Looking to have WLS, my story
Hello Everyone,
My name is Omar, im 18, and I am looking to have weightloss surgery. How I got to this point? Let me tell you:
My parents moved around a lot for their studies and jobs, and ofcourse I moved with them. In total we moved 9 times. I was never at a school for more that one year with the exception of 2 schools where i stayed for two years.
I think the lack of long term friendships, and constantly having to start over at the beginning of each school year is what gave me this dependency on food. I spent a lot of time alone and most of that time was spent binging.
I started dieting at the age of 11. I remember it like it was yesterday, I counted calories, 1000 a day. It was hard as an eleven year old because the other kids were shoveling down the junk food and here I was waiting for the next trip to Costco so I could grab my low fat Healthy Choice brand ice cream bars.
It didn't last, I lost weight, and perhaps looking back that first diet was one of my most successfull. I began to realize that I gained much more weight when I stopped. And so began a 7 year cycle of failed diets and weight that would be gained back with interest.
I did everything in power to lose weight. Diet, excercise, and pills. Ive tried a couple brands over the years (the first when I was fourteen) and my most recent pill was one called Alli, Im sure many of you have heard of it on your road to acheiving a healthy weight.
I couldn't keep the weight off. I would go on atleast two diets a year and somehow the moment I would loosen up a bit it would come FLYING back on with extra weight. It wasn't that I was trying to pig out or let loose, I just wanted to eat like the rest of the kids. I ended up going over board again and again.
Here is what ended up happening: I have now developed a capacity for eating monstrous quantities of food. I have no idea how my stomach looks but it must be like a grocery bag at this point because I can eat and eat and eat and eat and get full after perhaps over an hour of food consumption.
I am also slowly loosing the resolve to lose weight through diet and exercise alone because I can eat moderately and loose weight very very slowly or starve (which i have tried several times) and end up gaining it all back in one sitting where I succumb to my weakness.
I remember the first time I heard about weight loss surgery. I was 15-16 perhaps, and at home watching tv. I was randomly flipping through channels when I landed on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I saw obese teenagers at my very age at the time, getting this Lap Band Surgery. Of course she had her doctors on, they talked about all these surgeries. I fell in love with the idea almost at once. Here it was, that ticket out of my perpetual diets and an opportunity to lose it all easy.
My parents shot down the idea immeadiately, and upon further research learning that I would still have to do a ton of work even with the band or the bypass I decided that it wasn't worth the trouble.
Here is where things change, fast forward to 17 and I am visiting my pediatrician for the very last time. I weight in at about 300 pounds. I broke down that day, and it was bad. There is this mental hurdle of atleast im not three hundred pounds and I had broken it. I came to terms with the fact that things had to change. I went on two diets between then and now and I lost maybe 10-15 kilograms each time, and gained it back as usual. Slowly pushing me up from 300 to 320. I began to actively look for a surgical option.
Do you know how hard it is to find a doctor who knows about where to refer you for these surgeries? It hard as hell. None of them know anything, and I have a suspicion that some doctors look down on WLS and refuse to help in hopes that you will lose it the "old fashioned way". I went to the clinic at my University, Concordia, and twice I came up with nothing.
I started looking online, I am 18 and I needed something that was covered by insurance. I finally found a few surgeons. Dr. Christou, who's waiting list and hight fees were much more than I could handle at this time in my life, was not an option. I found the number for Dr. Henri Atlas, I called and was told to call back in september for an appointment in October. They also said the waiting list was only a year and a half so that made me really optimistic.
I am ready to sacrifice and work with these surgeries I have in mind, band and bypass. Im a hard worker, and I am not a loser. I have been losing this battle with my weight, but here I am only 18 and in my second year of Electrical Engineering at Concordia, I'm on the deans list, I have a large and really great group of friends, I act, and I write and perform comedy. If I can do all of those things, then I know for sure with the help of this surgery and my own added effort, I can lose the weight. I don't want to head into my twenties at this weight, I don't want to wait till im older and even more morbidly obese to the point where this type of surgery is emergent.
