Just starting this Journey

Hi!  I am a 52 year old female from Oshawa, Ontario and am new to this board.  I am just beginning this journey with my doctor making a referral.  I am quite in the dark as I don't know where the referral is being made to or where this is all going to take place or how long the process will take but I am very excited.  Can you give me any ideas how the process has gone for you?

Hi, I'm Terri, 47,   my referral was Aug 15/14,   orientation was at humber Jan 26/15,   meeting surgeon June 11, then NP dietician, social worker Aug 12,   research, read, everything you can, it is a long process, but the time is needed to educate yourself, start making small changes, ( I stopped cream in coffee, am walking more, so on...). The ontario bariatric registry has info. Welcome and best of luck!  

Thank you for the info Terri.  It is a long process!  But it will be well worth the wait.  I won't believe it will happen until I get that first phone call lol!!

Also the referral goes to the bariatric registry then according to postal code you are sent to a Centre, I think Oshawa is Humber, but not positive 

Hello and welcome! My timeline is in my signature. :)

Thank you Seyenna!!

Welcome! My time in in my signature :) 

Hi Ontario Girl!!  Wow your time line is pretty quick!!

Welcome!  I guess I'm far enough in the process to say that I'm not exactly new to the boards anymore, but I still feel like I'm new to the process!  Like with most others, my timeline is in my signature.  I love looking at peoples' signature timelines, and I often have to stop myself from hijacking other peoples' threads to ask about an appointment one of the commenters had recently.

Don't be discouraged if you don't hear back about your referral for several months.  I was referred in August of 2014 and didn't hear back about orientation until the following February.

Welcome to the boards!  I've learned so much here and everyone has been really supportive.

As far as timelines go, my doctor referred me to the bariatric program in August, 2014.  I had orientation in October, 2014.  I met with a nurse, and pharmacists in November, a Dietician and Social Worker in December.  I did a sleep study in March, and had my first OTN meeting with my surgeon in April.  I have a tentative surgery date for August 4, but that is not finalized yet, and I don't have a pre-op appointment with my surgeon and anesthesiologist yet.  So, it should be about a year for me. 

That seems like a long time, but it has given me lots of time to prepare, practice, and make changes to my lifestyle that I want to have a pretty good handle on before I have the surgery.