PlumpKitty
I had been thinking of weight loss surgery for years but never really knew what to do about it. I had read the NB medicare site many times which stated that NB does not cover gastric bypass. I jokingly said to my family doctor that I was thinking of moving to Ontario so I could get gastric bypass covered. She gave me that "you've got to be kidding look" which told me not to bother discussing this with her.
In April/May 2006 I discovered a site for a Montreal operation that was just begining to take patients privately (note that this facility does not take medicare patients from other provinces.) They do the proceedure in a private hospital with the head of bariatric surgery from Victoria Hospital. My first email was to ask about pricing. They replied depending on proceedure $15,000 - 17,500. (this may seem very high but the best price I could find in the USA from a REPUTABLE doctor was $30,000US)
I discussed this with my husband and though we aren't wealthy we decided my health and life was worth it. I mailed the Doctor my complete medical history form from their website with pictures and a few emails back and forth later I had my date of August 31st for testing. They began their private operations on September 7th and I was operated on the 19th.
While I was getting operated on in Montreal, NB medicare annouced it would be covering gastric bypass in the media. My husband called to see if Medicare would pay for my operation which had already happened and they said I might get $2000 from the government if I jump through a bunch of hoops for them. All totalled I spent just under $20,000 for airfare, hotels, operation and expenses. I financed this with $6000 in savings and a bank loan for $14,000.
Obviously this isn't the solution for most people but I was tipping the scales at a mere 330 pounds but had a 67" waist and could barely walk, move or even breathe. I was mentally ready to give up and die after weight issues since I was 12ish, a million diets and dozens of specialists who got paid big bucks to say "you have a weight problem, lose weight and you'll be healthy" gee I never would have thought of that *giggles* but not one of these highly paid professionals had a solution to my inability to lose weight successfully on my own. Sometimes you gotta clear your own path in this world ;)
Anywho that's my pre op story
