How did you pick your doctor?
Hello board, I am in northern quebec and can go to Montreal or Gatineau for surgery. I am going private. (if i go through with it cuz im terrified but i digress).
My family doc gave me the name of Dr. Christou at Royal Vic...Any thoughts anyone?
I see lots of people getting surgery in Gatineau....
How does one decide on where and whom to get this done by?
Thanks in advance...
My family doc gave me the name of Dr. Christou at Royal Vic...Any thoughts anyone?
I see lots of people getting surgery in Gatineau....
How does one decide on where and whom to get this done by?
Thanks in advance...
Just dropped by from the Ontario Board...and the over 50 Board where I normally do my posting.....
I did 2 years research prior to my surgery. Would have liked DS but they were only doing it 'open surgery" at the time so leaving a big scar with chances of lots of post-op complications suchas incisional hernias, and you had to go out of country as not offered in Canada ( I live in Ottawa). I wanted lap surgery and di not want a big open scar. No bariatric surgery was offered by OHIP in Ottawa at the time, and everyone was sent down to Utica then.
I opted for self-pay, chose Dr. Christou because of his reputation,although he only did RnY and banding at the time, as he was only 2 hours away in Montreal so much closer than Utica in NY State, and he had a private practice as well as being chief of Bariatric surgery at the Royal Vic (where I had my initial apt with him). Could have had my surgery 4 weeks after my initial visit, but chose a more convenient date as I was working. Had my RnY surgery in Feb 2008, paid $18500 total at the time (although he has upped his price by about 1000 now and also does VSG),
Had a textbook recovery, I followed my eating rules and progression to the letter, had no foamies or vomiting or any problems, not even dumping...so much so that sometimes I wondered whether I really had surgery or was instead maybe some sort of "control" with a few hole*****hed into me ( I had laparoscopic surgery!)...At over 4 years out, haven't reached goal yet ( because of age and a few hiccups along the way during my peak weightloss period), and have no problems although have become iron deficient and have to take iron supplements in addition to a daily vitamin, B12, Vit D and Calcium Citrate....although I was surgically menopaused 16 years ago with a radical hysterectomy, I now need to take daily iron suplements. ( the conventional thinking so far has been only menstruating women need to take iron supplements, but more and more of us need iron the farther we get out from surgery)..
I notice Dr, Christou on his Weightlosssurgery.ca site now mentions about 10% of post RnY patients become iron deficient ( that was not there when I had my surgery in 2008...his whole private practice website has improved over the years with more information provided)...At the time his site had little post surfgery information, and he relied on a commercial conventional weightloss agency to provide psychological and nutritionist information pre-surgery....Frankly the dimwit nutritionist who gave me advice gave the wrong advice: she told me to get to 1200 calories as quickly as possible, so I did and at 3 months out of surgery reached her recommended level of calorie intake, and of course many months, almost a year after, Christou's website was improved and said to stay on 800 calories as long s possible ( up to at least 8 months post surgery)...so she screwed up my best weightloss months because I followed her advice! I lost very slowly all along which is a reason why I never got to goal as lost as slowly as on a conventional diet!!!.. Had RnY surgery in my early 60's which also slows down weightloss because of your slower metabolism, and I take Synthroid, a hypothyroid medication (hypothyroidism slows weightloss), plus lack of mobility meaning I can really only do water workouts, so can"t execise as much as younger patients....Still, I am much better off than before my gastric bypass!!!! No regrets!!!
Would not hesitate to recommend Dr. Christou to anyone who can afford him...Although you are pretty much cut loose after surgery and immediate recovery followup, so better be sure you have a support network including psychologist and eating disorder specialist lined up for when the weightloss slows and stops..., because you have surgery on your body, not your head and you need to change the way your head hunger, stress in life, and after the honeymoon period is over, when life makes you fall back into bad habits. that is when you need help to fight this for the rest of your life....Eating healthy has to become a new way of life for you!.
