Wharton Medical Clinic - Disappointed

I agree with you. That is exactly how I felt after my first visit. The process seems very impersonal and like I am just a number. I thought it would feel better but I am disappointed. I wish they would slow down and actually listen and have better responses. I would love to meet the founder of this company.

I met him first visit.  As soon as I said I was not interested in surgery he lost all interest in talking to me.  He seems very full of himself and words I shouldn't type here.  Has no interest in actually listening.

I left the Wharton Clinic in Burlington feeling much like you did. I got there and the first thing they had me do, after weighing me and taking down some medical info, is watch a video (about 30 minutes) in which they pushed pills (not covered by Ontario Disability) and surgery. I am about 150 pounds overweight but surgery is not the path I want to take nor do I believe it will be effective for me.

Then I was ushered into a room for a chat with a BE. I got the sense they had no idea what it was like to be obese or overweight. The rooms are small and the chairs are uncomfortable. I use a walker and it was a struggle getting my walker into the place. I have been through a number of weight loss programs, including Weigh****chers, which actually does work, but my problems seem to be deeper than just food. After my first interview I left confused and wondering exactly what they could do for me. I suspect I am like a lot of overweight people and really know how to lose weight, the mechanics of it, but I need the support that you can only find in a group environment. I can't afford Weigh****chers and there doesn't seem to be any weight loss programs out there that offer this group environment, the accountability which is so important, and the positive reinforcement that helps someone like me keep going.

I had very high hopes for The Wharton Clinic and I am sure they help a lot of people, but I didn't find it as helpful, for me, as I had hoped.

This was my first visit and a few

of my impressions.

1. The visit was short with Dr. Sohal. I would say less than 5-10 mins.
2. The information provided was pretty much could have been fast forwarded through. I did not learn much of anything.
3. The information that they received the first visit could have been provided by my family dr. They did not seem to add any substantial value to it. I signed a whole bunch of waivers, filled out forms that seemed like a waste of paper, and was weighed and measured. This info was just done with my family dr a week or so ago.
4. They require cancellations 2 days in advanced or else you are charged a $15 fee.
5. They wouldn't book appointments back to back even though they had 1-2:30 open and the appointment was only for 30 mins.
6. In the video they say that they take blood work whether or not a dr from another clinic has prescribed it. Cash grab for more Ohip cooking the books?
7. There was no detailed information on where the clinic was. They are spread all over and yet it seems like a major lack of organization.
8. Although the education from the Bariatric facilitators was provided, it seems like info one would already know, it's the putting into practice part.
9. My judgment about this place became even more cynical when reading other people's positions on this place.
10. The services provided here do not seem to fill a gap. This seems to be like any other place out there, and this was not what I intended to sign up for. I wanted to go for surgery and now it's another stepping stone thrown at me to hurdle over.

no one seems to take my cries for help seriously

4. They require cancellations 2 days in advanced or else you are charged a $15 fee.

Although they told me the same thing, there have been a few times when I have cancelled or rescheduled on the day before or the day of an appointment, and so far I have never been charged a fee.

I forgot mention that this place also pushes medication that causes cancer and they failed to mention that as one of the side effects.

my husband tried it to lose weight but it didn't curb his terrible eating habits

Saxenda should not be taken by anyone who has a history of thyroid cancer.

also it costs anywhere from 200-40

And you'd lose less than 1.5 lbs a week. You can do that on your own regiment on a free weight loss app.

I dont know if I should be doing this as Im kind of new to it. I just happened to stumble on this while trying to google stuff about the clinic and or other options for me. Going through a few posts I will say I can feel my anxiety kicking in. I am to go to this place soon for my referral. I dont know much about Wharton in the first place as I had discussed with my doctor about having surgery done. He claimed this place was another way to help me for surgery since Humber River hadnt responded to his referral. One thing I dont understand right now is the location of this place. From everything Ive seen going on Google etc it appears to be in Burlington?? If so thats just going to irritate me. My doctor told me it was at Pape and Danforth. I have DDD and Scoliosis. He knows I cant travel that far. Am I just wasting my time with this place???

Hi- you've probably already started there, but I've been going to the danforth location - it is there!

I'm surprised and concerned by most of these posts, and a little confused as it has not been my experience at all so far. I'm still early days as I've been going there for maybe 1.5 months so far. I've noticed a lot of the bad experiences where from other locations, so I don't know if that has anything to do with my experience being different?

Its been a bit I see since I last posted. I hadn't even realised that it's been that long. Since then l am going to post my update regarding my experience at Wharton and my thoughts on surgery. I originally posted by the look of it in 2017 (which i lost my info so i had to make a new profile) Ever since the last posting I have been to the Toronto location a few times now which in my opinion was a waste. For the past month and a half I've been ill which nobody seems to know why so my husband called them to let them know that and rebook my appointment. Well, it seems that was the worst thing to do because they got snobby about it but didn't give me a new appointment date. When I first went to Wharton I honestly expected a little understanding maybe but thought for sure they'd help me in a professional manner. I filled out the paperwork, was seen by i imagine the educator (or one of many) which after she took my height and my weight I was brought into a room to look at a brief video. I've never met Dr Wharton himself. The educator and some other woman berated me about my weight, at least that's the way it felt then went on to tell me about writing down how much I eat and when. Then she proceeded to tell me about 2 different injections that would allegedly help me to lose weight. My whole appointment was maybe 30 minutes maximum and the only thing really that they done successfully was send me out the door in tears feeling like I was a hopeless slob. I hated it more than anything I've ever experienced. See truthfully I'm not lazy (as they made me feel) I try to walk as much as I can but due to my DDD and Scoliosis I can only go so far before the pain near knocks me down. Im not saying I was like model thin but I was kind of an ok weight as I weighed around 180- 185 lbs prior to having my youngest son. I seemed to gain alot during my pregnancy for some reason and after he was born I just seemed to be gaining more instead of losing. My eating habits I know are not perfect as I rarely eat breakfast (maybe a couple times a month) since I've never really been a breakfast person. I'm not one for eating lunch and I mainly just worry about dinner. But i dont eat continuously or anything. I thought they were like a faster route for me to get surgery but I was wrong. Yes surgery scares me because I was told there is a chance of dying but right now I am desperate. My self esteem is low due to the way I look. Thank goodness though Humber River is coming through so I think I'm going to go with it rather than be "emotionally abused" at Wharton.

It seems that most people in this thread gave up after one or two visits. With that kind of patience, you can't expect to have much success in your weight loss journey.

Wharton is not a fast track to bariatric surgery. Once you make the decision to get that surgery, you will be put on a waiting list and can expect to wait about two years. There is no short cut.

I have been visiting the Upper Centennial location since June 2018, and have had nothing but good experiences. Everyone there is very friendly and helpful, answers all my questions, and no one has pressured me to take any medications or to seek surgery, nor have they been dismissive of me after I told them I will not be pursuing either of these paths. The doctor speaks with me for only about 5 minutes or so, because I have no health issues to speak of or questions to ask. Twice I have spoken with Dr. Wharton through Skype, and although he seems a bit abrupt at times, he has never been rude to me.

They do not tell you what to eat; rather they help you design your own meal plan. This is exactly what I needed, since it allowed me to develop a plan with minimal change to my habits. As a result I have been able to continue on the program much longer than I have on any other.

As far as success, I have lost 47 pounds in about 10 months. While this is surely more than most, I have also had more to lose than most, and still have a long way to go. But it is over 10% of my original body weight in under a year, so I am more than satisfied.