It took me a lot of courage to say this all on here, and finally accept the problem publicaly. So any help and advice would be appreciated. Ive spent the better half of a decade fighting my weight, now im morbidly obese, covered in stretch marks, and people don't look past the weight to see the accomplishments listed about. I want say that I want to have my life back, but Ive been dieting since the age of 11, so ive never had a life with a healthy weight that i can remember. What I want is a life that I never had but worked hard for. So if you know surgeons covered by RAMQ with short waiting lists, if you have advice for which surgery might be better, if you know what im going though: I'm all ears.
Thankyou so much, and have a good one :)
My name is Omar, im 18, and I am looking to have weightloss surgery. How I got to this point? Let me tell you:
My parents moved around a lot for their studies and jobs, and ofcourse I moved with them. In total we moved 9 times. I was never at a school for more that one year with the exception of 2 schools where i stayed for two years.
I think the lack of long term friendships, and constantly having to start over at the beginning of each school year is what gave me this dependency on food. I spent a lot of time alone and most of that time was spent binging.
I started dieting at the age of 11. I remember it like it was yesterday, I counted calories, 1000 a day. It was hard as an eleven year old because the other kids were shoveling down the junk food and here I was waiting for the next trip to Costco so I could grab my low fat Healthy Choice brand ice cream bars.
It didn't last, I lost weight, and perhaps looking back that first diet was one of my most successfull. I began to realize that I gained much more weight when I stopped. And so began a 7 year cycle of failed diets and weight that would be gained back with interest.
I did everything in power to lose weight. Diet, excercise, and pills. Ive tried a couple brands over the years (the first when I was fourteen) and my most recent pill was one called Alli, Im sure many of you have heard of it on your road to acheiving a healthy weight.
I couldn't keep the weight off. I would go on atleast two diets a year and somehow the moment I would loosen up a bit it would come FLYING back on with extra weight. It wasn't that I was trying to pig out or let loose, I just wanted to eat like the rest of the kids. I ended up going over board again and again.
Here is what ended up happening: I have now developed a capacity for eating monstrous quantities of food. I have no idea how my stomach looks but it must be like a grocery bag at this point because I can eat and eat and eat and eat and get full after perhaps over an hour of food consumption.
I am also slowly loosing the resolve to lose weight through diet and exercise alone because I can eat moderately and loose weight very very slowly or starve (which i have tried several times) and end up gaining it all back in one sitting where I succumb to my weakness.
I remember the first time I heard about weight loss surgery. I was 15-16 perhaps, and at home watching tv. I was randomly flipping through channels when I landed on the Oprah Winfrey Show. I saw obese teenagers at my very age at the time, getting this Lap Band Surgery. Of course she had her doctors on, they talked about all these surgeries. I fell in love with the idea almost at once. Here it was, that ticket out of my perpetual diets and an opportunity to lose it all easy.
My parents shot down the idea immeadiately, and upon further research learning that I would still have to do a ton of work even with the band or the bypass I decided that it wasn't worth the trouble.
Here is where things change, fast forward to 17 and I am visiting my pediatrician for the very last time. I weight in at about 300 pounds. I broke down that day, and it was bad. There is this mental hurdle of atleast im not three hundred pounds and I had broken it. I came to terms with the fact that things had to change. I went on two diets between then and now and I lost maybe 10-15 kilograms each time, and gained it back as usual. Slowly pushing me up from 300 to 320. I began to actively look for a surgical option.
Do you know how hard it is to find a doctor who knows about where to refer you for these surgeries? It hard as hell. None of them know anything, and I have a suspicion that some doctors look down on WLS and refuse to help in hopes that you will lose it the "old fashioned way". I went to the clinic at my University, Concordia, and twice I came up with nothing.
I started looking online, I am 18 and I needed something that was covered by insurance. I finally found a few surgeons. Dr. Christou, who's waiting list and hight fees were much more than I could handle at this time in my life, was not an option. I found the number for Dr. Henri Atlas, I called and was told to call back in september for an appointment in October. They also said the waiting list was only a year and a half so that made me really optimistic.
I am ready to sacrifice and work with these surgeries I have in mind, band and bypass. Im a hard worker, and I am not a loser. I have been losing this battle with my weight, but here I am only 18 and in my second year of Electrical Engineering at Concordia, I'm on the deans list, I have a large and really great group of friends, I act, and I write and perform comedy. If I can do all of those things, then I know for sure with the help of this surgery and my own added effort, I can lose the weight. I don't want to head into my twenties at this weight, I don't want to wait till im older and even more morbidly obese to the point where this type of surgery is emergent.