Consider the surgery a "re-start button" for about 2 years during which you get to lose weight no matter what...When weightloss stops as it will inevitably, whether you have reached goal weight or not, you need self discipline so as not to regain.
Good Luck to all who choose WL surgery...it was the best thing I did for myself even though I had to remortgage my house to pay for it, and continue working past normal retirement age to pay off the mortgage!
(Edited to include info on hypothyroidism)
I did 2 years research prior to my surgery. Would have liked DS but they were only doing it 'open surgery" at the time so leaving a big scar with chances of lots of post-op complications suchas incisional hernias, and you had to go out of country as not offered in Canada ( I live in Ottawa). I wanted lap surgery and di not want a big open scar. No bariatric surgery was offered by OHIP in Ottawa at the time, and everyone was sent down to Utica then.
I opted for self-pay, chose Dr. Christou because of his reputation,although he only did RnY and banding at the time, as he was only 2 hours away in Montreal so much closer than Utica in NY State, and he had a private practice as well as being chief of Bariatric surgery at the Royal Vic (where I had my initial apt with him). Could have had my surgery 4 weeks after my initial visit, but chose a more convenient date as I was working. Had my RnY surgery in Feb 2008, paid $18500 total at the time (although he has upped his price by about 1000 now and also does VSG),
Had a textbook recovery, I followed my eating rules and progression to the letter, had no foamies or vomiting or any problems, not even dumping...so much so that sometimes I wondered whether I really had surgery or was instead maybe some sort of "control" with a few hole*****hed into me ( I had laparoscopic surgery!)...At over 4 years out, haven't reached goal yet ( because of age and a few hiccups along the way during my peak weightloss period), and have no problems although have become iron deficient and have to take iron supplements in addition to a daily vitamin, B12, Vit D and Calcium Citrate....although I was surgically menopaused 16 years ago with a radical hysterectomy, I now need to take daily iron suplements. ( the conventional thinking so far has been only menstruating women need to take iron supplements, but more and more of us need iron the farther we get out from surgery)..
I notice Dr, Christou on his Weightlosssurgery.ca site now mentions about 10% of post RnY patients become iron deficient ( that was not there when I had my surgery in 2008...his whole private practice website has improved over the years with more information provided)...At the time his site had little post surfgery information, and he relied on a commercial conventional weightloss agency to provide psychological and nutritionist information pre-surgery....Frankly the dimwit nutritionist who gave me advice gave the wrong advice: she told me to get to 1200 calories as quickly as possible, so I did and at 3 months out of surgery reached her recommended level of calorie intake, and of course many months, almost a year after, Christou's website was improved and said to stay on 800 calories as long s possible ( up to at least 8 months post surgery)...so she screwed up my best weightloss months because I followed her advice! I lost very slowly all along which is a reason why I never got to goal as lost as slowly as on a conventional diet!!!.. Had RnY surgery in my early 60's which also slows down weightloss because of your slower metabolism, and I take Synthroid, a hypothyroid medication (hypothyroidism slows weightloss), plus lack of mobility meaning I can really only do water workouts, so can"t execise as much as younger patients....Still, I am much better off than before my gastric bypass!!!! No regrets!!!
Would not hesitate to recommend Dr. Christou to anyone who can afford him...Although you are pretty much cut loose after surgery and immediate recovery followup, so better be sure you have a support network including psychologist and eating disorder specialist lined up for when the weightloss slows and stops..., because you have surgery on your body, not your head and you need to change the way your head hunger, stress in life, and after the honeymoon period is over, when life makes you fall back into bad habits. that is when you need help to fight this for the rest of your life....Eating healthy has to become a new way of life for you!.
Consider the surgery a "re-start button" for about 2 years during which you get to lose weight no matter what...When weightloss stops as it will inevitably, whether you have reached goal weight or not, you need self discipline so as not to regain.
Good Luck to all who choose WL surgery...it was the best thing I did for myself even though I had to remortgage my house to pay for it, and continue working past normal retirement age to pay off the mortgage!
(Edited to include info on hypothyroidism)
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