing 200 pounds. Due to a personal tragedy I gained and hit the 190 mark a year ago. After several starts it finally clicked and I am back to goal losing 70 pounds of regain. Here are some steps that helped me and I hope they will help you too! You may have several starts and stops but don't give up, don't beat yourself up. IT WILL CLICK!!! Our tool works if we work the tool and get back to the basics.

Planning/Preparing

Remember when we were preparing for surgery? How many meetings, classes and such did we attend? We were told the more prepared we were the better our chances were for success. And they were right. Go through the house, car and work place and get rid of trigger foods. Stock up on foods that will keep you on track. I removed every bad carb/sugar temptation and replaced it with lots of protein, veggies, grains and fruits.

Journaling

Get back to journaling. This will help you identify when you feel like eating, stress factors and any triggers in your life. Once you identify these factors, this will help you put tools in place to keep you from eating. It became clear I was not taking time for me anymore. I worked my day job and then spent the rest of my time caring for my husband. It was easy to reach for fast, prepackaged food. Since I purged my home I have to eat clean as there are no other options LOL

Use a tool to track you're eating and exercise like Getting Started with Health Tracker. Once I started to track ever bite and drink it became clear why I had gained.

Goals/Rewards

Make a list of goals for yourself. Make them realistic and small. Some of mine were move more, purge all junk from my home, eat more protein. If you didn't make a Weight Loss Surgery bucket list when you first had surgery do it now. GREAT reminder of all the things you can enjoy in life after losing weight.

Food

In general, a long term post-weight loss surgery eating plan includes foods that are high in protein, and low in fat?, calories, and sugar. Important, vitamins and minerals are provided as supplements. (if you had a different surgery adjust this to your food plan).

Water

Water is our Best Friend. I have to say I never went back to pop or any bad drinks, however I was drinking tea like crazy. What is wrong with drinking tea? I was either using sugar or 3 equals and 3 sweet n lows per 32 ounce glass. I found once I started carrying one of the metal bottles of water to keep it cold I drank water all day.

MOVE!

I can't say enough about how key this was for me. The reason I kept my weight off for almost 10 years was no matter what, I kept moving. If I could not go to the gym I would walk. Grab a cart and walk all the isles at your local box store. I loved Zumba, bootcamp workouts, lifting weights. When I stopped, the weight started coming back. So for me I am starting slow to avoid injury by walking and using some of the workouts on my Demand TV. Find something you love to do and it won't feel like a pain in the *** to do daily.

Support

If it's an option "run" don't walk to a support group. Come here on OH daily for support and participate in one of the food threads. It helps you be accountable and also great ideas for food prep.

Keep me posted on how you are doing.