Just waiting for family doctor to get in contact with Surgeon

Hello I am very new to this I just registered today. I have had issues for a very long time with my weight and it seems like an ongoing struggle. I have talked to my family dr several times and each time she just kind of discouraged me saying well try a little harder on your own to loose the weight and follow the Canada food guide. Easy for her to say this as she does not have a weight issue and I know maybe she is just wanted me to do this on my own but I have beeing trying for over 18 years to loose weight and have lost some but gained it all back and then some. So this last visit when I went to see her I said this is where I am at and there is what I want to do as my health and well being is at risk. I want to be around to see my 2 teenage boys grow up and out on their own with their families. So she said she would contact a Bariatric Surgeon and set me up for the assessments or whatever has to be done and get the approval from Medicare to cover the surgery if all goes well. Well that was 2 weeks ago and I am still waiting, so needless to say I got on the phone this morning to my family doctor to find out if she has gotten in contact with whoever to start the ball rolling. Well the sectetary informs me that my doctor still has my file on her desk in her office and was having a hard time finding a surgeron in Moncton that does the bypass, so I informed the secretary that I would do a search and find out the name of the doctor in Moncton that does this surgery and call them back so low and behold I found Dr Sylvain Beausoleil in Dieppe so I was quire pleased with my find and I then called my doctors office back to give them the name of the doctor and the secretary looked the name up and surprisingly she found his phone number....grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr that frustrates me to no end knowing that they had his phone number there all along and could have called him 2 weeks ago. Sometimes I seem to think that our family doctors just do not want to do the extra investigation into finding a bariatric surgeon and go through all the paper work to get in contact with medicare to get the approval...maybe it is just me feeling that way but that is the impression I was getting. Anyway she now has the name of the doctor so I only hope she does the rest from here and gets back to me on that. Now I am not sure how things play from there if I go see him first or do I have to go see a Endocrinologist first??? If anyone out there can help me with this first step it would be greatly appreciated. I have so many questions about this procedure and the pros and the cons etc. and anyone that has had the operation and what you can and can not eat etc...Please let me know on this. Good luck to all and hugs as well Beth

Hi Beth, nice to meet you... In answer to your question I can only tell you how long it took me ..there are allot of different stories and time frames. About 3 years ago I met with my Family doctor...told her of my wishes and she referred me to an endocrinologist (internal Medicine) named Dr. Dornan in St. John. My Doc told me he was the fastest to get into.. and if that was fast..I don't want to see slow..... In Aug of '05 I finally got my appt with him and he sent my recommendation to Medicare for my surgery. I was approved and referred to Dr. Beausoleil in Moncton. I went on the list to see him and my first meeting with him was July 17/06. So you see, it can take a long time. But for other's it does not take long at all..I have yet to figure how they do it *grins* I have since had my consult with him, and my all day info session and last Friday I signed my consent papers for my lap band surgery hopefully soon. Now I believe ..I'm not totally sure, but I think Dr. B can not recommend you for Medicare since he is a surgeon. I was told I had to see the endocrinologist first. He made the recommendation AND referred me to Dr. B. I hope this helps and does not discourage you too much..I know how frustrating this all can be..believe meeeeeeeeeee

I had to see an endocrinologist and she had to monitor a diet plan that I was to follow for 6 months before medicare would even look at seeing if they would cover the cost..So I did that and once that was finished my endocrinologist sent another letter requesting coverage and I got the letter stating they would about 2 weeks after and that was last August that I got the letter and now I'm just waiting for my preop surgery call from Dr. B for the surgery...

Thank you for your information to me. Since I last seen my family doctor I have lost 17 pounds which is pretty good I lost that in 3 months...I am still woking at it but it is a struggle at times considering my work schedule which I work the overnight shift so my meals are messed up compared to the average person who works during the day and has 3 square meals a day....for me when I work from 11pm-7am usually when I come home from work I go to bed and try to get some sleep which ends up being a broken sleep as I take a fluid pill along with a blood pressure pill so I am up and down throughout the day. But when I do get up in the afternoon I usually have something to eat usually just a bagle or toast then I go for a walk when I come home I then start supper for the family and I will eat then. After supper I will try to grab a few hours sleep before leaving for work and when I come to work throughout the night I may just pop a bag of popcorn and a bottle of water and that is about it so I don't get the proper meals at the proper times into me which makes it hard to loose the weight. Somedays it is so frustrating and discouraging I just want to scream...I am sure we have all been in that boat more then once. My family doctor did mention about setting up an appointment for me with Dr Dornan who is the Endocrinologist here in Saint John but as of yet have not heard anything but then again it was just the other day that I called my family doctor only to find that she was not able to locate the name of the surgeon in Moncton that does the gastric surgery. So I was the one *****searched that and found Dr B. in Dieppe and then I called my family doctors office back and passed this information on to the secretary who then was able to find Dr. B's phone number so go figure on that...it kind of bothered me as to why my family dr didn't have the name of the surgeon who does this...But I was glad to be able to find Dr. B's name. SO at this time for me it is just waiting to hear back from my family doctor as to when I will go see Dr Dornan the Endocrinologist.... I will keep my fingers crossed and see what happens

I was from Jan 05 to Aug 05 waiting to see Dr. Dornan then till July 06 before I saw Dr. Beausoleil......nothing in this whole procedure goes quickly. I guess one good thing is you learn patience....well...I guess it's good...I still hate the waiting game. BUT (big BUT) it will be worth it in the end...just try to stay focused on the end product not on the waiting ..or you will drive yourself nuts. From what I have experienced and heard..there seems to be alot more depression during the procedure and waiting then just being overweight. It's been a real battle for me. But every step I make in the process putting myself closer to the end, makes me feel better.

Hi to you all, It is very frustrating when you have to go into battle with your family Dr. They are the one you should be talking to you to find out why you have chossen this route. Yet instead they either talk down to you or ignore you. I was on thing I was not going to stand for so I took things into my own hands. When I fopund out that Dr. B had a waiting list of 2-5 years I made up my mind that was too long. And I had no idea if MSI would even cover me. So I got funding through Credit Medical. They were wonderful to work with. Once I recived my funding I was able to choose who and where and when I was going to get the band. Power to the people!!!!!. lol I discovered Dr.Corbourn in Ontario. His office was a dream to work with. Dr.C was very approachable. He responded prmptly to any of my e-mails and phone calls. I would do this again in a heart beat. This was the best thing I have done for myself. Yes the wait will be worth it. Some time you have to change your path for what is good for you. Good luck to you all. Laurie