Ottawa Hospital Weight Management Clinic?
My personal experience was ok....I went there years ago and saw a different Dr...when I went last summer to see Dr. Dent he told me about optifast..i told him i wasn't intersted in all that stuff...he asked me what i wanted and i told him surgery..he said..ok surgery it is...he wrote a letter of recomendation to my family dr...i had the paper work for out of country surgery ready for him to sign..(i filled it out)...he signed it and faxed it to ohip..i had an approval within a few days..
are you looking to have weight loss surgery or a diet?
Robin
I only lost 20lbs and found the stuff tasted horrible! I gained it all back and then some before asking about surgery.
Another word of advice, Dr Dent only promotes 1 type of surgery! Before you get him to agree to fill out any forms for you, I strongly suggest you do your research on this site as there are a FEW different surgery types out there but he won't tell you about anything other than the RNY.
I'm sure you'll get some great help from people who have had the other surgery types on here.
Good luck to you!
The weekly classes are nutritionists, personal trainers and psychologists. I didn't find it especially enlighting.
It was the last and most extreme diet I did before my weight loss surgery. Between the time I fnished the program and the time I had my surgery I gained 100 pounds. I also ended up with a nasty case of gallstones half way through the program and spent countless nights in the hospital.
If you're looking at a diet, I wouldn't recommend it. Being on a liquid diet for 3 months does NOT teach you how to eat properly, and as much as they say that the classes DO teach those things, you're not actually putting it into practice as you learn.....and trust me, after 3 months of chocolate shakes, the last thing you're thinking about when you're done is healthy food.
Cheers
Jen
Others have said well that you will get mixed reviews about the Clinic. My experience was very good and I remain a patient of the team now because I am part of their long-term research. I started in Fall 2004 and did the core program too. I lost 108 pounds in the 12-week program and felt better than at any point since I was a teenager. However like others I regained; probably took me about 18 mos to regain about 75% of that lost weight sadly. I think if I'd followed up with them more closely after the program thru regular visits I might have remained more motivated and kept more off - who knows.
I have seen three of the docs in the clinic, and recently had most of my appontments with Dr. Wicklum. She's been great with me. Dr. Dent has always been superb with me although you will hear others don't like him. I guess it's black or white with him, no gray. He did ask me about surgery back in 2004 and I was just not ready then - in fact I shut down the conversation and didn't hear important information that might have swayed my decision toward surgery earlier - I had too many fears. But it is what it is, and I was not ready. When I went back to the clinic last July they asked me again if I would consider surgery and I was ready to hear it. I had my surgery last month. Now I'm down more than 40 pounds post-op and praying to the gods and goddesses that this is weight I'll never see again!
In the intervening months they have been supportive, answered questions, sent in the OHIP out-of-country surgery forms and I was approved in like 3 days, and have arranged for all the blood work (which I have done right there at the Civic). You'll see other folks here ******g around for months with MDs who can't or won't fill out the forms. IF you choose RNY at some point I think you can rely on the forms being filled out quickly and properly at the Clinic. Others here have said that Dr. Dent and team won't support DS but they discussed the option with me. IF that happens to you then you may indeed need to find a different MD to fill out those forms (and sounds like your own doc is aware of WLS option and might help, eh?) Anyway I have had very good support from them this year and it continues. I had my last app't with them last week and again it's just a good place for me to get advice, get weighed properly (even though I have a heavy-duty digital at home), they go over all the blood work and meds, etc. etc.
You pay for the Optifast program part of course (i.e. the shakes) if you choose to do that. I wish I could recall it all but you'll be out about $2700 as I recall, so it's not cheap. They will tell you all that and of course you pay nothing up front for the consult.
My advice would be to go and have the initial assessment. You'll fill out lots of forms about weight history, etc. But you'll get to talk to them and hear some perspectives on your situation. You can then sit back and think about options, see how you feel about your own experience there, and on you go. You can always come back and talk with others here about it too.
Hope your journey is not too rocky!
Mike
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.
T.S. Eliot
I saw Dr. Dent, I found him arrogant and extremely condescending (spelling??). He told me that his program wouldn't work for me so there was no reason to bother (that was the one time I actually aprreciated what he said).
There was no way I could see myself paying that much money to do a liquid diet. If I could live off of liquid I would have done so a long time ago.
The bottom line is- having his recomendation only helps your case out by miles. IF he thinks you should do it OHIP will think better of your case.
If you can get past his lack of bedside manner and complete disregard for the emotional state of his patients, you will do fine. Don't take what he says personally. The unfortunate thing - despite his methods and arrogance, he is good at what he does and knows what he is talking about!!
Good luck!