New and so grateful already!

About 2 weeks ago my GP (general practitioner) carefully brought up the subject of Gastric Bypass. I was surprised at how not surprised I was. I'm 47, high bp, high cholesterol, can't stop sweating - I have been "officially in menopause" for 2 years now (3yrs w/o a period) and my hormones test fine. But seriously, just typing this my head is dripping sweat.

I am 5"2 and 225lbs. In 2004 I joined weigh****chers.. At 224lbs. That kind of says it all.

Of course I hit "The Google" as soon as I got home. Was horrified, then curious, then horrified, then interested, then horrified and now I want the surgery now. Todayet's do it.  Sadly, I probably have about 15 months to wait (I'm in Canada).

Worse, since I read about it I can't stop eating really really poorly. I haven't exercised (which I actually love to do) in 2 weeks.  At first i thought maybe I'm trying to "get it in before I can't ever again"..but no. After a few back and forths in my head I think it was because my BMI is right on the line for surgery approval. If I lose over 10lbs I'm below it.  In the back of my head I was worried the "team" would see me as capable of losing the weight myself since "I didn't have much to lose".  And ta da! Found this board!

Im only at the referral stage but I'm doing so much independently to make this happen. I realized going over some of the testing that needs to be done that my GP has slowly but surely having many of those tests done just because "I was at that age".  I realize now she was just paving the road for me:) I am searching for a CBT to help me with my eating habits and am going for a sleep study mid June.

I'm sure I'll have a billion questions in the future but wanted to give a not so brief history of me and offer my gratitude and appreciation for this board! 

Thanks!

Welcome to the journey, yes it is a long one but well worth it. I don't think if your BMI dips below cut off that would effect you qualifications because you still have a few of the co-morbid conditions. As for the wait time it is lengthy, I had my orientation April 2015 and am just now at the stage of meeting the surgeon on July 22 and the surgery should follow approx 6 - 8 weeks later. You will have a lot of support from the team throughout and the time truly does go by very quickly with all the appointments and home work you really will be busy. What City are you in? I hear if you are not in the GTA things seem to be a little quicker. I know a Lady In Sudbury, ON had her orientation in 11 2015 and is at the same stage I am at she started 7 mos after me and has caught up to me so there is really no rule as to how long it takes.

I wish you a happy journey and look forward to your updates.       

I have 4 co-morbidities and my surgeon's office told me that if I wasn't at least a 35 BMI on the 2 week pre-op surgery visit they wouldn't operate. Not sure if they make be stay BMI 35 until the day of surgery. I'm still about 2 lbs away so I'm waiting on that before intake appointment. Just a heads up though, my doctor's office didn't seem to be willing to "work" with me at all on that, even though some say their surgeons did.

Welcome to the LW board. 

I'm not in Canada and thought since my insurance didn't have any of the 6 month requirements, I would be quick, but oh no.  My surgeon had a 12 class requirement which took 6 months, then a 4 week pre-surgery diet before they would schedule.  I think it was about 9 months from intro to surgery. 

Feel free to fire off any questions.  I love my RNY and couldn't be happier with my new life. 

I thought mine went pretty quickly. My insurance company only had a 3 month supervised diet, but I went for my first meeting a week before Christmas. Then, I didn't get my first appointment with the surgeon until the end of January. I had to do 3 full months of supervised diet, so the end of April was 90 days, then May 16, surgery.  

First information session December 17, Surgery May 16.  So, 5 months total.

Not too bad I guess, but I can assure you, every minute of those 5 months seemed to last for-ev-er.

The good thing is, you're here and you'll have plenty of company and great support. 

Thanks so much for your responses.

im still a bit worried about my BMI getting below 40 but I'm going to take this week to work hard on throwing that away. It makes so sense to gain more weight in order to ensure I qualify for WLS!

i think the wait is a good thing - lots of time to try to instill good habits and change our minds a few thousand times;)

In Ontario you have to have a BMI of >35 with two co-morbidities or a BMI of >40.  Don't sabotage yourself with poor choices to maintain a heavier weight.  They usually look at your weight and BMI at the time of your referral.  They want you to make healthy changes which typically result in weight loss.  When I met the surgeon my BMI was just over 35 (started at 39.8).  I got my surgery done with no problems.

If you gain weight once you have started the referral process you run the risk of being removed from the program.  If that happens there is quite a wait before you can be referred again.

Where in Canada are you from?

I have gained since starting the program but they must be excusing me because I had to quit smoking and I was told that a weight gain is almost always expected when you quit smoking lol I had been smoking for over 20 yrs and made a decision that if I want to have a healthier life style it is all or nothing ( you have to quit for WLS ) so here I am 15 lbs up and not kicked out of the program omg thank God it has been a very tough year. I quit in May 2015. I have no co-morbidities  other than arthritis which is very painful with all the pounds :-( I am also in the midst of menopause which is horrible when your over weight (im sure its horrible when your slim too) My doctor tells me I am the worst case she has seen in menopause lol omg lucky me. I get hot flashes really bad and can literally wring myself out lol. My NP says they can't help me with that lol  but the weight loss will ease up the pains in the back and knees (arthritis in my back and knees) so i will find some relief.     

Hi:)

I'm in Toronto, had my orientation in October 2015 and have surgery on June 6th. I'm at TWH, I think it depends where you end up going how long the wait is. If you haven't found it already there is an Ontario forum (I'm assuming you're in Ontario lol) here, you might get more of an idea of wait times if you look through there.