General advice to get started

Hello

I'm looking for general help to get started with dealing with my weight problem.

I've had weight issues for a very long time (since I was a child) and have been looking into more "extreme" measures after the struggle lasting too long for me.

I'm very young (early 20's), and my height is 5'7" with a weight of 320 pounds. this puts me into the range of a BMI of 50. Even more concerning is while my weight has hovered the same for a few years, after an onset of extreme anxiety it took me about one year to reach 320 from the 270-280 I stayed around.

My biggest issue is that while I did once have a Family doctor, I don't anymore due to unrelated issues. And I am now homeless in Toronto with no family doctor. 

I want to move things forward for myself but have absolutely no stepping stone to start at.

If anyone could give me some starting advice that would be great.

Hello Lemiemi, 

First let me say that my heart goes out to you. As someone who volunteers with homeless folks I understand a little some of the obstacles you're facing. I truly hope that you can find a place soon. I hope you don't think I'm being cruel but if I were you I wouldn't start even thinking about weightloss until I was settled. 

That's because there are so many stressors in this journey. Not having a family doctor is just one though you might be able to work with a community clinic. But theres also multiple appointments to get to, out-of-pocket costs to pay, vitamins to buy, etc. You'll need access to high quality food. And then there's just the plain old stress of surgery and having to realign your relationship with food. Do you have people in your life who can support you through all this?

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you are already dealing with a very stressful situation right now. I think adding anything else to the mix right now would be very, very hard.

Still, this process takes awhile to get through and hopefully you will be in a better space soon. My advice would be to read everything on this site and how the information applies to your life. The next step would be to get a doctor to refer you to the Bariatric Registry. You might be able to get a doctor at a walk-in clinic to do this. Onceyouve been referred you wait to get an invitation to an orientation session at either Toronto Western  or Humber - these are the two hospitals that do bariatric surgery in Toronto.

I hope this info helps a little and I wish you all the best...

It sounds like you've had some very difficult times and you still have a road ahead. You need a doctor to make the referral from what I understand...not sure there's anyway around that. One of the things they want to ensure before you have this surgery is that you are in a good place mentally and have support in your home life. 

It's going to be tough to proceed until you are more settled but I would talk to someone in social services in your area and see what resources are available to you.

God bless you in your life's journey.

I fully agree with the 2 others on this post. Don't be discouraged, you've had a rough go.....focus on your personal next steps to getting yourself settled and then do it. For the same reasons as stated above. You've got an idea, just get yourself settled then make your idea happen........ good luck

Lemiemi,

First, welcome to the forum. You've come to an awesome source of support and we're happy to have you here with us.

Before you start this whole weight loss endeavour, you've got to get your personal life in order and I'm sure you already know that.  Am I correct in understanding that you are currently homeless in Toronto?  Finding some stability with respect to your basic needs is first and foremost and I am truly saddened to read about the obstacles you must be facing. I sincerely hope that you are working with social services to secure a safe environment for yourself, a basic human need for survival.  I would imagine that social services would also assist you in finding a family doctor as the need arises.

As others have mentioned, there is some financial responsibility in the weight loss surgery journey despite the actual surgery being covered by OHIP, with having to attend appointments, the cost of supplementation, and the ability to feed yourself appropriately post-surgery.  Aside from the finances there is a huge personal responsibility to yourself and your health - this includes being in a stable environment with the appropriate support resources.

I wish you the very best in working to get your life together. Once you've solved some of the immediate needs (housing not being the least of them) everyone here would be more than happy to offer you support, guidance and friendship as you explore weight loss options and lifestyle changes.

K.

Hello Lemiemi,

My heart absolutely goes out to you and your situation. I wish I could give you a warm hug.  It is just so very difficult to even consider trying to lose weight when your mind if focused on just keeping warm and having a safe place to be.

Karen is 100% correct when she says you need stability in your life before you can even consider weight loss surgery. Just the recovery factor alone would not be possible without a solid place to live. Recovery takes weeks sometimes months in most cases.

You are among friends here on OH. We are all at different stages of this weight loss journey. Some waiting for surgery some recovering in hospital and some people have just celebrated (drum roll please) their 9th year post operative surgery, we call it surgiversary.

So first things first, find affordable housing....

The next important thing is you fond us!!!! We are here 24/7 you are truly among friends here :-)

Be well my friend  and I would definitely love to hear from you again soon. Keep us posted

We care about you!!

Ann