It took me a lot of courage to say this all on here, and finally accept the problem publicaly. So any help and advice would be appreciated. Ive spent the better half of a decade fighting my weight, now im morbidly obese, covered in stretch marks, and people don't look past the weight to see the accomplishments listed about. I want say that I want to have my life back, but Ive been dieting since the age of 11, so ive never had a life with a healthy weight that i can remember. What I want is a life that I never had but worked hard for. So if you know surgeons covered by RAMQ with short waiting lists, if you have advice for which surgery might be better, if you know what im going though: I'm all ears.
Thankyou so much, and have a good one :)
Hi Omar,
Welcome to the board. I think lots of us can relate to your story. I started gaining weight around 8 years old and never had a normal weight since then. Tried many diets too just like you.
I had the VSG done by Dr. Atlas team just this May. And I LOVE it. I have had no problems with it no complaints at all. I only wish I could have gotten it sooner. I was on the waiting list for just over 2 years. It sounds really long at first, but it really does go by fast and gave me the time to think about it carefully and not make any fast decisions.
I don't think there's any other doctors or team of doctors that has a shorter waiting list in Quebec unless you pay for it. Dr. Atlas and the other surgeons on his team are all the fastest I think. They operate out of Sacre -Coeur hospital and the Rockland Medical Center.
My only advice on which surgery to choose is to research them all very carefully to see what suits you best.
Good luck!
Cindy
Welcome to the board. I think lots of us can relate to your story. I started gaining weight around 8 years old and never had a normal weight since then. Tried many diets too just like you.
I had the VSG done by Dr. Atlas team just this May. And I LOVE it. I have had no problems with it no complaints at all. I only wish I could have gotten it sooner. I was on the waiting list for just over 2 years. It sounds really long at first, but it really does go by fast and gave me the time to think about it carefully and not make any fast decisions.
I don't think there's any other doctors or team of doctors that has a shorter waiting list in Quebec unless you pay for it. Dr. Atlas and the other surgeons on his team are all the fastest I think. They operate out of Sacre -Coeur hospital and the Rockland Medical Center.
My only advice on which surgery to choose is to research them all very carefully to see what suits you best.
Good luck!
Cindy
HW 352 SW 328 
Hi Omar and welcome! I too know what you are going through as I am a couple of years older than you. All I can say is that any step you take is a step in the right direction. I had to call for 4 months straight to finally get that consult but I got it. Call on September 1st at 9am. Push them to give you a consult date. I've been waiting for almost 16 months now and my time is bound to come any time now. I had originally chosen the DS wit Dr. Garneau but he said that because I was young and active he would do the VSG first and if after a year it didn't work, he would do the DS. I am quite happy with my choice and I can't wait to get started. Let us know how it goes.
Derek
Derek
Hello Omar and welcome to our "family"...
I definitely can concur with everything you have said. I was an obese child, at age 5 my kindergarten class photo I was the largest child there. I also know about all the yoyo dieting and that is not good for you.
As an "older" person who has had to live with this obese body for 47 years let me tell you that I wish I had made my decision a loooooooong time ago. I've lost out on so much living it's very sad.
The only thing I stress is please take the time to research the right surgery for you. It took me several years and countless hours of research to decide on the VSG. You need to have a good family doctor that is on your side for this and to refer you to a gastric specialist. I have been on the surgery waiting list for 8 months and just knowing that this surgery is just around the corner is unbelievable!!
Take the time you need to do this. Don't rush into it.Also if you need to speak to a counselor about your feelings...do it!! It can only make you stronger.
I applaud your accomplishments and I know that it's tough in university (my daughter is in Concordia too) I see what you kids have to go through and the stiff competition that you are up against, but what I tell my daughter is that what you are going through today will only make you stronger for tomorrow.
Good luck to you Omar and do keep us posted!!
