OTTAWA - Anyone transfer from OWMC Core to Surgery program?

Hi there.

New to all this and I spoke with my GP 3 weeks ago for the first time about a referral to the OWMC.  I mentioned that I was interested in WLS but she seemed hesitant to refer me for surgery, saying that it was a little soon for that yet and instead she referred me there for their core program.  But honestly, the idea of spending thousands of dollars on yet another shake diet and failing over a couple of years does nothing for me.  I am wondering if I can bypass my GP and be referred internally to the surgery side from the core program?

At OWMC you'll be asked to attend an orientation session first that explains all of the options available to you there: WLS, the 1-year program or 6-month program. At the end of the orientation, you'll complete a form and indicate your interest of what you would like to do. You may be encouraged to try the 1-year program first but I found the team there is really helpful to figure out what the best next steps are for you. Good luck!

Thank you so much for the info!  So if you choose the WLS at the orientation session, will a doctor there submit the necessary referral to the registry, or will I have to go back to my GP for that?  Or will I even need to go through the registry at that point?

The OWMC will follow up with you for the next steps at the clinic following the orientation. They take care of everything for you. :)

After referring you to the Bariatric Registry, that's all your GP will need to do. He/she doesn't have the input for the core vs. surgery program; that's for the bariatric specialists at OWMC (or whatever centre you may be with) to determine in collaboration with you.

There is no need for another doctor at OWMC to refer you to the registry; you've already been referred if you are being invited to the orientation at OWMC. Here's the basic steps:

1. See your GP (or a doctor) and ask for a referral to the Bariatric Registry.

2. Bariatric Registry receives your referral and assigns you to a centre, depending on your postal code. Like you, I live in Ottawa, so I was assigned to OWMC.

3. OWMC sends you a package with a survey and an invitation to an orientation session.

4. Attend the orientation session (with a friend, colleague, spouse). A nurse will weigh you and ask you a couple of questions before you go into the orientation room. At the orientation, nurses and dietians will discuss all the options: i.e., types of surgery, shake program... and the next steps in the process.

At least, this is how it happened for me at OWMC.

Wishing you lots of luck as you determine what your next steps are!

Thanks ladies.  Maybe my original post wasn't as clear as it could have been.

My GP did not refer me to the registry.   To do this requires her to go to the registry's website.  She was not ready to do that for me yet.  Instead, she went directly to the OWMC's website and printed off a referral there for their core program.

So my question is whether once I am at the core program, can I be transferred to the surgery program by Dr. Dent himself, or do I have to go back to my GP and try to convince her for the referral instead?

It seems to me that there are 2 streams at the OWMC and I don't want to sit on a waitlist for their core program, hoping that they will transfer me to the surgery side once I get invited for the core program's orientation if this is not an option.  Otherwise I will have to go back and try to persuade my GP again for the bariatric referral.  I am hoping it is like lammytee14 says. :)

I guess another question would be if I wait for the core program's orientation and it's possible to be switched to the surgery route, will I have to wait again on the registry's waitlist to be invited for another orientation again?  I presume the two programs would have different wait lists?  I don't imagine that I would be able to circumvent the registry's waitlist by going through the core program's referral process?  Sorry for all the questions and confusion, just new to all this still :)

You could always call the OWMC to ask them.

I saw Dr. Dent 10 years ago, and was given 3 options, WLS, Program or WW.  I wasn't ready for WLS, and couldn't afford the Program, so I tried WW again.  Yah, worked like a charm, not.  So 5 years ago, I wasn't commited 100%, saw my doc about WLS, she wasn't overly interested in referring me either.  I waited until I was ready, and asked to go see Dr. Dent at the clinic.  He did his analysis and I had 2 choices, WLS or program.  I chose WLS, and that was reflected in the report.  He then started whatever he needed to to get me on that path.  Going this route takes a bit longer, but it's still on the journey.  My journey wasn't helped as I was doing this right when rules changes and no more out of province surgeries were allowed by OHIP.

Good luck on your jouney (by the way, Dr. Dent is good at what he does).

Cathy