How referrals work

My doctor made the referral to the Bariatric Netork on Feb 26th.  When should I expect to hear from them about where I will be referred? I'm in London so I assume it will be Guelph, do you think I am right?

Thanks in advance!

My doctor sent the documents in September 2014   I had my info session. March 2015 and then nothing until November 2015 and then I did all the other appts between Nov 2015 and Jan 2016  and I had my last appt with the surgeon and I'm having my RNY done April 13th.  It's a long process 

I hope your process is faster than mine :-) 

you will go to Windsor, I was referred mid Jan two weeks later I had a letter saying my orientation was feb 29th after that I got my first appointment for April 25th

Windsor is so much farther away....I wonder why they require that distance. Thanks for the info.

I'm unsure I just recall when I was at the info session there were people from London there! I believe it's 2 hours to Windsor or Guelph so maybe that's why? I'm from sarnia so I'm not 100% but I'm pretty sure!

I'm just east of London and had all my appointments in Windsor. Then when you're done you choose if you want to go to Guelph or Toronto for your surgery. I could be wrong but I don't think Guelph does all the screening appointments. You could always ask once you actually get the orientation appointment. 

Ohhhh maybe that's why Ginnny, thanks for the input.

and you were right! I received my letter today and orientation is booked for March 28th.

Now I'm curious. I'm in Oshawa and my dr referred me in early February. I haven't received any information yet. 

 I live in London as well and my referral was sent in late August 2015, orientation in middle Sept 2015. Because of where you live in London you have been referred to the Windsor clinic for the assessment period. After you get the final Oks from the team members, you will attend a surgery education class and your file will be sent to either Toronto or Guelph (your choice). After that you will meet the surgeon and hopefully get a surgery date.

My first Nurse appointment was Nov 23/15, my nutrition class was early Dec 2015, 1st social worker appt in Jan 2016, Doctor in Jan 2016, 2nd social worker appt & dietitian appt in January and February 2016. I have my surgery education class on March 21st and my file will then be sent to Guelph. 

I made sure to have ALL the tests done on the sheet you will get at orientation before my doctor's appt which sped up the process. Make sure to get a sleep study done because they will make you get one. The nurse at Windsor said that 98% of clients end up needing one so be proactive. I even got tests done that were not on the list but my family dr thought the surgeon may want done such as ultrasound for my thyroid (I am hypothyroid), X-rays on my knees etc.  By having all of my results on hand for the appt, the doctor didn't need a follow up appt which saved a month in time. 

Social worker: be proactive and work on yourself. They will give you homework which is a list of behaviours they want you to work on. I also took a course Craving Change that was offered through London's Inter-Health Community Centre for free that was amazing. It has helped me through this process.

Dietitian: Do Research and write down a food journal. Work on breaking habits such as drinking pop. I was given the ok in 1 appt because I was able to show her 2 months of food journals, a meal planning calendar that I had done up for the month. Most people have at least 2 appts for each team member (Doctor, social worker,dietitian and 1 with the Nurse).

I used to be frustrated when I saw that people who were referred to Guelph after me has already had the surgery, but now am very grateful for the extra couple of months. The extra time has allowed me to really process and implement the lifestyle changes. Find the London Bariatric Support Group on Facebook-it's a great support group! Also look for the Guelph and Toronto FB groups-the members are great at sharing their tips and questions. I have learned more in these groups about the realities of living after surgery than at the clinics.

As of last Friday, I have lost 50 pounds since June 2015. Even though you will get frustrated and may become discouraged at times, just hang in there! It is worth it!