Waiting
Oh, and....Im really glad to hear you made 
Pffft....you haven't stuck around long enough with the program to know how many HAVE made it to the finish line....hundreds....why??? because they were willing to change their lives...change their attitudes...and change their goals to benefit themselves.
Something I don't see ever happening with you....
Good luck with your search....Mexico is looking better and better eh???
People gripe about the long waits....the hoops to jump through....the forms to fill out and sign....
They forget that our health care system is paying for it all....not too many places I know of where that happens.
During the "wait times"....start changing your attitudes...your lifestyles....your ideas...your goals.
Our whole lives we are waiting....line ups in grocery stores....doctor's offices....exhibits....amusement rides....restaurants....etc.
Can we not wait a little longer for our life to change for the better????
I am certainly not going to defend the WW clinic as I know that they have been in a process of transisiton over the past few years. I have heard several stories of lost referrals, long delays, and other infuriating situations. However, I think that they still provide a valueable service to the patients that do attend. Sure, not everbody needs all the services, but at least they are there for the benefit of the patient. There are other surgeons in Alberta who do not have the same comprehensive list of services. Physical Therapy, Dietician, Internist, Psychology, Social Worker, and maybe a few more professionals that I haven't met. Ultimately, these services and programs are in place to prevent going to a surgery option, which is deemed as a last resort. If surgery can't be avoided, they are proactively preparing you for life after surgery.
I think something to keep in mind is that as much as you hate the process, it's the only one we got and you need to play by their rules. The WW clinic has national experts on obesity treatement and government is taking a prudent approach to an epidemic. I think it would do a greater disservice to our health system if every tom, dick and harry was given a bypass as soon as they walk in the door becuase they and their GP believe they needed one. How much stress would it put onto our health system when say 10-20% of patients start having issues because they were not properly prepared for life after bariatric surgery or didn't bother to follow the program because they figured it was a quick fix? The fact of the matter is the GPs know little about weight loss and nutrition in general and even less about bariatric surgery. So, your point about your GP wanting you to see a surgeon right away holds no water.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the clinic needs to handle each patient with a standard approach until the time comes to customize treatment. We may feel that all the information is redundant and we've heard it before, but they don't know that. So, you need to jump through their hoops.
As for wait times -- As I said, we are in an epidemic state. As you will find out at the orientation, there are upwards of 2500 people waiting to get into the clinc. As of April 2008, here is state of obesity in the CHA region, which is mainly Edmonton and area.
Level 1 - BMI > 25 = 500,000
Level 2 - BMI > 30 = 250,000
Level 3 - BMI > 40 = 25.000
Yes, it is frusterating, but the clinic is doing the best they can with the resources they have. In the past year, they have been able to add to their staff and they are working to reduce the waiting list times. However, it takes time. Everybody feels that their condition is bad enough to warrant immediate attention and it's a crime to have to wait 1-2 years to get into the clinic and then maybe another year or so to get surgery. Well, there are 2500+ people in the same boat as you. We just have to be patient and wait our turn. The WW clinic is the pathway to the Bariatric Surgery Unit. Once you enter the clinic, your job is to make your experience as quick and painless as possible. To achieve this, you have to play their game, do what they ask, when they ask and jump through the hoops. You'll get to the end result faster.
Now, i am not saying that you don't have a point in bringing up your concerns regarding the process and wait times. I am thinking that the more waves you create, the more potential there is to make it more difficult on you because you're coming into the program as a malcontent. I may be totally wrong, but that's my opinion.
Good luck with your journey. Maybe if you get that chip off your shoulder you can have a better experience in the clinic than you are expecting.
-- Xcalibur2572
I find it very funny that I am being accused of name calling, but you are the one who has responded with a personal attack by calling me an idiot. What does "total idiots like me" actually mean? All I have offered to the forum are my opinions. Calling me an idiot because you don't agree with my opinions is rather childish. Additionally, I also think that it is funny that for the all the opinions that you offer about the clinic, the program and Dr. Sharma, most of them are based on second hand information or assumption. You might have a bit more credibility if you were actually in the program that you are so fiercly defaming.
In my opinion, the weight wise clinic serves many purposes, not only to screen patients. It provides a comprehensive pre and post operative support structure. To think that one can have bariatric surgery and not require any support (pre or post-operative) is what is really absurd.
It is also misguided to think that any patient has right to demand surgical intervention without going a comprehensive assessment process. This assessment occurs at the weight wise clinc with all the professionals, including the surgeons, assessing and addressing the issues that are currently affecting a patients ability to manage their weight. If any of us in this forum could actually manage our weight ourselves, we wouldn't be seeking surgical intervention.
The surgeons within the clinic are very capable of assessing a patients need to have surgery. What they can't assess is willingness for a patient to change. It's one thing to say that a person can and will change, it's completely another to do it. I don't think that there is anything wrong with requiring a patient to prove that they are dedicated to their own treatment. Bariatric surgery is a drastic measure to take. Patients need to be fully aware and prepared. The WW clinic is the mechanism to sure that patients have that level of aware/prepartion. Otherwise, they are at a higher risk to fail. Bariatric surgery is a tool, not a cure.
I stand behind my statements about GPs and their lack of expertise in bariatrics. GPs are jacks of all trade, but masters of none. That is why we have experts and specialists like Dr. Sharma. When it comes to bariatric intervention, I'll take the counsel of these professionals over any GP any day.
Point of clarification - I did not say that the clinic was soley responsible for the lost referral, long wait lists or long delays. I said that I had heard many stories regarding those issues. If anything, the long wait times are due to the scope of the obesity epidemic in general and the long delays are due to patients who fail to attend or cancel appointment without proper notification (average seems to be about 200+ per month). I will concede that the clinic has likely had more than its share of lost referrals, but given that they have had considerable changes in the past 2-3 years, this is not unresonable. Unfortunate yes, but not unreasonable.
Finally, a word of advice. If you are going to go off on a rant about how the system needs to be changed and you're going to approach government, it would serve you well to know who are you talking to. The last time I checked, Iris Evans was the Alberta Minister of Finance and Enterprise, not the Health and Wellness minster. That would be Ron Liepert.
With all due respect, you have made your position known about the clinic and how you feel that you don't need the management portion. However, it confuses me to think that you have said that you're willing to what it takes to get surgery, done the waiting, and are standing at the doorway to receiving treatment. Yet, you are unwilling to go that door to the next step for your princples. If your health and well being were really that important, you would put those principles aside for your own benefit. Otherwise, as you've said, you'll become a casualty. The sad part is that it will be at your own hand with nobody to blame but yourself. From what I hear, being a martyr isn't what its cracked up to be.
In closing, I don't disagree that the sitution that some patients find themselves in is serious and life threatening. However, that should not be a precursor to circumventing a system that is in place and designed to ensure a successful weight management treatement. You may not agree with it, but its the the process that we have. I know several clinic patients who do agree with the WW clinic' process and are jumping through the hoops to be approved for surgery.
I was referred in June...a year and a half later in Dec I went for the orientation. A few months after my first appointment...few months after...next and so on.
I am confused about one thing you said: "I keep calling to see where I am on the list and no one can tell me." I thought you were #1? Sorry I was confused
Hang in there...it will happen
You can either believe it will happen...or believe it won't both are self fulfilled prophesies
Started 282 Lost 37 lb + Pre op diet lost 12=49 pounds lost pre op. CW 185
OFFICIAL CENTURY CLUB MEMBER ! 
Kathy S. · 0 replies · 944 views
