"Orphaned" by the Bariatric system?

OK Jeff - this is how I see this

Ultimately - YOU are responsible for ensuring you advocate for yourself.  Taking your vitamins is a non-negotiable and you knew this going in to the DS.  ( one of the reasons they rarely perform DS anymore is due to patient non-compliance)

Go on DSFACTS and find out what the vitamin regimen is and start immediately.  The DS forum here or DS Facts can help you with what needs to be checked - then take this list to your family doc and get your blood work done - completely.

I am surprised you did not know what to take pre-surgery - and were not armed with a list of required supplementation - if OHIP paid for Gagne to operate you should have had psych evaluations - sleep study etc etc before being sent to Gagne.  Where did you have all your pre-op done?  If St Joes then they should have a file on you. 

Get your family doc to help you navigate. 

The main point is you have to do most of this yourself and you need to take complete responsibility for your health and ensuring your compliance for the DS lifestyle.  Re vitamins and cost - if on social assistance talk to your contact re this.

Good luck

Going in, yes I was made aware of the requirement for supplementation. However, that still does not change the fact that cir****tances do change for people. When you are on social assistance and thus are a low/fixed income earner and over 2/3 of your income goes to cover rent you are left with very little. Add in the cost for transit and phone and what you have left for food and supplements is next to nothing (in addition to other miscellaneous bills).

To say I am being non-compliant would be inaccurate. I have been doing the best I could given my financial constraints. I had to make sacrifices in order to afford to pay my rent to have a place to live and sadly that did jeopardize my own well-being to some extent. Whether it was not being able to take a proper supplement regimen or having to eat cheaper meals that offer little nutritional value to me as key examples.

I have made numerous calls, sent out many emails to a variety of agencies and institutions at various levels of government to try and find some help when it comes to covering the cost of vitamins. Each time I was told no. Special cir****tances were not considered.

I present my family physician with the requisition blood work list that the surgeon (Dr. Gagner) had sent me for my first quarterly blood work after the surgery. My physician filled out a requisition for me and the majority of specialized tests were not covered. I did not have something like $150+ to cover the additional testing. Karen did make a good point about her testing never being refused due to something not being covered due to her physician marking it for pre-existing conditions. That is something that was never done for me (and was not something I as a patient would have had any knowledge over).

I know you mean well birdie, but it feels a bit like an attack when yousay "I am surprised you did not know what to take pre-surgery...", because that was never something I had said in my post. My post is about the system 'orphaning' me (their own words). This means that I have not had follow up care from people who are specifically trained and knowledgeable in the health and well being of bartiatric patients. While my physician can look over blood work and say everything appears normal that might not be the case. A normal diagnosis for something might actually be considered low.

Come October I will be six (6) years post-op for my VSG (June was three (3) for the DS). In that time besides a couple visits with a couple people I saw at CIBO (won't drudge up seeing as they are no longer in business) I have not seen anyone that could shed any light on my health. I saw a psychologist and nutritionist. The CIBO visits were after my VSG for the record.

Please understand my response is not meant to be argumentative or a debate. I am merely defending what you've said with what I've done. I haven't just sat around not doing anything. I have done all I could to try and find answers or to speak with someone who might know something regarding a benefit that might help cover the costs of vitamins/supplements. To this point there has been nothing. I've spoken with my ODSP worker a few times and all I am ever told is no. The government classifies vitamins as non-essential. There is apparently a new initiative that allows some vitamins to be prescribed for short-term usage, but no one really seems to have any concrete information on this - at least from those I have spoken too.

So in summary I am aware of what I should be on, but what I am not aware of is where I maybe deficient due to improper handling of my aftercare, which is the direct fault of the MoH in my eyes. They did not follow through on what I was led to believe was the plan and that was that Dr. Hong's office would be the one doing my post-operative care as he is/was the only surgeon performed the DS.

I merely posted in hopes that perhaps someone else had been in a similar instance regarding the system abandoning them and seeing what they did. Anything I have done has turned up no results.

I've done the best that I could given my situation. I do not have savings, I do not have family help (even with wealthy family on one side - they have vehemently denied offering any help), I am left to fend for myself. If the government is not willing to offer help to cover the costs of vitamins on a case by case basis where proof shows they are essential, fine.

Jeff

You do not mention in your post if you contact the Ontario Baratric Network you states one of the managers for the Baratric centre.

As for the costs of vitamins this is something that is NOT covered by any government drug plan and I know it is also NOT covered under my work plan as well. So I highly doubt you would receive any financial aid to assist you with the cost. 

Regarding food you should be able to eat normal food that is high in protein meat and fish is high in protein.

Did you not have any follow up appointments after the surgery in Montreal since that is where you had surgery?

Since you had surgery in Montreal not Ontario you are not a part of the Ontario Baratric Network so  you need to contact OBN and see if they will refer you to one of the clinics in Ontario.

Are the Bariatric Centres (TWH, St. Joe's, etc.) not part of the OBN? I'm going to assume they are given that I had to do the orientation session and the assessment appointments, pre-op testing, etc. at St. Joe's/TWH. During my request for my DS revision I started at TWH and then was transferred to St. Joe's when I made it known I was looking to have the DS. If that doesn't make me part of the OBN then I don't know what would.

As I was one of the larger patients in Ontario to request approval for surgery (I tipped the scales at 750lbs) it was not going to happen in Canada back in 2008/2009. My DS was done in Montreal after Dr. Hong at St. Joe's agreed that going to Dr. Gagner was the better option given that I was still around 500lbs at the time and that it was a two-stage DS.

I could have had follow-up with Dr. Gagner's office, however that would have been an out of pocket expense that may/may not have been reimbursed to me by ODSP discretionary funds. While it would have been medical related there was an Ontario surgeon in Ontario who does perform the DS so they could have used that for grounds not to cover the expense.

The price for meat is climbing higher and higher. Poultry is still the cheapest, but you can only eat chicken so often. Pork doesn't usually sit well with me (depends on what part of the pig), beef is more of a luxury if I'm fortunate enough to find it for 25-50% off. Besides canned tuna I was never really fond of fish (wasn't something I grew up eating outside of battered and fried).

I cannot help being poor. I can't help that my cir****tances drastically changed shortly after my second surgery. It isn't a fun feeling to be told I am being non-compliant simply because I can't afford everything. While vitamins/supplements are important, housing and food are above it.

I was told there might be some rarely used benefit that could potentially help me, but in order to that I have to get my former coop to agree to enter into a repayment plan for arrears owing so I can get back onto the RGI waiting list for housing and then apply for it. So far the coop has been playing hardball.

I'm doing the best I can with what I have.

As I said you should contact OBN and see if they can assist if you are a patient with one of the centre's they should have records.