Ada
Welcome aboard Omar! you are at the right place, I too was an obese child and suffer from it. Dieting started at 10 yo... Now I am 45 and hope I had done this surgery sooner... Your post brought tears to my eyes, as I remembered my youth, and also because my 14 yo son is already 300 lbs, but he doesn't want to diet, he wants to stay like that, but he is gaining every year... I am so afraid for his health and future...Like you said, he can eat enormous amount of food, and it is more and more everyday... I admire you for wanting to change your life, even if you are so young, you seem very mature and I think it is a sage decision to go through surgery, to begin your adult life in a new way!
I will go with Ada's advice, do research every surgery possible and choose the one that is right for you. Don't chose by waiting time... One or 2 years will pass fast, and it is nothing compared to a life... You will have to live all your life with your surgery, so take time to choose wisely.
I had the VSG and I am also thrilled with it. No long term malabsorption, no vitamins to take... and like Derek said, there is always the possibility of turning that to a bypass or ds later if it is not enough, but vsg seems to have very good results. I have lost 107 lbs in six months since my vsg... The lapband... I don't know, I've heard of so many people having problem with it, needing to have reoperation because the band was displaced, or vomiting often,...etc.
Anyway, do your own research, and keep us posted !
((hugs)
Diane
I will go with Ada's advice, do research every surgery possible and choose the one that is right for you. Don't chose by waiting time... One or 2 years will pass fast, and it is nothing compared to a life... You will have to live all your life with your surgery, so take time to choose wisely.
I had the VSG and I am also thrilled with it. No long term malabsorption, no vitamins to take... and like Derek said, there is always the possibility of turning that to a bypass or ds later if it is not enough, but vsg seems to have very good results. I have lost 107 lbs in six months since my vsg... The lapband... I don't know, I've heard of so many people having problem with it, needing to have reoperation because the band was displaced, or vomiting often,...etc.
Anyway, do your own research, and keep us posted !
((hugs)
Diane
Derek, Ada, Diane, and Cindy. I can't thank you guys enough for your replies. I really feel like I am part of a family. Part of that comes with the fact that our weight and physical appearance unfortunately dictates SO MUCH of our lives, we have ALL been there and we know what its like.
I started reading other posts and other threads and I actually have been pretty unsure about the lap band. I spoke to a close friend of mine about this and she said that if she were in my position she would get a surgery that was reversible so that incase anything happened they could just take the band out and it would be done with.
I started researching and actually read that is a high rate of re-operation, and I want a surgery that only happens once without frequent visits to the doctor and multiple other surgeries. Im really looking into VSG, as I hear it is a specialty of Dr. Atlas and has a low low risk of complication.
I've read post by all of you and I can relate to what each of has said and I'm glad to say I'm learning a lot and I will keep you all posted.
I do have one question for Derek though (by the way I could really relate to all your posts and you blog because we are younger guys and have faced a lot of the same issues). So here it goes:
Derek, why did it take you so long to get your consult? I was just wondering because the secretary was so non-chalant about it. As in oh just call on the thirteenth and we'll put you in for october and we'll decide which is best for you. I definitely will be aggressive and push for an appointment in october so I can get my name on that waiting list ASAP. Do let me know why they didn't give you a consult right away, I'm very curious as to why they would pu**** back so far.
Thankyou all so very much,
Sincerely Omar
I started reading other posts and other threads and I actually have been pretty unsure about the lap band. I spoke to a close friend of mine about this and she said that if she were in my position she would get a surgery that was reversible so that incase anything happened they could just take the band out and it would be done with.
I started researching and actually read that is a high rate of re-operation, and I want a surgery that only happens once without frequent visits to the doctor and multiple other surgeries. Im really looking into VSG, as I hear it is a specialty of Dr. Atlas and has a low low risk of complication.
I've read post by all of you and I can relate to what each of has said and I'm glad to say I'm learning a lot and I will keep you all posted.
I do have one question for Derek though (by the way I could really relate to all your posts and you blog because we are younger guys and have faced a lot of the same issues). So here it goes:
Derek, why did it take you so long to get your consult? I was just wondering because the secretary was so non-chalant about it. As in oh just call on the thirteenth and we'll put you in for october and we'll decide which is best for you. I definitely will be aggressive and push for an appointment in october so I can get my name on that waiting list ASAP. Do let me know why they didn't give you a consult right away, I'm very curious as to why they would pu**** back so far.
Thankyou all so very much,
Sincerely Omar
Hi Omar!
