Questions

Hi,

I live in the St. John's area, is there a bariatric surgon here? Do I get my family doctor to refer me? Is there a waiting list? Any answers I can get would be great. I am considering bariatric surgery and having to travel out of province was one of the things that was preventing me from having it done.

Later,
Mellybean

Hello,, answers to your questions :)

Yes there is a Weight Lost Surgery being done  In St JOhns now its the 

{ Vertical Gastric Sleeve }

Done By Dr David Pace,,,

You do need a referal from your family doctor..

Yes there is a Long waiting list ,
ppl are waiting  since 2000 &  earlier. such as myself, and he is doing the Lower
BMI's first so the highter the BMI the longer the wait,
Im looking to get in and have my surgery done in the new year.

hope that answers your questions :)

Depending on your BMI the wait might not be too long.  I know of one lady who got referred in July and has her appointment to start her liquid diet next week.  She has a low BMI so I think the wait list must be fairly short for them.  They told me in St. John's that they wanted to get a bunch of lower BMIs done first not only becuase the surgery is easier to do on them but because there is less risk of complications and they want to get a bunch done who look good on the reports so they can fight to get the funding for this program to continue.  So it seems there is a little policitics coming into play here.  I guess they have to do what is necessary to keep the program running.

Thanks for the info...unfortunately for me though I have an very high BMI so I doubt I will get in anytime soon. I have tried so many diets and in the last 2 years I have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism and PCOS which makes it that much more difficult to lose the weight. It seems I can drop about 25 pounds but then it all comes back again and sometimes more besides. Today I am at my highest weight, a wopping 400lbs and it is making it very difficult for me to exercise for any amount of time on a daily basis. I need this surgery desparately. I have made an appointment with my family doctor to get a referal and get the process started. Hopefully someday, sooner rather then later, I will joining the loser bench.

Hi Mellybean: I know how you feel. I saw Dr. Pace in June. My BMI was 61. I am
5.5 ft. and 325 lbs. he asked me to lose 30 lbs. and he would try and do me before
the new year, as long as my BMI was below 60. I have trouble with fluid retention.
I find it so unfair... there are people having surgery now that had their referals in
after me. When I think that I could have my surgery over with now and be losing
all this weight. It's sad. But, what can we do but wait it out and hope to be done
soon. You need to get your doc. to fax in your referal as soon as possible to get
on that list. It is getting longer everyday. Good Luck !!!

Thanks for your info/advice TerrieNL. Is a BMI of 60 the cut off or does he look at everyone on an individual basis? I am 5'1" and as of today 396lbs so my BMI is a lot higher at almost 75. If 60 is the cut off then that means I would have to lose almost 100 pounds in order to get the surgery. If I was able to do that then I probably wouldn't even be considering surgery because  I would know that I could do it on my own. I know one thing, all this stuff is some frustrating

No, you won't have to lose 100 lbs. that is only for the early surgeries.
He is doing the lower BMI's and he just told me if I get mine to 60 he
would do me.

Bariatric Surgery are for weight lose.  There are many types of Bariatric Surgeries. I have done LAP-BAND surgery. I got many benefit from that. I lose my weight. And it also helps to reduce risk of heart diseases, Cancer, HyperTension and many more. It can cure Diabetes also. If you want to do surgery than first take advise of doctor then go for it.

For more details visit :http://www.ebariatricsurgery.com/