Hoping to get WLS in Ontario

I agree with other posters here. You don't NEED to get your doctor on board. Your doctor must send the referral for you. If they will not do it on your next visit, go to a walk-in clinic and they will do it for you there. Get your referral in.

Sorry to hear your GP is not supportive. I am very lucky that my doctor was very supportive of me, she is a great doctor. She said herself many other GPs are not that knowledgeable of the procedure/process and there's a lot of 'old-school' thinking.

Hi Chibi. I'm new and waiting for my dr to do the same thing. What I did was wrote everything down on sheet and gave it to her. I literally gave her a step by step on how to register me for my referral. I explained that once she signs me up, it's the Bariatric teams job from there on out.

I also wrote down the webiste, the website help if any issues arise, and the reasons for wanting the WLS. it's of no surprise to her as she has wanted to me to loose weight but all she ever told me was add more greens to your diet your iron is too low. Some dr's just dont' know what else to do to help us, so being informed and giving it to them straight sometimes help.

I asked her what she thought and she said ok I'll sign you up this weekend. It was kind of a no brainer. Albeit, I'm almost 41 (birthday is in a week) I have been overweight since I was a kid and have tried EVERYTHING to loose weight. I'm on meds and they keep weight on, so no matter how hard I tried before, the weight never got passed a certain point. So I would get defeated, let go and now at my heaviest I've ever been.

if your dr still doesn't register you, time to find a new dr that will.

Cheers Shiloh25

Hi there! This is my first post, because I just found this support forum.  I have been thinking seriously about WLS for a few years now and my GP will not refer me either.  I have a host of medical due to fat issues, but I only see her.  What information and website did you give your Dr.?  I was hoping to go into a walk in clinic this week and just explain to them that my Dr. does not suggest the WLS and that I have given it much thought and want a referral, and then I was hoping that would be enough for them to say SURE.  I didn't realize I needed to have websites and information for them? :(  

Thank You in advance for any help!

My family doctor is also kind of on the fence about surgery. But I was referred to the Wharton Clinic in Hamilton Ontario by my Rheumatologist. From there, I mentioned the surgery to Dr.Wharton and he referred me on my second apt with them. Try getting referred to a weight loss clinic by your doctor. Go from there maybe?

Thank you everyone for all of your support :)

While my Uncle has gone through the system to get WLS in the last year I really don't know about how it works now, but 10 years ago when my mother got hers done she -had- to get her Dr. on board to get the approval. Knowing that I don't need that, and really only need him to get the referral (or rather get any dr. to get me the referral) is a big help.

I'm wondering if my Social Worker or new Shrink could refer me as it is certainly tied into the self esteem issues we're working on right now.

Again thank you everyone!!

hey Chibi,

Shrink yes, social worker no.

Good luck

Love the dialogue this post generated ~ knowledge is empowering! Cheers

Terri