We're glad you decided to join our family! To answer your question, it was all about timing. It all started when I was watching the Half Ton Man on TLC in mid-january. I didn't know about WLS or I just never thought of it as an option for me but after that show I knew this was the only thing that could get me out of here. So I started doing research and I found OH. I started reading posts and introduced myself to the Ontario board. No one was here on the QC side. They told me to call for a consult so around the 20th of January I called Dr. Garneau because he was one of the only surgeons in Quebec to do the DS (that's what I wanted initially). When I called they said they were full and to call back in February. So Feb 1st I called and she said to call around the 15th. So I did. Feb 15th at 9am. The woman told me to call next month and I was like WhaT???? You told me to call on the 15th so here I am and now you say to call next month? BS.
So I called around the 3rd of March and finally she gave me a date of April 28th as my consult. The date they have on file however is the date that I was put in the system therefore May 21st is my real date. If I were you I would call early in September and I would call back every 2 days or so. Don't worry, the secretary won't recognize your voice. She'll get you in eventually.
I hope that answers your question.
Derek
We're glad you decided to join our family! To answer your question, it was all about timing. It all started when I was watching the Half Ton Man on TLC in mid-january. I didn't know about WLS or I just never thought of it as an option for me but after that show I knew this was the only thing that could get me out of here. So I started doing research and I found OH. I started reading posts and introduced myself to the Ontario board. No one was here on the QC side. They told me to call for a consult so around the 20th of January I called Dr. Garneau because he was one of the only surgeons in Quebec to do the DS (that's what I wanted initially). When I called they said they were full and to call back in February. So Feb 1st I called and she said to call around the 15th. So I did. Feb 15th at 9am. The woman told me to call next month and I was like WhaT???? You told me to call on the 15th so here I am and now you say to call next month? BS.
So I called around the 3rd of March and finally she gave me a date of April 28th as my consult. The date they have on file however is the date that I was put in the system therefore May 21st is my real date. If I were you I would call early in September and I would call back every 2 days or so. Don't worry, the secretary won't recognize your voice. She'll get you in eventually.
I hope that answers your question.
Derek
Check this out. You may want to give a couple places a call.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/QC/4019334/Approximate-Wai ting-Time-List/
Derek
http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/QC/4019334/Approximate-Wai ting-Time-List/
Derek
Omar, Are you talking about an appointment with dr atlas? If so I' try to answer your question, as my dr , dr Denis is at the same clinic... The secretary told me that Dr Denis and dr Atlas don't work much during summer , and many surgeries will be scheduled for sept then they don't have much time to do office appointment. And they cannot schedule many months in advance because they have to wait for their hospital schedule. I have to see Dr denis in august for my 6 month appointment and he only had 1 day of appointment and he was booked. They told me to call august 15 for september I try to call july 30 in case and she told me september was booked as they didn't have many places. She managed to squeeze me in as it is only a short follow-up. I think they don't have the schedule the same time every month, so like Derek said, try to call often... Bythe way, what I said about dr denis also apply to dr atlas as they frequently operate together... And maybe you should try to get an appointment with dr denis, his waiting list is a little bit shorter and he is a very renomned surgeon. Another good news for you, as you are young and healthy they can choose to do your surgery at Rockland center instead of sacre- coeur and the waiting list there is less than a year! And it is covered by ramq...
Ive been researching like crazy for the past few days and really scouring the OH boards from all over north america and Im really starting to learn about what would be be good for me personally. More and more I am definitely leaning AWAY from the band. I think I'll start a new thread about that soon.
About Dr. Denis, do i call the same number as I do for Dr. Atlas? Or is he reached at a separate number? Also what is this Rockland Medical center, and why would they choose to do a surgery there instead of at Sacre-Coeur? This is what I love about this website and this board, everyone is teaching everyone and letting them know about how things work. I would have been lost without you all, i just hope im not being overbearing with all the questions haha
Thankyou
About Dr. Denis, do i call the same number as I do for Dr. Atlas? Or is he reached at a separate number? Also what is this Rockland Medical center, and why would they choose to do a surgery there instead of at Sacre-Coeur? This is what I love about this website and this board, everyone is teaching everyone and letting them know about how things work. I would have been lost without you all, i just hope im not being overbearing with all the questions haha
Thankyou
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