ShapeShifter
Hello there to all of you in similar situations. I am embarking on the next phase of my life which I believe to be a very carefully thought out, important and necessary one to take. I have been obese for most of my adult life, and now with increasing health problems I need to make some changes. I have tried every diet under the sun, ( I am sure that most of you can relate). The latest thing that was the best and seemed to work wonders for me was just plain watching what I eat and regular exercise. About 1 year ago I started going to the gym and took it slow and easy, along with food control and I managed to drop 35 lbs. I felt great.....until I got sick that is. I got a nasty flu and that stopped me dead in my tracks. I couldn't go to the gym because I didn't have the energy anymore. I found it very difficult to get the motivation back even after the couple of weeks that I stayed home. Then it was just downhill from there. So, I now find myself back up to the weight I started at...with a few additional pounds for good measure. I investigated bariatric surgery years ago but decided against it because a co-worker had gone through a procedure and almost died because of it. That was enough to scare me off. Obviously I have had a change of heart. Two friends and I are doing this together. One has just had the surgery and she is doing very well so far and is coaching me through the process. The other one is still investigating and talking to her doctor about it.
One person said it best when they said "I am tired of being tired". That is exactly how I feel. I have 3 beautiful and wonderful daughters and I feel like I am not living up to my full potential to be able to keep up with them. I want to do this primarily for my health so I don't get prescribed more medication, so I can get off my CPAP machine and so I can get back into a regular exercise regime with minimal pain. I also want to feel good about myself again and I want to be able to do things with my kids when they ask me to.
So at this point I have talked to my family doctor who is wonderfully supportive. He referred me to a general surgeon that does weight loss surgeries in Toronto. I went for the consultation. It appears that I will have to wait for up to two years to have the procedure done. If I pay for the nutritionist and social worker out of pocket then it can be moved up to a year. Wow...I had no idea that it would take so long!! My friend had it done at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. I have heard nothing but good things about this hospital so I did my homework. From beginning to end my friend was done in four months!! Now that is more like it! I waited for the surgeon's report to be send to my family doctor so I could take the steps necessary to get the surgery done in Michigan.......I waited...and waited....and waited! It took three months just to get the report!!! Unbelievable! The forms were already filled out with my GP and waiting to be sent to OHIP once the report came back. Well that finally happened this past Monday. I went in on Tuesday to sign them and they were faxed to OHIP on Wednesday. Friday I received a phone call from Henry Ford Hospital to inform me of the next step to get the consultation arranged. It took TWO days for OHIP to approve the consult!!! Now that is fast! I still can't believe it as I am typing this. I am excited and scared all at once! As things progress I will write more. So that is where I am right now. If anyone has any questions....ask away!! :)
