Dr zenter/ Vancouver office

Hey there. I have my first appointment with dr zentner at her Vancouver office. I have a BMI with no comorbidites. I do have asthma and depression but not sure it's enough. My BMI is 40. I really want surgery so badly. Should I be losing weight before I go even though my BMI is 40. What happens at these appts. I am heading from Kamloops to see her. I am flying down. Is my first appt going to be five minutes. How many will I need. What do I need to do for her to approve me for surgery.

I would cross-post in the ONTARIO forum, there are some BC residents in there as it appears the BC forum is pretty slow.

Even if someone in ON replies, from what I've read the process across Canada is very similar for bariatric surgery. What may be different is once you get the actual date there is a special diet you need to be on for 1-2 weeks and I've noticed that it is different from province-to-province and by doctor/clinic.

Here is the link - http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/on/

Thanks for sharing the link to the Ontario forum. I hope you don't mind I hyper linked it so all they have to do is click it. Thanks again

I had many appointments before my surgery but I'm also lower mainland based. I'm sure they will try to consolidate your visits to get as many done on your individual trips down.

I'd be interested to know how your appointment with Dr. Zentner went. It's my experience that she's not very good with depression or other mental health issues.

I would recommend the Medical Weight Management Centre in Coquitlam (Dr. Michael Lyons), except that it's unlikely it would work for you coming from Kamloops. Might be worth contacting them for advice, however.

Good luck.

It went really well, she thinks I'm a good candidate, I did orientation via Skype so I didn't have to come down. My follow up appt is being done over the phone. I have to come down in February to see her in person. Sounds like I am going to be fastracked through Richmond. She was lovely, I have read so many negative comments on her. She has been fantastic.

Well, good luck. She said I was a good candidate, and I thought she was wonderful, too, until I started gaining weight by reducing my carbs beyond what I had already done and eating more meat to get more protein... Just don't make that mistake. She doesn't have much to offer beyond (1) Victoza, if you can afford it, (2) low-carb / high-protein, if it works for you, and (3) surgery. Be sure, also, to read up thoroughly about surgery -- especially about the chances of regain -- because she does not help at all with the mental health aspects of obesity.

There's a new drug that has been approved in Canada, Contrave. It's likely to be as expensive as Victoza, but it's a combination of 2 generic drugs, bupropion and naltrexone, and she might be willing to prescribe those now that Contrave has been approved (it hadn't been when I last saw her). However, naltrexone is still quite expensive, despite being a generic drug.

Nice that she's offering options for patients who don't live in Vancouver. That's new, too.

Nice, too, that she's suggesting fast-tracking you through Richmond, as she wouldn't do anything about the fact that a year after she agreed to refer me there, I found out that she hadn't done so...

I called Richmond today to find out where I am on the wait list, and the receptionist emphasized that it's a 2-1/2 to 3 year wait these days (so 1-1/2 to 2 years for me). That's for the *orientation*, which everybody has to do, and for which the date is strictly on the basis of when your referral was received.

After the orientation, you have to complete a program at the Garratt Wellness Centre and then go for a bunch of medical tests and have a bunch of appointments with various and sundry professionals before you can get an appointment with one of the surgeons (i.e., Drs. Nguyen, Sampath and Yorke, not Dr. Zentner) to get approval for surgery.

What I'm guessing from Dr. Zentner telling you you'd be "fast-tracked" through Richmond is that if you complete a program with her, you may not have to do the Garratt Wellnes Centre program before being sent for all the tests and appointments you'll need to have before surgery. You still have a 2-1/2 to 3 year wait for the orientation and then I'm guessing at least another 2 months until the consult with the surgeon.

It's a long, slow process...

I just had my surgery 2 1/2 weeks ago. I had my referral sent to Richmond June 2015 - so close to a four year wait. But when I started meeting others who had gone through Dr. Lyons' Centre for Functional Medicine they said they had started with him only one year prior and had been expedited. That information was too late learned for me, but hopefully can help out someone here on this site.

Not many people (including doctors) know about the Medical Weight Management Centre in Coquitlam that Dr. Lyon directs. I just chanced upon it in my desperation to avoid having surgery in Victoria and in the hope of it helping me lose the weight on my own. It's clear that I can't, so I was just thrilled to learn, as I worked my way through their program, that if they deem you to be a good candidate for surgery, it is indeed expedited at Richmond.

I still have some hoops to jump through, but it looks like I'll be having my surgery within 4 months. I've been on the fence for a long time, but at this point I'm more than ready.

I'm concerned that the MWM Centre may be trying to serve too many people. They are seeing hundreds of patients despite not being well-known, and I sense that the staff are very overwhelmed. I'm glad I got in now and not later.

OnlineAnnie, I hope you know that you can do their post bariatric support group. You don't have to have gone through their program to be part of that. I'm not sure if Dr. Lyon himself facilitates that (I believe he does). He is a good guy. Really knows his stuff and is respectful and supportive.