Fasle Creek surgical Centre

Hi everyone, I have an heart ultrasound scheduled for Friday, Nov 3rd at VGH which would be my last appt before meeting with Dr. M. I am seriously contemplating going to the False Creek Surgical Centre whcih is a private clinic to have it done as they can get me in on Sept 11th. I phoned them today to ask them and find out how much it costs. They said it would cost $420 and they would require Dr. M to fax them a letter first. It is hard to wait 2 months for the appt scheduled at VGH 's even though it's free so I am seriously thinking of going to the clinic and getting it done. It's only money right? Plus the longer these appts take, the longer I have to wait for the WLS. I never thought I would consider a private clinic but I am really very much wanting the testing to be over so I can get on the waitlist ASAP. Any thoughts? Has anyone been to this clinic before or know someone who has? Thanks Sim

Hey Sim, I have spoken to Anne, Dr.M's medical office assistant, and she has said it doesn't matter when you finish all the pre-reqs. She said that they aren't ready to do the surgery yet, so they are not putting people in any certain order. If and when everything is done, it will be by need first, then by time. Add to that there's only 50 or so people that Dr.M said that were in this process that isn't that much of a wait. Personally, I would wait for VGH, especially since there is no need to rush.

Dear Bobby, Thank you for your quick reply. I am a little confused about this aspect. I was reading a post by Sarah P. who is a member on the post ( you can read her post if you go back) who was encouraging all of us to get our tests done asap. She has finished all her tests now and was told she was #5 on the list when she called Ann at Dr. M's office? She is similar to me when it comes to her health I believe like co-morbidities are not an issue. If that is the case, waiting 2 more months would make a big difference. But I could be mistaken so I will phone Ann and ask her as I will have to call her anyway to get a letter sent to False Creek if I decide to go that route. I am also going to see if there is another place that does ultrasounds beside VGH. I don't mind driving out of town and doing it somewhere else if I can save $420 and only have to pay gas. But of course, this is all irrelevant if Dr. M is doing WLS by need first. Thanks for your help and advice. I really appreciate it. This news would alleviate my need to rush thru things. Regards, Sim

Hey Sim, that would be awesome if you could find out what is going on, but that is what I was told two weeks ago. also, I sent you a private email regarding a psychologist locally in Vancouver. having a tough time finding one here that is good with WLS. Before I get any of my blood draw or scope done, I would like to get my psychological assessment first. please let me know if you know anybody. cheers, Bobby

Dear Bobby, I sent you a private e-mail about the person I saw- Dr. Chotem who specializes in eating disorders. I gave her the info about what Dr. M wanted in the assessment so she is aware of what to ask and look for. She is also open Saturdays as well. I have been taking a lot of time off work lately and although they have been very understanding I am trying to minimize my time away as much as possible. Keep me posted. Cheers, Sim

Hi Bobby, I did call Anne after all of my testing was complete to find out what the next time I needed to see Dr. M and was told that I didn't need to come back for another visit that everything was great and I was ready to go. I then asked where was I in terms of surgery and she said around 5th. The next day I called back and asked if she said 50 or 5 and she said 5. I asked her why if so many people were seeing him already. She explained that just because that many appt. had been done didn't mean those people were ready for surgery, I was, down to having signed all the forms on my first visit. This is only my personal experience. From what I remember when we spoke Bobby the information that I had relayed about my appt. with Dr. M was accurate with the appt. you had with him. Sarah

Hey Sarah, Yeah our experiences with Dr.M were near identical. But when I did call two weeks ago to schedule my cardiologist and was concerned a bit of getting a late date with the doctor, she said don't worry about the wait list since there was no list yet since he wasn't doing the surgeries yet. Maybe I misunderstood, but hopefully Sim can find out when she calls Anne. I'm still a ways away. I've only had my stomach ultrasound, dietician and the chest xray. Still got the scope, pyschologist, cardiologist, blood work, and follow up with dietician to go. My dietician wants to see me in a month again to see how I'm doing. But as of this posting, I'm happy to be taking my time on this. The only thing that's pushing me to do it is my pre-diabetes and negative family history with heart disease and blood pressure problems. But I want to be extrememly diligent and do my homework first before I decide. I'm really enjoying the WLS for Dummies book right now and just exploring about this surgery. Although I have to admit, the idea of going to law school next year and being a decent weight where I can enjoy extra curricular activities/sports is very enticing.

Hi Sim, I stand behind the urgency in getting testing done. If you aren't complete how can you be on the list. Like I said previously not everyone is ready for surgery. I can only share my experiences. I can understand everyone's concerns. I have learned over the years that fear based thinking only brings on fear. When I first started this process it was by having my shrink and family Dr. send in an out of country application. I was denied because I hadn't gone through Dr. Woodhead. Dr. Woodhead could not do the surgeries but could approve the application? I was willing to pay for a banding appt. just to have the testing done and get him to do the out of country appl. for RNY and was asked by his receptionist why I would do that. I told her to speed up this slow process. She told me to fax the denial letter to dr. Woodhead and she would make sure that he got it and she would return my call with information. It was at that time my shrink told me about Dr. Meneghetti. He did everything he could, I did everything I could and so did my family Dr. I think everyone needs to calm down and not panic everytime someone posts and says they called Anne and got different information. It seems alot of different information is out there. Take what you think makes sense and leave the rest. I believe I am 5th on the list of approved surgical patients. Sarah Sarah

Dear Sarah, Thanks for your post. That makes sense to me. Well I have to call Ann anyway if I am going to have the False Creek Surgical Centre do my ultrasound on my heart as they will need a letter from Dr. M. before they will do it. So when I call Ann we will probably chat about this as she is going to realize that I am willing to go to a private clinic and pay to gets things done quicker. So I'm sure she will say something to me. It only costs $420 for the private clinic to do the heart ultrasound. (I thought it would have been a lot more) Otherwise I am waiting 2 months ( Nov. 3rd for the test at VGH) although I am on a cancellation list as well. I'm wondering if there is another place that does ultraoounds- I am going to call the cardiologist's assistant to ask about that as I don't mind driving somewhere for a few hours to save $420. I would only have to pay for gas. Other wise, The private clinic told me they could do the ultrasound on Sept 11th. Either way, I am going to get this done sooner than Nov 3rd. Then it just leaves me with the dietician at UBC for Sept 26th and I am on the cancellation list for that. The nurse did tell me that cancellations with a dietician are quite common vs an ultrasound cancellation. Thanks a lot for your advice, you always put things into perspective. Sim

Hey Sarah, I hope you didn't take offense to what I posted. I'm only posting what I was told. It would be awesome if we could get clarification. However, whether you are #1, #10, or #5680, what does it really matter? We have to trust in our surgeon and that he is doing the right thing. I think all of us after talking to Dr.M do feel that trust with him. If he sees the need for somebody to move up ahead of me to help them, so be it. I'm a big believer in karma and if me being pushed back a month or two will help 10 other people, then that's great. I'm in a little bit of a different situation that most I think as my other health problems haven't caused enough problems to where I am 100% on getting WLS. Ideally, i don't like the fact that my diabetes are hurting my organs on a daily basis, but my blood sugars are somewhat under control. I am just taking Dr.M's advice on researching the surgery while getting the tests done to see if this is the right thing for me. That's why I think I'm taking my time getting the tests done. Bobby