Anyone who has successfully gotten surgery approval in NL?
I am 250 lbs, 5'6" tall and my BMI is 40, I am 32 years old and have been 180+ lbs all of my adult life, mostly 200+. This is the most I've ever weighed in my life right now.
My question is, is it likely that a doctor in NL would actually give approval for me to get surgery, since I don't have any serious diseases resulting from my weight yet? Do I have to wait until I have some kind of major disease before they will even consider it?
I live in NL and I just mentioned to a doctor (not my own doctor, but someone covering for her) about looking into weight loss surgery, I got the brush off, basically "you just need to cut down and be conscious of what you eat." The best I've done with dieting was about 4 years ago I got from 230 down to 200lbs by following Weigh****chers for 6 months, since then some terribly stressful things happened and I ended up back on anti-depressants (which I will probably be on for life), a side effect being weight gain. So since last January I've gone from about 225 to 250, with 13 lbs in just the past 2 months. Prior to that attempt at dieting I had made another attempt and had been down to a low of 180. Although both attempts worked initially, neither was successful long term. I was also not on antidepressants that cause me to gain weight at those times.
What also works against me is that I do not LOOK as heavy as I am so I don't think I get taken seriously. When I went into the doctor today he said "you were 236 at your last appointment, well it sure looks like you've lost some weight." Nope, I had gained 13 lbs instead. He was visibly shocked that I actually weigh as much as I do. But my lower back has been in chronic pain for about 10 years, my knees decide to give me pain randomly which I know is weight related, and I have problems with heartburn especially since I've been over about 210 lbs so I know that's weight related too. My dad has age onset diabetes which could theoretically be controlled just by weight loss (but he also can't keep the weight off), and my mom actually had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago (she weighed 240 at the time and is the same height as me) and swears that it changed her life, it completely eliminated her back and knee pain that she had had for years.
Ideally I know what I need is a lifestyle change, but I don't live in an ideal world. It's just not within my power to do what that would require. But since I don't look nearly as overweight as I am, and I don't have any major weight related problems yet, I don't think I will be taken very seriously by any doctors here. But I am sure that if I don't lose weight, within 10 - 15 years I will be practically incapable of doing any physical work because of my lower back issues (I have a minor scoliosis). Even now if I do any kind of lifting or I'm on my feet very long, my lower back hurts terribly the next day. Chiropractors and massage help but are only a temporary fix. And it physically hurts me to exercise much. I do try to bike a couple of times per week when the weather is good, but for the 8 months of winter we have, that's not of much long term help anyway.
I'm not totally convinced at this point that I would definitely get the surgery even if I could. If I did I think I would go for the band instead of the full bypass. I know the recovery is not fun, I know what my mom went through, and boy it sure limits your eating. I do love eating. :) But I don't want to eat myself to death or into a wheelchair either which is where this is probably going. I figure if I'm going to do something drastic like this I should do it while I'm still young and relatively healthy instead of waiting until I get really serious concequences for my weight gain.
My question is, is it likely that a doctor in NL would actually give approval for me to get surgery, since I don't have any serious diseases resulting from my weight yet? Do I have to wait until I have some kind of major disease before they will even consider it?
I live in NL and I just mentioned to a doctor (not my own doctor, but someone covering for her) about looking into weight loss surgery, I got the brush off, basically "you just need to cut down and be conscious of what you eat." The best I've done with dieting was about 4 years ago I got from 230 down to 200lbs by following Weigh****chers for 6 months, since then some terribly stressful things happened and I ended up back on anti-depressants (which I will probably be on for life), a side effect being weight gain. So since last January I've gone from about 225 to 250, with 13 lbs in just the past 2 months. Prior to that attempt at dieting I had made another attempt and had been down to a low of 180. Although both attempts worked initially, neither was successful long term. I was also not on antidepressants that cause me to gain weight at those times.
What also works against me is that I do not LOOK as heavy as I am so I don't think I get taken seriously. When I went into the doctor today he said "you were 236 at your last appointment, well it sure looks like you've lost some weight." Nope, I had gained 13 lbs instead. He was visibly shocked that I actually weigh as much as I do. But my lower back has been in chronic pain for about 10 years, my knees decide to give me pain randomly which I know is weight related, and I have problems with heartburn especially since I've been over about 210 lbs so I know that's weight related too. My dad has age onset diabetes which could theoretically be controlled just by weight loss (but he also can't keep the weight off), and my mom actually had gastric bypass surgery a few years ago (she weighed 240 at the time and is the same height as me) and swears that it changed her life, it completely eliminated her back and knee pain that she had had for years.
Ideally I know what I need is a lifestyle change, but I don't live in an ideal world. It's just not within my power to do what that would require. But since I don't look nearly as overweight as I am, and I don't have any major weight related problems yet, I don't think I will be taken very seriously by any doctors here. But I am sure that if I don't lose weight, within 10 - 15 years I will be practically incapable of doing any physical work because of my lower back issues (I have a minor scoliosis). Even now if I do any kind of lifting or I'm on my feet very long, my lower back hurts terribly the next day. Chiropractors and massage help but are only a temporary fix. And it physically hurts me to exercise much. I do try to bike a couple of times per week when the weather is good, but for the 8 months of winter we have, that's not of much long term help anyway.
I'm not totally convinced at this point that I would definitely get the surgery even if I could. If I did I think I would go for the band instead of the full bypass. I know the recovery is not fun, I know what my mom went through, and boy it sure limits your eating. I do love eating. :) But I don't want to eat myself to death or into a wheelchair either which is where this is probably going. I figure if I'm going to do something drastic like this I should do it while I'm still young and relatively healthy instead of waiting until I get really serious concequences for my weight gain.
I'm not sure if I understand your question clearly - if you are asking if anyone got MCP approval to have the surgery out of province - yes - there are a handful of us. As far as I know RNY only - I know when I enquired 4-5 yrs ago - they would cover RNY - but not lap band. Things may have changed though. If you are asking if anyone has gotten approval to have the surgery here in NL - as far as I know - no surgeon in NL is presently doing bariatric surgery - there is talks of Dr. Pace in St. John's at the Health Sciences Centre maybe starting up a program.
I was approved right away from MCP. My doc faxed a letter to Blair Flemming at MCP. He gave me aproval almost 2 years ago. I am still trying to get on a list. The surgery is still suppose to be available in this province. It was suppose to start this month. But I still haven't gotton a list as yet. Still trying. Last time I talked to Dr. Pace 's office she told me they haven't got all the stuff set up yet. and they haven"t got all the i's dotted and t crossed.
You need to have your family doc "on board" with you. That is the person who should do the actual referral to the weight loss surgeon you choose. IF you don't find your current family physician is with you on this and able to provide clear, concise and convincing eveidence on a consult to a bariatric surgeon - find another one who is. That is your first step. I am fortunate enough to have a family physician who has kown me for a long time and who has seen my health change over the years, and witnessed my previous failed attempts at weight loss. She knew as well as I did that my weight related health problems would soon prohibit me from working and having any further chance of a reasonably happy, healthy life. If you are electing to self pay - sometimes the first contact with the bariatric surgeons office is made by the patient themselves - and a consult from your family physician may not be required. As far as acutally determining if bariatric surgery is suitable for YOU - they The surgeon) look at a combination of different factors - your BMI, your co-morbidities - meaning presence of weight related health problems - your previous attempts at weight loss - as well as any other significant, relevant information concerning your health. I get a feeling your have a family doc who is not on board with you on this? So your first step is to find yourself a doctor who will support you in this. Remember - when all is said and done - your family doctor will be taking care of you long after the actual surgery and post-op recovery phase is over. Good luck to you!
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