Hello,

My name is Jeff. First I would like to say that I am glad to have found this site (what I would do without Google, lol), as I am currently pre-op and it really helps to have all the information one can get from those at various stages, especially on a forum dedicated to one surgery.

Anyway?I?m a 24 guy from Oshawa, Ontario (about an hour east of Toronto). Since the age of 6 I have been dealing with an evolving weight problem. I went from being ?husky? to being, well I suppose ?super, super, super?morbidly obese?. I think a timeline might be the best way to document my struggles with my weight:

Birth: 11lbs ? oz

11: 180lbs

16: 375lbs

21: 663lbs

24: 745lbs

In 8 years I have literally doubled my weight. I was taken aback when I found out I was 663lbs after having to go to a warehouse and step onto an industrial shipping scale. My relationship with food has never been great. I went from sneaking of food at night to extreme binge eating.

Luckily for me my height coupled with my large frame and the way my body carries my weight I am still mobile, albeit greatly hindered. Due to no proper furniture to support my back I don?t have much built up stamina. I have spent the past two years fighting with disability to get a bariatric bed and I finally managed to get the $6,000 funding I needed for it. I am hoping to get it this week! Right now I can?t go from my apartment to the lobby (my apartment is the closest to it, about 75 feet), without feeling like my back is going to give out and becoming winded.

Over the years I have tried numerous diets: Atkins, Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers, Dr. Bernstein, Opti-fast, Cabbage Soup diet, Slim-fast, etc. Nothing ever seemed to work long-term and I would see 20-60lbs of weight loss only to put it all back on twice as fast. Obviously I learned diets don?t work and eventually I just did not care anymore.

In 2007 I was hospitalized for nearly 3 weeks and was transferred to a private facility and spent 4 weeks in an eating disorder program. However because of my extreme size the facility and I mutually agreed it would be best for me to leave halfway through as they just could not fully accommodate me. Initially they denied me on my size alone. Unfortunately in Canada there just is not enough extreme cases to warrant the same type of programs to help battle obesity like there are in the US. However during the 7 weeks I was in hospital I dropped from 745lbs down to 680lbs. Although over the past two years I have regained that weight.

For the past 6 years I have been researching bariatric surgery. Most of my research was with the mindset of having a lap-band procedure. In Ontario this is not covered by OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance Program), so I was trying to get family to cover the costs. Unfortunately surgeons up here are not as experienced at 4 years ago I estimated my weight at being 450lbs, when in fact it was probably closer to 550lbs.

This past January just 3 weeks until my 24th birthday my mom sent an email to a Toronto news station. Within an hour she received a response from their health anchor wanting to know if I would be willing to do a story. Within three days they were filming my mother and I at my apartment building. A few days after the story aired, I received a call from the anchor informing me that a man they had done a story on a few months earlier contacted them wanting to offer me some help. Having been in similar shows weighing over 500lbs at one point he went to Cleveland to have lap-band surgery. When he came back he eventually opened a clinic of his own when he realized there were no support programs in place.

The offer extended to me was the help to facilitate with a top US surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic whom he saw for his lap-band. He also personally offered to drive me down to Cleveland and then provide me with post-op support services free of charge. We filmed a follow up story two weeks after my first news segment and the wheels started moving with the paperwork required to get approval for out of country surgery.

After my own further research and hearing it from Tom (the generous fellow who owns the local lap-band clinic), that the lap-band was not right for me I spent countless hours scouring Obesity Help and settled on the DS. Unfortunately after applying for out of country approval a month later OHIP came to the decision to suspend approvals for the DS pending review by a panel they setup. I was prepared to fight tooth and nail, but then Cleveland Clinic sent a proposal to OHIP, which was then offered to me by OHIP. The proposal was for me to go down to Cleveland for a VSG to be performed by Dr. Philip Schauer followed by a RNY roughly a year later. Due to my excessive weight they deemed me high risk and thus wanted me to come down two weeks prior to surgery and spend two weeks recovering down there. This means a very big bill for OHIP so today they are supposed to get the final negotiated price from Cleveland and I assume I will then get official approval.

I agreed to the first portion of the two stage surgical approach, the VSG. If a second surgery is necessary then I am hoping that the DS is once again covered by OHIP. However at this point in time I am honestly hoping that the sleeve is all that I need to get my weight in control.

I will admit that I don?t know quite as much about the VSG as I do the DS, however minus the malabsorption the VSG and DS are pretty much the same?although correct me if I am wrong.

At any rate I am expecting to be in Cleveland by the middle of August preparing for my surgery. I am hoping to potentially get a better idea when I speak with Cleveland and OHIP later this morning. I have mentally prepared myself for all possible outcomes and now I just need to find out a date.

Anyway clearly I can go on and on about this. I hope that I made this somewhat comprehensible and that I didn?t jump from one topic to another too much.

Again I am so glad to have found this new treasure trove of information and I know this is going to be another frequented site that I?ll have tabbed on my browser 24/7.

Congrats for making it through my novel, ha ha.

(I apologize again if there is some comprehension issues as I have been up all night and thus my mind is not quite as sharp at the present.)

WELCOME JEFF and thank you for sharing your wonderful story. I am SO glad you are going to be able to have your surgery and take your life back. You're too young to be suffering any longer. Keep us posted on your progress and never, never hesitate to ask any questions - we're all here for the same reasons and we're all here to support one another. Thank you for sharing!

