First Encounter / Battle of the Bulge....

Hello new to this site... My doctor sent a referral in back in 2005...then when I had my yearly physical in Jan of this year she sent another referral. I got a call from "Charlotte" at the WWise Clinic at the Royal Alex in April...appologizing profusely that they must have misplaced my initial referral back in 2005. I laughed and told her I was wondering how long it was going to take for an appointment. Anyways, because of my 'long wait' she made my first two appointments for the WWise information sessions July 9 and 16(complusory I was told)...then an appointment on July 24 with the clinic's team to determine where I would fit in....WWise Management program or surgery. I am hoping it will be the surgery...as like ALL of you, I too have gone through varies methods of trying to control my weight. Being overweight since I was 4, I too am very tired of the yo yo syndromes, quick fixes with never any permanent results. I just want to walk into a NORMAL clothing store and buy a pair of jeans off the rack!! For the last 40+ years, that isn't too much to ask is it? So, after all that, can anybody tell me once I go to my first two WWise seminars then the consult with the team....what happens from there? How many more appointments do I need to go through....when will they know if I qualify for the lap band surgery (which is the route I want to go)? And once I do hear what happens then?

u know what the exact same thing happend to me....And I am not sure if u have been to those next appointments yet by I am still waiting for my second appointment...i am still trying to find alternitve routes but not getting anywhere fast

HI Angie... Well in July once I get the two WWise workshops out of the way then the appointment at the Alex with the 'team'....I am hoping to know more. Have you gone to the two WWise workshops yet? I was told by the lady who made my appointments that it was compulsory whether I was going the surgerical or weight management route. Brenda

When was your first appointment for the two workshops? And have you had an appointment at the Alex yet with the 'team'? Brenda

Brenda, I cannot believe that you had to wait so long to even get a call back from the WWise program. That really sucks. I hope you can get the help you need and soon. Maybe you'll get bumped up because they were so tardy in getting back to you. One can hope right? I don't have my appointments for the weight wise seminars yet but I have discussed weight loss surgery with my doctor and am waiting for a call-back from the program to get into the seminars. From what I hear from my family doctor and Dr. O'brien (an internal medicine guy from RAH), the wait to get in to the program can be long and the wait for surgery even longer. Last week the local news had a report on WLS wait times and whatnot - 3 to 5 YEARS in some cases. I cannot imagine that. Do you think they would tell a lung-cancer patient that they had to wait 3 to 5 YEARS for treatment? They could be dead by then; as could a very overweight person. It's really unfair. I am going to wait a couple of months to see where the Capital Health WWise program could take me but I am still investigating surgery out of the country. Chances are that I will end up going to either Arizona (Barix Clinic) or maybe Mexico (Dr. Joya). Going to Mexico kind of freaks me out. I have been investigating bariatric surgery for over two years now and I feel that RNY would be the best thing for me. A little more money than banding but I think that it has major advantages to banding in my case. For starters - no fills required which I hear can be hard to have done if you do not have a doctor in Alberta who agreed to maintain you after surgery. Good luck to everyone who is taking this journey. Debbie

Hi Debbie: Forgive me for sticking my nose in here, I am from the Ontario forum. In Ontario if the wait is more that 2 years in Ontario they will send you to the doctor of your choice in the States for surgery and Ontario health insurance plan will pay for it. That gets most of us through the process in about 6 months time. OHIP does not cover the Lap Band but does cover the RNY and the DS switch. We start by choosing a surgeon in the States and then getting our Primary Care Physician to fill out the papers for out of country coverage and then we submit them to OHIP. I know Alberta has the same out of country forms so I am sure it can be done it is just new territory for you there. I know that Shirley Hodder has helped two ladies from Alberta get theirs done out of country. It might be worth looking into it. http://www.health.gov.ab.ca/ahcip/934.pdf Melanie ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE WITH THE SUPPORT OF FRIENDS!

Melanie! What great news you bring with you! Actually, I had heard that you might get your provincial plan to cover your costs but since I am not even in the main program yet, I didn't know for sure. However, it is as I suspected and you have to pay up front and then be reimbursed. I am okay with this (even if I have to empty my life savings to do it.) I am even okay with paying for it myself if that is what ends up happening. I do feel very badly for people who do are not in the same financial position as me though. Hopefully, they can qualify for medical insurance or a loan to help them. Debbie

Hi Debbie: No you do not pay up front. You pick a hospital which has a Center of Excellence rating like Henry Ford in Detroit. Then you put that on the out of country forms and that is where you go for surgery. You see the OHIP and others have contracts with the centers of excellence to do the surgery for $35,000 US and it is covered from the day you get your approval. The things we send in with our applications is a list of the surgeons doing surgery in Ontario with their wating times then we send a letter we write telling about our co-morbidities and why we need surgery now, and we send our application that is filled in by the primary care physician and ourselves. Then we wait about 6 weeks for the approval to come through. There are lots of hospitals that have this with OHIP so I am sure they have it with other provinces as well. Henry Ford is where I had my surgery. Many in our group go to Barix clinics who do only weight loss surgery and are recognized by OHIP. We have been fighting to have a Centre of Excellence opened in Hamilton Ontario and it is getting closer and closer. When it opens they will do 2000 surgeries a year. That will be good when people don't have tu leave their country to have this surgery. Shirley Hodder and I go to a meeting Tuesday concerning this center. We should have more information then. Hope this helps a little bit, Melanie

So how does this all apply for us in Alberta....and what if I don't want the permanent surgery. I am opting for the band surgery as I know it can stay in a lifetime...not just a quick fix type of thing. I have heard and also know of someone who went the RNY route and still gained his weight back because he was able to 'restretch' his stomach...I know it sounds weird or imposible but it happened to him . Brenda

Hi Debbie I too was very disappointed when I didn't get a call back from the first referral back in 2005...I should be banded by now....BUT...the lady who booked my two WWise workshops (compulsory) and then my appointment at the Alex within a week later...(so all is in July) appolgized and told me because I should have been in much sooner, has made these appointmenst within a month of contacting me. NOW, because I have had type 2 diabetes for awhile now and since my check up in January...have developed high blood pressure and cholesterol problems, I too am hoping that I will be bumped up a tad!! I want the band surgery though....my problem has always been portion control, so with the band it can be monitored better and even though the weight may come off a tad slower, my body will adjust better that way (hoping). I have about 110 lbs to loose and maintain afterwards. It's the yo yo sydrome that makes it harder (plus I am not getting any younger) lol. I want to be able to get 'fill's locally and not have to worry about travelling to get them. If anything goes wrong, I want to have my doctor close and available. Brenda