Referral, now what

 Hello Everyone.

So I live in chilliwack, and my doctor was more than pleased to give me a referral to Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Sampath.  My MD sent me for a whole bunch of blood tests and an EKG.  What should I be doing now?  Does this take a long time between getting a contact from Dr. N and Dr. S's office?  Is there anything I can do that can prepare me before I meet them?

Sorry for the questions, I am fairly new to this procedure.  I know about the different bariatric surgeries, but I don't know how do things right to get to the surgery date.  I currently weight 301 lbs.
Cheers!!

Niki

Hi Niki,

Good for you! I am with Dr.Nguyen and he is wonderful, I have also heard that about Dr.Sampath as well. From what I understand there is now a one year wait to get into see the Doctor for your first consultation. Hopefully it goes by quickly! You MD's office will call you with the date, at least that is what mine did. Just go there and if you have any questions you should write them down so you don't forget! You get to fill out lots of paperwork and then wait for the first appointment with the first specialist!
Me personally, I didn't really do anything to prepare before I met with Dr.Nguyen I just went to the appointment! I did however research this surgery for 3 years before I made that step. I read up on all of the different kinds of surgeries, the pros and cons and read alot of blogs on here. Although everyone is different all of the advice helps you in some way.

I met with Dr.N May 10th of 2011 and the process started from there. You will be meeting different specialists and going to many appointments. I finally finished all of the pre-req's and my surgery is scheduled for Mar 26th. This journey has been long but I know it will be the best decision I have ever made. As long as you remember that this is a tool to help you get there, it is not the magic answer because from what I understand there are many many changes you have to do and your whole mentality has to change. I am still trying to wrap my head around that, it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks but keep trying and it will happen!!

Good luck on your journey, keep posting to keep us updated!

Cheers,

Karen

Hi Niki, congrats on taking this life saving step!!!  I started seeing Dr. S in April 2011 and I had my surgery October 17, 2011.  I was told by his office staff at my last appt. in Feb that their wait for an initial appt. is now approx 1 year, since you live at the coast you could always call their office and ask to be put on a cancellation list to try to get in soon.  Check out their previsit sheet on their website 
http://www.westcoastbariatricsurgery.com/wp-content/uploads/ getting_started.pdf

www.westcoastbariatricsurgery.com is their main website and you can find all kinds of info about the docs and their program.

Good luck, Jayna

I too have heard its about a year wait until first consultation.

I think there are some things you could be doing now to get a head start on what they will ask you to do.

Make an appointment with The Garrett Wellness center in Richmond.  The dietician there is Nooshin.  There is also a class there you can take called Winning at Loosing.  It would give you a great head start.

http://garrattwellness.vch.ca/action_nutrition.htm

Also start making a food & exercise journal.  Document everything you eat...the best program to do this is  www.myfitnesspal.com  Once you get in to see the surgeons & dieticians, they ask to see your journal at every appointment...so if you already have a routine of doing that it will show your dedication.

Any other questions, feel free to PM me :)

oh yes, I also forgot to mention -  I am in Abbotsford. 
And there is a monthly Weight Loss Surgery support group in Abbotsford as well as Chilliwack.  If you would like more info on that aswell let me know.

 Holy Smokes  the  wait on the main land is much smaller than on Vancouver Island.  the wait here is 4-5  years. I  may have to move! lol

 Hey :o) I'm in Chilliwack too... My understanding is exercising is one thing you need to do to help prepare... If you'd like to join me I thought I'd focuss on walking :o)