Hi everyone,

Just joined and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm 25 and live in Western Canada. I'm currently 195 lbs - after losing 40 lbs in a year, I've regained 30 in 6 months. I'm a medical student and recently attended several lectures on obesity. The specialist opened my eyes to the fact that the odds of me ever losing much weight and maintaining that loss are essentially zero. He also informed us that for obese patients, bariatric surgery is the only way to lose weight for good. As a medical student, I have the luxury of access to a large line of credit, so even though at a BMI of 33, I'd never qualify to have my surgery covered here, I'm willing to take the risk and make the investment. I'm hoping to one day end up at around 145 lbs. I'm quite athletic, so as long as my eating is under control, I think I'll be successful, which is why I'm opting for a lap-band. I am hoping to get banded before end of August - before school starts.

I would love to hear from other Canadians. I am currently looking at some clinics here; there isn't a place offering private surgery in my area, but I'm considering some locations in Ontario. I was born and raised in Russia, and have family there, so I am also looking into getting banded there, as it is significantly cheaper. However, the procedure is still fairly new there, so most surgeons only do a handful of them a year, so experience is an issue.

Hi everyone,

Just joined and thought I'd introduce myself. I'm 25 and live in Western Canada. I'm currently 195 lbs - after losing 40 lbs in a year, I've regained 30 in 6 months. I'm a medical student and recently attended several lectures on obesity. The specialist opened my eyes to the fact that the odds of me ever losing much weight and maintaining that loss are essentially zero. He also informed us that for obese patients, bariatric surgery is the only way to lose weight for good. As a medical student, I have the luxury of access to a large line of credit, so even though at a BMI of 33, I'd never qualify to have my surgery covered here, I'm willing to take the risk and make the investment. I'm hoping to one day end up at around 145 lbs. I'm quite athletic, so as long as my eating is under control, I think I'll be successful, which is why I'm opting for a lap-band®. I am hoping to get banded before end of August - before school starts.

I would love to hear from other Canadians. I am currently looking at some clinics here; there isn't a place offering private surgery in my area, but I'm considering some locations in Ontario. I was born and raised in Russia, and have family there, so I am also looking into getting banded there, as it is significantly cheaper. However, the procedure is still fairly new there, so most surgeons only do a handful of them a year, so experience is an issue.

Hey! I am Canadian too but got my band in Korea. We almost sound the same though. I always had lot of problems with losing weight and keeping it off.

Since surgery was too expensive in Canada and I would never qualify because my bmi was never 40 I got the surgery when I moved to Korea.

I started at 205 lbs a bmi of 33 and right now I am 160 lbs with a bmi of 25. I lost my band due to erosion 5 months ago and thankfully didnt gain any weight back. I get a new band soon which will hopefully help me get to my goal of 140ish lbs.

I just want to let you know that it is possible to lose all that weight with the band and your goal of 145 wont be too far away.

Good luck :bored:

i hope everything turns out well.....have you considered going to Mexico? if you do, i definitely recommend Dr. Aceves. check him out......goodluck and be sure to write if you need further information.:bored:

Thanks for the replies. AlienBandit, it's encouraging to hear that people with BMI <35 can still achieve great success with the surgery. I'd be very happy if I could maintain a weight of 160 lbs! Unfortunately, in the past it's involved hours of exercise a day, not having any alcohol, any Desserts, and not having any sort of dinner, all with a daily caloric intake of about 1000...NOT sustainable!

LauraLane, Mexico is not at the top of my list right now, but if the Russia thing fails, I am willing to look into it. I called the Russian clinic today, but the receptionists were quite rude and refused to offer any sort of information over the phone, so I'll have to send my mom over there and pretend to be a patient, so that she can actually meet with the surgeon him/herself. I sent her an e-mail, so hopefully she can do this sometime next week.

Thanks for the replies. AlienBandit, it's encouraging to hear that people with BMI <35 can still achieve great success with the surgery. I'd be very happy if I could maintain a weight of 160 lbs! Unfortunately, in the past it's involved hours of exercise a day, not having any alcohol, any desserts, and not having any sort of dinner, all with a daily caloric intake of about 1000...NOT sustainable!

It is strange how I struggled for years with losing weight and keeping it off yet I have been able to maintain my weight for the last 5 months. Yes I have a balloon in my stomach but it doesnt so much for me as I can drink and eat whatever I want ( sometimes too much like alcohol ooops ). I am actually surprised I didnt gain any weight as the last few months have been easy.

These last 20 lbs will be hard though for sure.

But trust me it is possible :bored: