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I had my surgery consult in January. He brings others who are also there for a consult. Then after you hear about the 3 surgeries again, you have a one on one. I am torn between the RNY or VSG. He wouldn't give me his opinion. He said both are good surgeries. When I questioned him further, he said it is my decision because Alberta is one of the few provinces who gives the patient a choice and both are strong surgeries. I asked if he bypasses the pylori sphincter he said no. So, I am scheduled for a gastroscopy in May and he will look at my stomach and we will go from there. So, I am no closer to knowing which surgery I want. Since I have only 80 pounds to lose and he did the first sleeve in Canada, I am leaning towards the sleeve. Hope this helps. I am having the first of my pre surgery classes on April 8th. I know the first class is 2 hours.
Also, as of January, he said the wait was about a year.
Jaq
Hi everyone,
Is anyone going to Edmonton in the near future for surgery consult with Dr. Karmeli or has had a consult with him lately? I have my surgery consult in June. Any info passed my way would be greatly appreciated ?
Hi Leesa,
Everything is going good, I had my scope last Thursday and everything was normal so that part is done now. I meet with my nurse again in April to see where I'm at and if I can see the surgeon again to be signed off. I'm no longer in a rush for surgery though, I just started a new job and after about 6 months I should be able to work from home when needed. So I figure sometime in October or later would be fine with me :)
Mine was a bit different as I am from BC but live 10 minutes away from the alberta border. They gave me a requisite but had to get my family doctor to re-order again so that it could be done in BC I had to take all my results to the nurse with every monthly- Ish appointments. I am lucky to have an awesome family doctor who ordered which ever test I needed to have done. They pretty much order a requisite with almost every test under the sun. All your vitamin levels etc. Took a lot of blood. I started a multi vitamin, iron,vitamin C and D. I got the requisite from the bariatric clinic my first visit with the nurse. And they are looking to see what your deficient. They also weigh you.measure you. Check your heart rate and blood pressure and they go over your medical history. My first appointment made me nervous but afterwards felt get. You will have a lot of information thrown at you. I was very proactive and did a lot of research which helped me understand what they tell you ?
Hi Phoenix
Thanks so much. I'm very excited to go to the appointment. How us everything going with yours? Have they given you a surgery date?
Leesa
The req for my first blood tests came from my family doctor, as the clinic got in touch with them to request what they need, so the lady drawing your blood was wrong :) The other reqs for my blood work have come from the clinic but the results still always go to my family doctor. The clinic can just look up any of your results on the health system, so they want everything to be sent to your family doctor to keep them in the loop.
The intake appointment is with the nurse you'll have throughout your time at the clinic. You'll sit in a room together going through paperwork and discussing your medical history, past diets, weight struggles, and current lifestyle. She'll explain the process with the clinic and requirements, and answer any questions you have. Then she'll decide what your next steps will be and help with booking your next appointments (which will depend entirely on your discussions/paperwork you went through together).
Best of luck!
Phoenix
Hi
judt wondering when you did your first set of blood work was the req from your family doctor? My first clinic is on March 30. I went to the lab today to get blood work down as I'm trying to be proactive and the lady drawing my blood said the req needs to from the baratric clinic not my family physician.
What is the first intake appointment like, what should I expect?
Thank you
Happy Easter ð?'?
You can expect to wait at least a year from your first appointment before you have surgery (probably closer to 18 months now due to flood repairs). You'll have at least one appointment per month, rotating between the different specialists and you need to be signed off by everyone before you can be approved for surgery. Below are all my appointments so far:
April 23, 2015 - Referral Red Deer Clinic
May 1, 2015 - Blood tests
Oct. 21, 2015 - Orientation
Dec. 16, 2015 - Intake appointment with nurse
Jan. 13, 2016 - Surgical Consult - Dr. Gregg (said I'd probably have surgery by the end of the year)
Feb. 5, 2016 - Dietitian
Feb.12, 2016 - EKG
Mar. 2, 2016 - Mental Health (no further appointments required for this)
Mar. 24, 2016 - Scope
Apr. 8, 2016 - Blood tests
Apr. 13, 2016 - Followup with nurse
May. 12, 2016 - Followup with dietitian
You'll have the same amount of skin regardless of how you lose the weight, but it takes about 2 years for the body to fully adjust and tighten your skin as much as it can. After that point you'll know just how much excess skin you're left with.
Some people choose to get a panni/tummy tuck as soon as they reach their goal, but a lot of surgeons will require you maintain that weight for at least a year. Alberta health usually only covers a panni (just the skin below the belly button), however there's a few doctors in the province who can do a fleur-de-lis (tummy tuck) and have it covered. If you want to pay out of pocket, it really depends on where you go and what exactly is needed... can be anywhere from 5k to 25k, and even more if you want multiple procedures
I'm still pre-op but am very surprised at how well my skin has been keeping up so far. I do a lot of weight training and so the muscle tone helps keep my arms from looking like empty sacks of skin lol. Once I'm at goal I plan to still wait the full 2 years before I go through the painful process/recovery of skin removal surgery, as I want to give my body a chance to do whatever it can on it's own :)
Hi there.
My WLS referral was sent in by my Doctor exactly a year ago today. My first appointment (orientation)was August first appointment with nurse in September. The following month I met with the nutritionist.See them both every 6-8 weeks.I he done all the necessary testing. I also saw the psychologist as well . Got the call from edmonton this morning and I now have my surgical consult in June. They said if the surgeon approves my surgery right away,the surgical wait list was 14 months.
Kathy S. · 0 replies · 944 views
