Will OHIP still cover DS OOC?

 Hi all,

I was wondering something,  I have a good friend who is like a brother to me, that is super morbidly obese, and his doctor says he wouldn't be a candidate for GBS due to his anti depressant meds, and I was wondering if OHIP covers OOC DS surgery in certain cases? I know Dr L in Michigan does an AMAZING job, and would love to recommend him, but wanted to check in here first,

Thanks,

Jules

Everyone in Ontario has to be seen at one of the Ontario centres to be assessed even if they are looking for OOC.

Curious though why a DS may be better with their anti-depressants since there is even greater malabsorption with the DS than there is with the RNY.

OOC is completely gone.  However, there is now at least one or two doctors now doing DS in Ontario.  Getting approval however for DS with OHIP is very difficult.  It requires a very high BMI.  I can't remember if it's over 60 or over 70.  There are a couple of Ontario surgery DSer's on this board so maybe they will pipe up.

I have never heard that anti-depressants are a valid reason for not having the RNY.  If that were true a lot of people having RNY would never have received approval.  Where did you hear this? In some cases if you are on a slow release anti-depressant you may have to change to a regular release but that is about it.

Of course, if your friend is willing to self pay, I would highly recommend using Dr. Gagner in Montreal.  He is a world expert and one of the best bariatric surgeons in the world. He charges around 25,000 and several people on this board have used him since Ontario did away with OCC.  I haven't seen anyone use Dr. L. since OCC was was delisted.  Dr. Gagner seems to be the prefered route. I was set to use Dr. G but recently became unable to have a DS due to medical issues.

I would suggest your friend get referred to a bariatric center asap and start the process.  In the meantime, he can read, read, read, to familiarize himself with the various surgery options and decide what is the best surgery for him.

 Paula, it's his doc that's telling him that he won't be approved for GBS due to his meds, which I know is total BS. I'll refer him to this site, he can read up on his options, and if he has any questions, I know that they WILL be answered.

 He can get DS out of the country, but it isn't easy.

His BMI needs to be over 60.  Even then they will do the sleeve first and then try to convince him to get a rny instead of following through with the DS.  Either way he needs to be refered to an assessment centre and then fight like the dickens once he is there.

Good luck

CNC

I do not think he would be denied soley based on the anti-depressants. Unfortunately, depression is an effect of obesity. Their decision would be based on your friends willingness to work hard, make lifestyle changes etc....I would encourage him to ask his doctor for the referral and start the process, the centre will direct him on what options are available to him. I hope this helps. Blessings!

 you know what is funny?

Back in the OOC days, people were using depression as a reason to get WLS.  It counted as a co-morbidity to help people get surgery.

Sounds like someone doctor is talking out of his ass?

CNC

Is it possible that your friend misunderstood the doctor. I was advised by the psychiatrist that there is a possibility that I can still be refused for surgery since I suffer from depression and it's a known fact that one of the side effects after surgery is depression. You would think the gp would refer him to a bariatric centre no matter what in order to give this patient a second chance and let it be determined by a bariatric team if your friend is a good candidate for surgery. Best of luck.