Barbara-oh
Catching Up
Nov 11, 2006
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May 17, 2006 update:
Today I spoke with the two Canadians I accompanied to Michigan last month for their consultations with my DS surgeon. They both had their DS surgery last week performed by the magnificent Dr. Marek Lutrzykowski and are recovering nicely!
I am now 28 pounds away from my weight loss goal!
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May 16, 2006 update:
Today I was contacted via email by a journalist from the Ottawa Citizen. She asked if I'd be interested in being interviewed for an article she's doing regarding a report prepared by the Ontario Health Technology Advisory Committee -- the report was commissioned by the Ontario government -- that is recommending weight loss surgery for morbid obesity be expanded in Ontario to treat patients here in Ontario instead of sending them to the U.S. at a significantly higher 'cost'.
The report calls for the establishment of 'bariatric centres of excellence' in Ontario and suggests increasing the number of weight loss surgeries (WLS) from 200 to 1,250 yearly.
Last year while 200 WLS procedures were performed in Ontario, 600 individuals who meet the stringent criteria for out of country funding set by the Ontario Ministry of Health - Long Term Care, were shipped off to the U.S. By the way, although each of the 600 had their surgery cost and short hospital stay covered, their travel expenses, 10 day hotel accommodation, along with other out of pocket expenses remain the responsibility of the patient.
While there are a few dozen Ontario surgeons trained to perform weight loss surgery, hospital budgets prevent these surgeons from accessing the surgery time to treat the overwhelming number of morbidly obese Ontarians seeking to have weight loss surgery here in their home province. The result is that these surgeons have 6 to 8 year waiting lists, and some won't even accept new additions to their wait lists.
One bariatric surgeon in south western Ontario operates a lottery system, first ones in the gate with an application every August, may be fortunate to have the surgery performed by him in Ontario with a maximum of a year wait. But don't consider applying if you're over 40 or if you have an extremely high BMI (Body Mass Index) because he only operates on younger morbidly obese patients under a certain BMI who present less of a surgical risk!
It'll be interesting to access a copy of the report to discover what specific procedure or procedures would be performed at the proposed 'bariatric centres of excellence'. I am so happy I had my DS surgery performed by the wonderful Dr. Lutrzykowski in Michigan before any of the proposed changes to Ontario MOH-LTC protocols which may severely restrict access to out of country surgery.
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May 2, 2006 update:
There's an interesting article circulating among the listservs today regarding findings from a New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Study which suggests that the Duodenal Switch may be more effective than the Gastric bypass.
Duodenal Switch Patients Lose More Pounds and Fat
Excerpt:
NEW YORK (October 14, 2005) — The most frequently performed weight-loss surgery, the gastric bypass, may not be the most effective in producing weight loss, according to a preliminary study by physician-scientists at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The study finds that a more complex procedure, the duodenal switch, was more effective at promoting loss of body weight and body fat than gastric bypass.
The study followed 13 patients who underwent duodenal switch and 33 patients who underwent gastric bypass, all with comparable pre-surgery body mass index (BMI) and body composition. One to two years after surgery, duodenal-switch patients lost 50 percent more weight than gastric-bypass patients (22.3 BMI units lost vs. 15.1 BMI units lost). Furthermore, duodenal-switch patients reduced their body fat to 25.7 percent, compared to 34.0 percent for gastric bypass patients (25 percent body fat is within the normal range for most people). These findings will be presented at the 2005 North American Association for the Study of Obesity (NAASO) meeting in Vancouver on October 16.
Read the full article at this link
http://news.med.cornell.edu/wcmc/wcmc_2005/10_14_05.shtml
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April 28, 2006 update:
Given the volume of Canadians from Ontario who have found this website and emailed me with questions or requests for help with the Prior-Approval for Out of Country coverage process, I have created this new page which makes available template documents to assist individuals with the process.
Follow this link: Prior-Approval for OOC coverage
http://dawn.thot.net/wls/ooc.html
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April 25, 2006 update:
It's now been 8 months since my surgery and I am 38 lbs away from my goal weight. I have no regrets!
Over the last 6 months, I've assisted 12 Canadians to get out of country (OOC) approval and literally walked each one of them through the application process. It's been extremely rewarding to watch 11 of these 12 people flourish and enjoy their new life! Well the 8th person I helped, never bothered to contact me after her surgery but I hear she's doing well.
Two weeks ago, I accompanied two more Canadians to Michigan for their consultations with Dr. Lutrzykowski after walking each of them through the OOC application process. They now have surgery dates booked for May 10th and May 11th respectively. I am so excited for them! I'd never met either previous to having received an email from each of them inquiring about the DS. Isn't this a fantastic tool?
What I've discovered through this process of helping other has been that I get as much out of it as the individuals I assist. It helps to renew my excitement about the habit-forming life style changes and also in the healthy choices I make 99% of the time, when I share with others.
While I still offer information and assistance with those struggling with the O.O.C. application, after exchanging 62 emails in one day alone with a very anxious individual contemplating weight loss surgery, I now am not as available to respond to every question about vitamins, pre-op and post-op related questions, food questions, etc because there are more appropriate forums where answers to such questions can be obtained (see my Support page for links to some of these forums at: http://dawn.thot.net/wls/support.html) and where responses to these repeat questions can benefit more than just the individual asking via email.
So please first check through the DS forum -- if you don't find your question answered there, post your question in that forum. There are hundreds of individuals registered in the DS forum from all over the world, eager to assist and respond to questions from newcomers.
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February 27, 2006 update:
One of the most satisfying aspects of having had the duodenal switch has surprisingly been helping other women, both in my local community and from the online WLS community, by sharing my experience with the D.S. surgery and with life after surgery.
I am 6 months post surgery and already have surpassed the half way mark for the goal I thought would take 18 months!
cheers
Barbara
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October 26, 2005 update:
Today marks my 10 weeks post op date. I've lost 55 lbs -- 22 lbs lost prior to my surgery and the remaining 28 lbs were lost post-op.
I have somehow managed to remain smoke free and thankfully have no urge whatsoever for a cigarette. Additionally, this is the first time I've logged onto my PC in over two months.
I'm taking life one day at a time, and taking time for recovery. I spend time at the gym doing some cardio and then treat myself to some time in the therapeutic pool (can't even dip my toes in the big cold pool because it is too cold for me.)
Today I am feeling very grateful for my surgery angel... Sheila Ellis -- for her kindness, her support, her friendship and her wisdom. I love you Sheila! Thank you for everything.
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August 8th, 2005 update:
My surgery has been scheduled for August 17th, 2005 at 11:30 am at Crittenton Hospital in Rochester Hills, Michigan!
I'm also waiting for a date for the panendoscopy -- either one or two days prior to my surgery. I'm having it in the USA as my surgeon wants to be present during the procedure.
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