Newbie Needs Help

Hi everyone,

I've been researching bariatric surgery for myself and understand that it is being performed at the Victoria Hospital and it is covered by Manitoba Health. 
Do I need a referral from my GP?  I have spoken to my GP about my interest but she keeps stalling & won't send a referral for me.  She keeps telling me about her patients that have had the lap band surgery, and they stretched their stomach and gained all their weight back.
I've been reading and looking at before and after photos on this site, and it brings tears to my eyes. 
I am so very unhappy.  I can't stand this weight and have spent so much money on so many things trying to take it off.  My joints hurt me so bad - sometimes I don't even want to get out of bed.  
Do any of you out there in Manitoba have any advice for me?
How do you decide what type of surgery to have?
Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

Thank you.

 Hi Jrtmom, the manitoba program has some restrictions 1 being age 55 and younger, also a BMI of 47 or less.  even if you don't qualify apply anyway - you wind up on a wait list incase qualifications change.  Manitoba preforms the vertical sleeve and the RNY.
You should research what type of surgery is right for you. There are many others I had a duodendal switch, I went to Mexico self pay.

The place to start if you want to apply is with your own GP.  The program has a fairly long wait list right now but things can change and criteria may change.  Your GP needs to send a letter of referral to the Bariatric Surgery Program and they will review it and let you know if you qualify and are accepted or not.  The wait time to find out if you are accepted can be several months. I think right now from acceptance to surgery can be a 18 month and longer wait time.  So if you are considering it you should start the process asap.  You should research the various surgeries and proceedures.  There is a lot of info available on this site...use the search box on the top right of the page.  Lapband has the least amount of weight loss, compared to Sleeve or RNY.  This is  a tool to help in your weightloss and you can sabotage any and all of the proceedures but if you committ to making the changes needed, this can help you succeed and maintain.

Good luck with your journey and I hope you can make it out to a meet and greet some time soon.

Thank you killen and alle for your replies. 
There is so much information it can get kind of confusing. 
I've asked my GP 3 times for a referral and nothing.  Perhaps it's time for me to look for another doctor.  I've waited long enough and I'm determined that I'm going to do this one way or another. 
I want to live to be able to see my grandchildren one day.
I'm grateful to have found this site.  I am learning something new everytime I visit, and it's good to know I'm not alone out here.

The amount of information can be daunting and confusing but after awhile you start to know what can be weeded out. I did alot of research before I made my decision as I wanted to know everything and I wanted to feel good about what I had decided. Once you start making sense of all thats out there, you will start to get a feeling of what is right for you. Good luck!

 The lap band is self-pay only and quite costly. There is also a lot of debate about effectiveness. You need to TELL your GP that you want the referral, not ask.
As well, the Mexico ladies can tell you about cost to go down there. from what I understand the facilities are awesome and the surgery, including travel is cheaper than the lap band.
Do remember this surgery can be defeated if you are not willing to make complete changes.
Wait times are much longer than 18 months in Manitoba, at last conversation with the clinic they are sitting at 2 years plus and IF and WHEN the criteria opens, those of us later on the list can be looking at 5 years.
It is possible that you can save for the surgery in Mexico before then.
For those of us stuck financially, (I had to declare bankruptcy last October, due to a number of factors) that is out of possibility and so we are on the list. 
This forum is important because it lets us connect with other people in the same position and ask questions as well as cheer lead.
keep asking, reading and researching. there is a lot of info out there

Hi    I'm one of those who went to Mexico and had vertical sleeve gastrectomy. The cost at the facility I went to was approximately $7500.  The facility others have gone to is about $1500 less, I believe. Air fare was about $500 on a seat sale.  There are others on the site who were referred out of province and had to make multiple trips and commented that it cost them as much for the incidental expenses as what it would have cost to go to Mexico, even though MB Health paid for the actual surgery.  The Lapband here in Manitoba was around $16,000 when I checked last fall and is far inferior.   I was not willing to wait to have the surgery done in Manitoba and had begun researching the surgery in Mexico before I even knew it was available here.    The treatment and care were good and I had no issues with surgery or after.  It's definitely something to consider if you're able to. Someone pointed out to me that the cost of a loan payment is about equivalent to the cost of the food you will no longer be eating.   I've lost 75 lb so far (34 before surgery) and it's made a huge difference in what I'm able to do.

 How do you get Manitoba health to pay for the surgery if you go out of country??

Manitoba Health won't pay if you go out of country. 

Yup, I'm a Winnipegger who went to Mexico too. I had only qualified for the MB program by 7 lbs - so if I had lost those 7 lbs in the next 2 years (approx. MB wait time) then I wouldn't have even been eligible. I couldn't bear the the thought of putting up with foot pain like I have for another 2 or 2½ years until surgery here. And we get older - I figured my body's ability to heal would be better now at my current age and weight *before* diabetes and high blood pressure hit. I had my VSG done by Dr. Aceves in Mexicali for $8750 and airfare was about $500 to San Diego. Have lost 36 lbs in 2 months, but the best part? I know there's going to be further weight loss without much effect on my daily life! I don't have to  **struggle** like I did before watching what I eat and how much I eat. This is just the way it is, must eat lots of protein & healthy foods because I have to make what little food I eat count. For me, this was the right decision because now I don't have a choice. And it took me a lot of years to realize that me having a choice, made me push the boundries way too much, and hence the weight gain. I also looked at it from the financial aspect - Herbal Magic, U Weight Loss, Weigh****chers have all taken lots of money from me, so when compared to that, the self-pay surgery wasn't that outlandish.

So you need to think about why you want to lose the weight, and weigh the pros and cons. There's a couple of books you can read to help learn about the different surgeries and make your decision: Weight Loss Surgery for Dummies & The Weight Loss Surgery Workbook: Deciding on Bariatric Surgery, Preparing for the Procedure, and Changing Habits for Post-Surgery Success. I bought them at Chapters on Empress. Those books did help me in confirming that I was making an educated choice. If you feel that you want to go through with the surgery, either here or in Mexico, then look at getting a new doctor. The right doctor will put his or her personal feelings ("you're taking the easy way out") aside, and will support you in making this life-altering healthy change. They can prescribe all the anti-depressants in the world to help you deal with your unhappiness from excess weight, but really, they don't fix the problem. Losing the weight is your best bet at feeling better about yourself and being healthy (which also makes you feel good because you can do more without painful joints and cardio restrictions).

Best of luck with your decision (and finding a new supportive doctor).