Referrals

I'm looking for a referral to the Hotel Dieu Grace Hospital to start my journey, I haven't seen my personal doctor about this yet for a referral. So I was wondering if people found it was simple to get a referral/most doctors knew where to refer and had done it before. Or if anyone has Dr. Stoessor in Sarnia ON and has gotten a referral from him. Please let me know! Thanks!:)

You've got a lot of research ahead of you.  Ontario has a Bariatric Registry through which all potential bariatric patients are referred and assigned to a regional bariatric centre.  Your first step, aside from doing a crap-load of reading, is to get your family doctor to refer you to the registry. This is generally done via an online form and your doctor must register to have access to it (very simple process).

Here is a link to the Ontario Bariatric Registry to start your reading: http://www.bariatricregistry.ca/

Karen

Yeah I have done a lot of research and talked to people who have had surgery and their struggles and successes. I just am not very pleased with the care my family doctor gives me and am unsure if he will give me a referral (even though I meet the requirements).

Just ask him for a referral to the program as then the professionals there will assess you and decide if surgery is right for you.  It's really not up to him to decide if you should or shouldn't, that is up to the team you will meet.

Won't know 'til you ask!

As Tracey mentioned, whether you have weight loss surgery or not is not up to him. It is up to the team of bariatric professionals to decide whether your referral will move forward or not and it is up to them to assess your suitability for surgery. If you meet the initial criteria (BMI 40+ or 35+ with co-morbidities) then there is no reason for your doctor NOT to refer you.

Some people do have less than supportive GPs; if you find that is the case you can get a referral from another provider (walk in clinic, specialist). Start by going to see your GP. Like Karen mentioned, the referral will not go to the hospital but to the central bariatric network. I had no problem getting a referral from my GP, others have, all you can do is ask.

I was also worried if my doctor would refer me or not . Just go in there and explain to him why you think it's a good idea for you. Do your research and explain the benefits this opportunity will give you. Tell him your previous attempts at loosing weight. Chances are your doctor will do it. I finally got the courage to talk to the doctor 2 weeks ago and just explained my reasoning for choosing WLS and surprisingly he was supportive of my decision and referred me. Good luck on the journey to becomming a healthier you :).