Has anyone dealt with Dr. Birch?!

Hello ladies and gents,

So.... I have finally got my date to see a surgeon and it happens to be Dr. Birch. I am wondering what he is like and how my experiance will be. Anyone care to share?! Greatly appreciated!

xo!

congrats on seeing  a surgeon   i only had one visit there   my second appointment is  to meet with others as i see the nurse ,   am not sure what happens  when i go in sept to see Dr Kwan  as im not sure who that is  then i see my nurse   my OT appointment had to be cancelled  for that day  then i see there  dietitian  even though i see a dietition in grande cache   i so am hoping they will allow me to see a surgeon after my second appointment   

Thank you and congrats to you also, this is a great program =)

This is thus far:
I had my first appointment was on May 2nd that is when I met with my nurse (Jen) she is great! My second appointment on May 22nd I met my dietitian and Dr. Modi.  June 11th was my third appointment where I saw my nurse again and met with the physcitirist (totally spelt that wrong) That all went very well they ask you a bunch of standard questions and if all goes well then that is the one and only time you have to see the physc (it is required but everyone is different keep this in mind). Fourth and fifth appointments were July 25 & 26th I saw my nurse, dietitian and Dr. Modi to complete my surgical referral that is when I found out what surgeon I would have. My nest appointment and most nerve wrecking one yet is meeting Dr Birch in 5 and a half weeks.... it's a nail biter!!!!

To be honest I was prepared for 9+ months in this program but feel it is going quite fast which is amazing, I couldn't say better things about the people that work at the clinic they are all very informative for me and have no problem answering any of my questions. The best advice I can give you is finish the modules as soon as you can and also incorporate things you learn into your every day life such as proper portion sizes and choosing the right foods. Also, please ask questions if you're unsure of anything in regards to the program or the changes you are making.

Good luck again on this journey and I am always here if you need a buddy!

thank you  also i started  one module tonight  been  recording my blood sugars  foods moods and steps now for a long time ,    i really hate the fact  edmonton is so far away  but  i have to do this ,  ive changed everything  about how i live  how i eat  i even stopped smoking  march15   i used to smokes 2 packs a day faithfully   but i knew i need this livestyle change so im surely   sticking with it ,    i really dont know who this DR Kwan is   wish i knew   i guess i will find out in sept  but it seems so very far away   ,    i hope you get your date soon   its a  long process sometimes but  becomming over weight and staying over weight is even a longer process  thats why i  see this  as a light at the end of a tunnel     hope to finally   have a  second chance  ,   did you have to lose much weight  before seeing your  surgeon ?

I met Dr Birch a month or so ago.
He is great; he went over the options and was willing to give any of the information I needed.

If this is your first meeting with him you will end up in one of the rooms with him and 2 or 3 other people to start.  The reason they do this is to go over the information about all the surgeries.
After they have gone through all the general info everyone will go back out to the waiting room and then meet with him one on one.

Be prepared with any questions you have, and be prepared for the one question he will ask at the end, "Are you ready to make your decision?"  I will admit that one caught me off guard; I did not think it would be so soon, it felt like I had only been in the clinic for a few months (Was 5 Months).

Good Luck he seems like a great Doctor to me.

Dr. Birch did my surgery...he really knows his stuff. When you meet him, relax and ask questions - he is there to help.

 I met with Dr Birch the end of May, I dont have a surgery date yet but they said it coudl be as late as November with the summer holidays etc etc of staff and Dr Birch himself.
They seem to be moving people through the clinics a lot faster now, my first clinic appt was Dec 5, 2011.
I think this is great, as long as they can speed up the surgery dates too....no one likes to hurry up and wait (which is exactly what has happened to me) My waiting time for surgery (from surgeon appt to actual date) will be just as long if not longer than my clinic times...

Dr Birch is great, and yes have all your questions ready to ask.  He convinced me to take a little longer off of work than i had originally planned. He asked me just as many questions as I asked him (what did i do for work, will i have people helping me, what will i do if this happens etc) he was great!

that sounds real  bad to be honest   i think  from seeing your surgeon  you would have been given a date ,    i mean from all the doctors   how many do they do in a run of a week ,   i think you struggle sometimes to get done what is  needed for you to have a surgeon to give you a time  and when that time is not given it could be frustrated   but i will say this ,     you at least got to see the Dr  so you know your at least a few steps towards  your new beginning ... keep your  hopes up  because maybe your phone will ring  early saying   your due to have it done sooner ,   always having such hope is good  .. its also nice to see  nice comments as you said about the doctors who   actually  are doing this ,  sometimes  thats the most  scary part is  what will happen when you see your doctor ,    but i was wondering  have you seen a Dr named Dr Kwan or perhaps Dr Kwon ?  am not sure who this is i have to see in edmonton  when i go  in sept

The problem is the surgeon does not set your day, the person who schedules the OR does, they only do the surgery on Tuesdays.  As well it is an elective surgery, which means if someone is bumped for an emergency, everyone can get bumped.

I would love it if it was as simple as "Here is your date" but I do understand why it can take so long, As well surgeons are just like you and me, they like to take vacations and they tend to do so during the summer when the OR is on a reduced capacity due to support staff taking vacations.

Yes your very correct  i really do understand  about summer vacations  back home at the hospital  we had the same thing with   vacations  ,  even to the point in our hospital we closed   one unit for the summer not only to  save the goverment money   but also because of  vacations  also OR times ,    its a shame its only done on tuesdays  really ,   i also didnt  say it right about a doctor giving a date i should of said  giving the formal ok  ,,,   but  may i ask if you know who this Doctor Kwan or Kwon  unsure of the spelling  as it looks like both letters ..  and for times in alberta seem  not to be so bad waiting ,   considering back  in nova scotia  there anywhere from 5 years and up  , but there short staff as well plus as you said   also OR times too ,