Looking for some advice 😃
Sudbury Bariatric Clinic /Toronto Surgery I have my 3 appointments(Social Worker, Dietitian and Nurse) this Friday. Although I have been informed on what comes next, the time frames seem to vary. I'd love to hear about some of your experiences...ie wait times and when you know for sure you are approved and when your surgery was booked. Thanks. I'm from North Bay, going to Sudbury for the pre appointments and Surgery in Toronto. Thanks so much.
Hey Karen ,
I'm not too sure about how things work coming from SudbUry ,so I can only give you an idea of how my experience has went so far .
I have had all my appointments through Humber River Hospital . My GP sent in my referral August 2013 and it was received in Sept 2013 . My Orientation was in February 2014 and my 1st meeting with my surgeon was May 1st , I then had my Internist appointment in early June where I had blood works looked over and assesed , had an ECG and went for a sleep apnea test ( I have moderate sleep apnea thereform I have to be fitted for a mask , and will have to wear it during surgery) I had my Social worker / Dietician and Nurse appointment all in same day in early July . I had to follow up with my dietician a month later as she wanted to me to work on a few thing like the times i eat and mindless snacking at night in front of TV . My final surgeon appointment ,which is basically when you are signed off and approved for surgery was early last month . Now !.... my surgeon is backlogged so I and quite a few others , have been offered the option to have our surgery at Toronto Western , with a different surgeon and the option to keep our aftercare with the Humber team ( which I am doing ) and could possibly be looking at next month or December for surgery .
So , all in , my process will possibly be around 14 / 15 months from referral to surgery . Which from what I have learned on this forum, is fairly standard and also quite necessary in my opinion . Each stage gives you more opportunity to learn more about the actual surgery itself , learn more about how life will be afterwards , and most importantly , learn more about yourself and the reasons you have chosen / need to do this .
A lot of people call in throughout the process and get cancellations and move the time frame along by being pro active and calling to check your status etc . Which is great ,but I would urge you to really make sure you have educated yourself and feel mentally and emotonally ready , have a good support system in place and are prepared yourself for life after and the changes it will bring , before you ru**** along .
That , my dear is as far as I can help you at this point ! I am patiently waiting for my date , nervous and excited but ready !
This forum is really great ,full of wonderful people with very good advice and experience . I come on here almost every day , have done since around April or so , and I can honestly say it has been the biggest support to me in terms of people who can totally relate . Anything you want to know or are unsure of ,you can be loaded with answers in no time . Also great to share your journey , the excitements ,the highs and the lows , with people who have been there , or are going through the same thing at the very same time .
Hope this helps 
Good luck with everything , and welcome to the boards x
Jax xx
Great and insightful advice Jax! I was wondering about the order of things. It seams to be different for the Sudbury Satalite centre even though our surgeries are in a Toronto. My surgon visit is by skype but no date yet. The dietitian nurse etc...is on Friday. It took me longer to get a Referal as my Dr. Is not supportive for anyone to do this and has a private weight loss business with injections. He made me jump through hoops, wait at 2 different walk in clinics until it finally went through. I haven't been rushing, I just keep hearing so many different timelines. Some people are under 6months. Anyway, just trying to get as prepared as possible. Thanks Again
