Hi Terry,

Fellow Cold Lake resident here.  Would you mind if I pm'd you to ask you a few questions?

So there are 3 classes that you need to attend. They space them out a bit, so to give you an idea I signed for surgery in June my first class was in August, the second was in August and then my last one is the beginning of January. I think they like to space them out a bit so that they see you back in the clinic periodically to check in with you. Hope that helps! If you have any other questions let me know!

Hi Andrea, congrats on your orientation date!  I recommend getting there at least a half hour early as parking is very tough with all the construction going on there.  When you walk in the main door you'll see the Admissions area on the right, go there to check in first.  The letter has good directions for where to go after that.  It's in a big room with tables/chairs, everyone seemed to bring a support person and so there was about 20-30 people in total.  I think the whole thing only took about an hour.

One of the nurses will talk up front with a powerpoint presentation, explaining what the clinic does and basic information on the different surgeries and what to expect.  It's really geared towards those who are just starting to learn about wls.  But at the end they will answer any questions you may have.  I was impressed with how flexible they are with their program, they really stress that they are there for you and not the other way around... so if something is not working for you (such as certain diet restrictions), they will work with you to find alternatives.

They give you a phone number to call to make an intake appointment, but say to take your time to decide if it's right for you and recommended calling the following week. They only have a few nurses, so it can take 2-3 months for your intake appointment.  As I had already been researching this for 7 months, I called immediately after leaving the orientation room and left a message!  They called me back about an hour later and the earliest appointment available was Dec. 16th, so that's a full 8 weeks... couldn't imagine how long it would have been if I had waited to call.

Knowing that in less than a month I'll be starting my monitored diet, my husband and I took full advantage of our vacation this past week. I got to enjoy chinese food, birthday cake, red lobster, and carbs... lots of carbs lol.  But by the end of the week we both felt gross and couldn't wait to get back on track... and now we also need to re-lose the 5lbs we each gained!  This week was really a test for me, in the past I'd always fall off the wagon after having cheat meals.  But now I know for sure that I'm 100% ready, I actually enjoy eating healthy and knowing exactly what macros I'm consuming.  Every time we go out to a restaurant we discuss what we could order in the future, which entrees we could split or which appy I could order.  Everywhere we go there always seems to be a conversation about how what will be different after surgery, and it's always positive.  I'm ready.... countdown 20 days til my intake!

Hi - I'm part of the Red Deer clinic. I haven't had surgery yet, but I have a surgery date (very close).

If there are any questions I can help you with, please let me know. :)

Once you see the surgeon I understand you are signed up for preop classes.  How long of a wait is it for the preop classes and how many are there to complete?