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.)

Congrats Jeff! I am actually waiting for Dr. Schauer's office to call me this week to schedule my sleeve!

My how time does fly by (when you're having fun?)...

My apologies for not posting (I say this too many times). I lose track of time, which is something I have to continually work on to avoid.

Well I suppose the biggest news aside from my progress with the surgery is that I moved today (Wednesday). Decided that I needed a change of scenery and luckily a 1 bedroom opened up in a co-op building next to the building a friend of mine lives in. I'm happy to get out of my old bachelor as I now have ore space, parquet flooring that is not coming up, and no ANTS!

Haven't unpacked much as I was too tired today. Pretty much just my computer and my television, plus my bed was setup at this point. Tomorrow I might tackle a few boxes to unpack. I am not in a huge rush, lol.

Now as far as my sleeve, I'll say thus far it has been a success. My only complaint is that I get heartburn several times a day. I've been told that some people get this and that it should dissipate within 6 months. Some others have said it might be an ulcer. If it were an ulcer I would suspect it would be in the duodenum area as the symptoms of an ulcer there seem to fit what I have noticed (the heartburn subsides when I eat or drink something).

Haven't been on the scale in about a week, but last I saw I was down just over 100lbs. I have reverted from the diet into some old habits now that the weather has become more drab and dreary...I was packing in the carbs over the Protein. I still lost weight due to the inability to eat a vast amount of calories, but I know the weight loss was slightly hindered. I'm back on track now.

And I have to make note that my problem with sipping is GONE! I can take a few mouthfuls on an empty stomach without any discomfort! This has made me very happy because I am left feeling more satisfied. If/when the heartburn problem is gone I think I will be ecstatic.

Walking has greatly improved. I am working on building up the stamina at the moment and it is coming along quite nicely. With the snows arrival my time outdoors will be limited so I'll be looking to indoor alternatives. I've only been heading out to the movies for something to do once a week. Planning to go see a couple more on Friday or Saturday (weather permitting).

Anyway just wanted to give a little update on me. Look for me to be a more regular voice on the board.

Cheers!

P.S. Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah, and Happy Holidays!

Are you on an acid reducer? Most of the surgeons put us all on an acid reducer for at least 6 months.

So glad to see your post. I was wondering about how you were doing. Congrats on the 100 lbs lost forever! For exercize in the snow, go shovel a walk. hahaha anyway, glad you are doing so well, and back posting.

Merry Christmas.

Glad to see you posting your progress ! ! ! Congrats on your results thus far.

Are you on an acid reducer? Most of the surgeons put us all on an acid reducer for at least 6 months.

I am on some pepcid pill, but I don't think it is working as intended. I've submitted an email to someone in Cleveland to see what they suggest and then I'll go get a prescription from my family doctor.

I'm wondering if perhaps a proton pump inhibitor might be the best option.

So glad to see your post. I was wondering about how you were doing. Congrats on the 100 lbs lost forever! For exercize in the snow, go shovel a walk. hahaha anyway, glad you are doing so well, and back posting.

Merry Christmas.

Thankfully I live in an apartment so no shoveling for me! lol

I'm going to see where the YMCA is in proximity to my new place and perhaps try and get there a couple times a week for swimming.

Glad to see you posting your progress ! ! ! Congrats on your results thus far.

Thanks. I'm aiming for 600lbs or lower by my birthday at the end of January. Only about 30lbs to go so I feel quite confident that it shall be obtained. This was the goal I made prior to the surgery. So far so good.

I'm wondering if perhaps a proton pump inhibitor might be the best option.

That's what I take.I take the generic of Protonix and it works great. I never have acid heartburn or any symptoms of anything like that.It's really cheap too, that's the best part!

Hi Jeff,

I was so happy to see your post and find out how you are doing. Congrats on your weight lost so far - that is AWESOME!!

I haven't been on much as things have been changing for me at home. My husband accepted a promotion in Ottawa, we have put our house up for sale, and I have begun working in a new job (from PEI) in Ottawa. I have been here for 2 weeks learning about the job.

I am still hoping I might hear from the hospital in Halifax before I move at the end of June (my oldest graduates from High School so we won't come before then) - but I'm not optimistic. That means I will need to start from scratch again in Ottawa. Find a Dr., go through the hoops, etc.

I have metal "cleats" that I can put on my boots so that it isn't slippery when I walk outside. They are something "traks" - I think I got them at Shoppers.

Take care and keep us posted.

Nancy

Hi Jeff,

You have found a wonderful place to come for support. I'm so excited for you. At 24 you will have a completely different long and lovely life. I am one month post op and my life is changing daily.. the ability to reach for things you never realized you shut down in your brain long ago starts to come back out... things start to seem possible and I am so excited for you!! WECOME WELCOME.. can't wait to hear more of your story as it progresses.

~Chandra/shutterbug

Jeff, I was wondering how you are doing. Hopefully you are doing great!