New addition to the group....question please!

Greetings everyone!  I'm new to the forum and look forward to sharing my story.  My GP referred me to bariatric registry a couple of weeks ago and I'm curious how long everyone waited to hear from anyone.  Based on my postal code, I know that I will be referred to Humber for my orientation.  Should I follow up?  Thank you!

Hi There.

 

I am in Kitchener and was referred by my GP approx 6 months ago. I have had my initial meeting with the surgeon, at Humber, and have been scheduled for my first series of appointments with the Dietician, social worker, and internal medicine doctor, which happen around the end of November. I am expecting surgery to happen Jan or Feb of next year. It sometimes seems to be a slow process but patience is required, I am thinking it will be a while longer before you here from Humber.

Good Luck

Ken G

 

I was referred to the registery in october 2012, had my.first apointments in january 2013, my.surgery is october 22, so start to finish almost one full year...best of luck to u!!

Amanda....where is your surgery...mine is the same day Oct 22 at St Joes in TO

Mine is at saint joes.as well!! Maybe we will be roomies!! Lol

My son.and daughters.siblings live in moosonee/moosefactory...small world!

It sure is...we'll get to met in person on the 22nd....my actual name is Shirley,,,see you then!!

Welcome aboard!! I was referred from my physician May/2013, My doc was a great advocate for me and called to the bariatric clinic when I hadn't heard anything within the first month just to confirm that i was in the system. I  got a call to come for Orientation at HRRH in July. Orientation was Aug/ 2013 as well as my 1ST meeting with the surgeon.  I wasn't scheduled to have my initial appointments with the RN/SW/DT and medical internist until the end of Oct/2013, but I requested to be on a cancelation list and was seen and cleared by all 4 on Sept 30/2013.  If you are not cleared for any reason, you may have to go back for 2nd, 3rd visits at their request or for other testing such as cardiac testing, sleep studies, etc based on any pre-existing co-morbidities. I go to see my surgeon tomorrow to book my surgery date. So up until this point, it has been 5 months and no final date (hopefully tomorrow). It also seems that different surgeons have varying wait times as well. When I was first referred, I was very anxious to move forward, but it really has flown by so fast as life often does. Best of luck on your journey and keep us posted on your progress

Welcome! Here's a bit a free advice, I hope it helps!

FOLLOW UP...

Any day now your doctor should receive a fax confirming that the Registry has processed your registration. It's a good idea to give your doctor's office a call to make sure they got it. If not, try back a week later. If they don't have it within 3-4 weeks something may have gone awry. I know of some people who have waited months only to discover that Registry didn't receive their info, and they had to start from scratch!

As mentioned, your doctor should have received a fax to confirm that the Registry has processed your registration. Get the following information from the fax: 1) your Registry ID #, 2) the Centre you've been assigned to (don't assume that it's the one closest to you or the one the postal code tool indicated), and 3) the phone number/address of your Centre (it should be on the fax but can also be found online).

Once you have your ID # call the Centre you've been assigned to and confirm with them that you're on their radar too. You can let them know that you're interested in cancellations if they come up. They might have a cancellation list or may tell you to call back once a month to check. Every Centre is different, so some don't back-fill cancelled spots, but it's worth a try!!!

WAITING...

It seems like wait times vary slightly between Centres. If you read people's signatures you can get an idea of their timetables. Once people go through Orientation, I'm assuming that they are triaged based on medical need, so if you have co-morbidities be sure to list them on any questionnaires you're sent. I was mistakenly assigned to St Joes Hamilton (I'm now with HRRH), and called them to see if they had a cancellation list that would enable me to get into an earlier Orientation session. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that they did not. Other Centres may try to accommodate.

The wait is frustrating, but the more I learn about the surgery the happier I am that it is. Using the time to start adopting post-WLS practices is important. The surgery comes with so many limitations, lifestyle changes, and the breaking of life-long habits -- I want to be sure that I can do them.

Start implementing the gastric bypass lifestyle... stop drinking from straws, do not drink within 30 minutes either side of eating, chew your food to a paste before swallowing, taking your vitamins EVERY day, etc. Having a food journal also helps (a lot), and it seems like all the Centres want to see evidence that you've been doing one. Also, if you smoke, STOP! You cannot have the surgery if you've had even 1 smoke within 6 months of your surgery (at least at HRRH). You can't drink alcohol or carbonated beverages either, so start working those out of your life.

RESOURCES...

St Joe's Manual:
http://www.stjoes.ca/media/PatientED/U-Z/PD%206000%20Bariatric%20Surgery%20-%20Gastric%20Bypass%20February%2029%202012.pdf.

Books:
At my Orientation they recommended the following books, which I bought through Chapters (the best prices I could find and free shipping):

"Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" by Brian Wansink.

"The Complete Weight-Loss Surgery Guide and Diet Program: Includes 150 Delicious and Nutritious Recipes" by Laz Klein and Sue Ekserci (1/3 of the book is about the surgery and the other half is actual recipes).

"Gastric Bypass Surgery: The Psychological Journey" by Ranesa McNally.

Websites:
"Weekly Food Diary" from www.personal-nutrition-guide.com
www.sparkpeople.com

Everyone on this forum seems really friendly and supportive, so don't hesitate to post a question!!! Good luck!

I was refered in July/12, Orientation 12/12 and have been doing the Social Worker, Nurse, Dietitan dance since March.