What do I need to get bariatric surgery?

Hello, my name is Melaney. I am currently 5 ft 1 and 255 lbs. I am unfortunately well above the 40 bmi mark, I am only 21 years old and I am already suffering because of my obesity. I can't walk without severe foot, ankle and knee pain. I have mild to moderate sleep apnea and I am at risk of diabetes which runs in my family. I also suffer from depression and anxiety which I feel is a product of my weight.
I was actually a skinny child up until age 12, when I hit puberty all bets were off and I began gaining weight, by 14 I was 200 lbs. It has been a struggle since, in high school I went down to 195 lbs from 235, but I gained it back. My weight has been a rollercoaster.
My problem is I have not done any medically supervised weight loss, I have done weigh****chers, but I did it with my Mom, who was a member, I was never a member. I also have a very unsupportive doctor, who I don't feel comfortable talking to about bariatric surgery. 

What steps do I need to go through to get approved by OHIP, and how long is the wait? Also I am interested in VSG rather than RNY, but am willing to do RNY if I have no other choice.

Thanks for any help!

 You need your doctor to fill out the BAC referral form. It is a long wait. My referral was sent to the Windsor BAC July 19/10. I received a letter from the clinic in January. Started the classes in Februray. I am now scheduled for surgery Sept. 2/11. 
I brought a copy of the referral form to my doctors office in case she did not have one.

do you happen to know where I can get a copy of that form?

Your doctor should refer you through the Baratric Registry online:

http://www.bariatricregistry.ca/

first step referral from your doctor to do this...also do all research than make a choice in which way is best....everyone is different and have differents for doing it...it been 17 months for me from start to end...and i have three more days until surgery...i been on optifast for 20 days now. you will learn alot more as you so long....and get referred by your family doctor....

 I will keep looking for the form. "The web site I went on last year does not have the link.

I see you found your way here Melaney. Just got your private email....but I'll respond here.

Like the others have said, the process starts with your doctor. Luckily other than go the bariatric registry and complete the paperwork on there (the office has to do it all, not you), there is not much to worry about. You meet all basic requirements easily and you'll do fine. 

You mentioned being depression and anxiety. Do you have a psychiatrist or does your family doctor handle all that? They will be concerned about any depression issues to make sure that you are medically fit in all ways for surgery. The psychological aspects are some of the hardest parts of these surgery.

As for VSG, you can try to push for it, some doctors are more willing to give you choices. Some doctors say RNY unless you have medical issues that warrant VSG (like Crohns for instance).  You can always make your plea.

I envy you being young to do this.  Statistically, the younger you are having the surgery, often the better you'll do.  You can look at it as a whole new opportunity. I can only dream that I'd had this surgery at 21. I know it would have probably given me a lot more confidence at a younger age.

Good luck with talking to your doctor. 

Where are you located?  I highly suggest getting involved with the people in your area as well.  They can be a invaluable source of help. As well there are some other boards on here (OH) and I'm sure there is a board here for people around your age :)  You might find that really helpful too to find people younger that have had surgery too! welcome to the Ontario board. It's a nice place and you'll like it here. Keep posting :)

Good luck
Dawn

Thanks so much for your response.

I do see a psychiatrist for my anxiety and my depression isn't so much at the forefront now as I am taking medication daily for it, which does help.

Hopefully, because it is treated they won't hold it against me at all.

They may ask for a letter from your specialist.  No worries.

Dawn

Hi, Melaney.  Welcome to the OH Ontario board.

Like has been said previously, your GP has to send in the form.  Depending on where you live, it could take as little as 4 weeks to get the call for your Orientation meeting.  I'm in Hamilton and, once my referral went to the right place (long story) I got the call Feb 14 for a March 14 meeting.  From then, the average is 2-3 months to first appt., but once you've got that, things can fly.  I was very lucky in that I got a cancellation for the nurse, dietician and social worker appts, and flew thru.  I had my surgery on June 29th.

To help your file move along, you might consider requesting your GP refer you to a sleep clinic for a sleep apnea test.  You'll probably need to have one away, and if you wait for the clinic to refer you, it could add several weeks (or months) to your time.  Ask for a private clinic rather than one in the hospital (as that will probably take the longer than private).

As for the depression - many obese people have this issue, and so long as you're dealing with it, there shouldn't be a problem.  I just gave them my background info and doctor info, and they were cool.

Good luck with your journey.