Hi Jeff, Welcome to the forum. This is an awesome site with lots of good information and support. I know you will find answers to questons here. Thank you for sharing your story. Good luck in your WL journey. Carol

Good luck Jeff. I can only add that you will find lots of support and friendship here as everyone is in the same boat. I hope it all goes well for you and that you are soon on the losing side xxx

Hello Jeff, and welcome to our forums. We are so glad you found us and decided to join. It is wonderful that you are able to do something about your weight at such a young age. You have the rest of your life ahead of you now to enjoy and be healthy. Keep us posted on how things are progressing.

Another Big welcome Jeff, We all look forward to being able to follow your progress and if you have questions, this is a great place to ask them. Best of Luck

Welcome Jeff, Best of luck to you on your new life. Please keep on posting and keep us updated on your progress. You will get great support here.

Remember the first time you visit us you are a guest. The next time you are family. Judy

Couldn't have said it better myself Judy

Another big welcome Jeff. This forum has a wealth of information and support. The people here have a helped me have more confidence in my own decision to have VSG. Keep us posted.

There are a lot of people who start out wanting the DS and are able to lose all their weight with just the sleeve.

I am glad you found us. We will all be here to support you.

Hi Jeff:biggrin0:,

Thanks for sharing your story.

The first thing that I got out of it is your bravery.

It is definately an advantage to you that you are so young ( I myself am only 27yrs old and 338lbs)

I wish you nothing but the best for your surgery.

Just go for it, I am pre op too, but I know it will be one of the best decisions Ive ever made in my life.

You sound like rather than dwindling on your weight you are just getting on with things and have a positive attitude.

Its so easy to wish our lives away sometimes and dwell on what could have or should have been.

I hope the sleeve works really well for you, and who knows! you may not need to have the DS or RNY afterall.:thumbup:

I have seen some amazing success storys from people of all weights, shapes and sizes. And all different kinds of surgerys including VSG.

At the end of the day these bodys are our shells, its the people on the inside that really matter, Obesity is an illness as much as any other addiction.

You can beat it - lean on forum support.

Its where I have found alot of support from people who know exactly what I am going through, and can offer all the post op advice too.

You are lucky if you manage to have your surgery paid by insurance or whatever.

Here in New Zealand we have scarce public funding, and a very pitiful insurance contribution.:thumbup:

I will be forking out around $20,000NZD of my own money as I have neither funding nor insurance.:scared0:

But I know that when I get my life back, and get my control back, the price of the surgery will become invaluable.

Heres to our future Jeff, at this stage I see nothing but a very bright one! please keep us updated! :thumbup:

Star_New Zealand:blush:

Hi Star,

Not so sure my post is me being brave, lol. There was a time when I would never mention my weight problem with anyone. I guess because I am a guy (we don't usually wear our emotions on our sleeves), bottling it up was the best way to deal with it. However over the past 3 years I came to the realization that rather than do nothing perhaps I could use my struggles to open some eyes and potentially help someone. That is what I really would like to do...help someone else who is either in my shoes or is heading there.

Currently OHIP (health insurance for all Ontarians), is negotiating with the Cleveland Clinic as I mentioned. Due to the fact that Cleveland wants me to be down there for a month it means the cost is going to be astronomical. Thirty days of hospital fees + cost of surgery. I have no idea what it costs to spend a day in a US hospital, but I knot is it not cheap. I'm hoping to get some idea of when exactly I will be going down.

Yesterday when I spoke with Cleveland they said nothing could be planned re: a date, because they did not have authorization/approval from OHIP. So when I called OHIP they said they had given approval and were told August by Cleveland. Was expecting a call back yesterday from OHIP, but that didn't happen so I am waiting to call and find out the facts this morning.

It really is a shame that so many people do not have funding through insurance, but I agree that the cost is absolutely worth it if you have no choice but to pay out of pocket.

I know that when I was 600-660lbs I could actually function. I might get out of breath while walking, but at least I was not completely winded after going from one end of my apartment to the other.

I just want to get my life moving again. Right now everything is on hold and unless I can get rid of the weight I won't get to experience things unless I see it through a computer screen.

It's reassuring to know that it is only a matter of weeks now until the table is turned and I, not food, will be in control.

I also want to thank all the other wonderful ladies for making me feel welcome. I can already tell that I am going to like it here.

Welcome!

Did you get a call yet?

As far as cost per day in a U.S. hospital I believe it varries depending on where you are in the U.S. Cleveland has a lower cost of living than say California so it will be cheaper than you might expect.

I live in California and had non weight loss surgery last September in a private hospital (non military). I was in two days and my bill just for the room and nursing care (including meals) was $4000.

My total bill excluding O.R. fees and surgical fees was $9000, so $5000 above the room and nursing fees for.......who knows.

Total bill with O.R., staff, meds, room, was $14,000. My surgeons bill was $4000, and the anestheia doctor (spl?) was $2000.

Again that was California at a private hospital. Cleveland is going to be cheaper I bet.

No call yet. Government agencies in Ontario aren't very apt to call you back. I've left a message with my contact there and I made it clear I am not trying to be a thorn in her side merely trying to find out what is going on so my mom can make arrangements with her employer. I'd like her to come down for the entire time I will be down there, but that seems unlikely so the sooner we know the plan the easier it will be for her to get two weeks off to come down a couple days before the surgery and spend the two weeks in Ohio while I recover.

I have no idea if I will ever find out what the cost was, however I'm just happy I won't have to pay it. I know the average RNY surgery done in the US on an Ontarian costs something like $28,000US.

I think I might try calling the toll free line and speaking with a secretary to see if 1) Bev (managerial) is even in today (her voicemail was still stating Tuesday), or 2) if they have any information.

Worth a shot.

I hope you find out something soon. I know the waiting for news can be unbearable when it is something you want this bad. Keep us posted on how things are going, we are all pulling for you!

Any calls back yet?