Ottawa peeps

Hello there ...

I`m wondering if anyone has a family dr who is current with gastric bypass and some of it`s needs and quirks of those of us with a pouch :)

Sorry but my family doctor told me I would be her first gastric bypass patient ever. I really like her so I am going to stick with her for the time being. Maybe the centre at the civic will be able to advise you?  Hope you find a good one. 

When I broached the subject with my family doctor, and asked about her thoughts on recommending me for bariatric surgery and what she knew about it, she said that she had a few patients in her practice who had RNY. Because of health issues, we opted for VSG for me, and I am the first in the practice who has had that particular surgery. But she is sort of aware...

I haven't needed to see her since my surgery, but I did bring my daughter in for a cold/lung infection. When my doctor saw me she said, "Wow, you've obviously had the surgery? How is it going?" And when I told her things were going well, she said, "Are you supposed to lose weight this fast? Do they know at the hospital that you've lost this much? Is that normal?" She was obivously concerned with the rapid loss, but as long as the clinic at OWMC was following me (and they are), she was good with it.

I need to book an annual physical with her in the next few weeks. She'll see me then and I'm sure she'll have more comments and questions. To be determined.

This is my personal experience thus far. I hope others can chime in.

I beleive I am also the first and possibly only RNY pt in the practice where my Dr is.  I just had some blood tests done in Feb and my Dr said I was low in B12 - but she's not very concerned about it.  I asked her about maybe getting on a B12 shot to help boost my levels, but again she said it should be ok no need to go to that extreme. 

I went for my 3yr post appt in March at the Civic and the nurse called me back 2 wks after my blood test to tell me I was low on B12 and I should up my dosage.  I'm already taking 1500 mcg a day and now have been bumped up to 2000 a day.  I asked about getting a B12 shot and she said it might be a good idea for now.  I guess I'm looking for a barriatric friendly fam dr who understands that our blood test values are different and that we have an absorption issue.  What might be normal for non barriatric pt's is not normal for us.    I've been exhausted and tired and feeling low for months now. 

My next appt with the APN is in June, hopefully the 2000 mcg a day will make some kind of difference :)

Could you go back to your family doctor and let her know what the civic recommends?  I am sure she will give you the shot if she has confirmation that you need it.  Do you like your family doctor in general?  If so maybe it is worth staying with her and helping things along using the civic as a point of information if she has questions.  Best of luck to you, I know I had low b12 too in my first blood test pre-op.  I have started taking the Jamieson 1000 dissolvable strips and I find them very effective and easy to take.  Let us know what happens with your doc.  Good luck!