New to this journey
Hi everyone, I know I am from ALBERTA but that forum is so quiet. Hope nobody minds.
I was on Ideal Protien last year and was doing ok on it. I found it was getting expensive and had to stop. I have gained the 25lbs I lost plus an extra 30 lbs. This is the heaviest I have ever been in my life 287 lbs. I am having a hard time working with my children and our horses. So back on May 7, 2015 I had to find a new doctor as my other one has left our small community. When I went to my new doctor I explained to him that I would like to be referred to the Weight Wise Clinic at a local city. He said he would but after I started the Weight Wise Moduals and that I would have to come back and get medical done. On May 12, 2015 I started my Moduals.
May 12, 2015 - Nutrition: The Top 5 Tips to Reduce Calories And Nutrition: Eating Away From Home and During Special Occasions
May 19, 2015 - Minding Stress Session 1
May 26, 2015 - Minding Stess Session 2 and Nutrician: I Know I Should Eat Healthy, But How?
June 2, 2015 - Nutrition: The Truth About What Works in Weight Management and
Craving Change Session 1
June 9, 2015 - Craving Change Session 2
June 16, 2015 - Craving Change Session 3
I have 4 Moduals left to do. June 23, July 7, July 21 and Aug 11, 2015.
I got a call from the doctors appointment June 16, 2015 to do a 12 hour fast. That started at 9 pm that night.
I had my doctors appointment June 17, 2015. I got blood work, urine and ECG test done and talked about family history. As we were just about done I asked for my referral. He told me that he wasn't going to give it to me as I could finish my Moduals and I would be fine. I explained that yes the Moduals are great but I still wanted the referral. None the less I left upset.
That night I talked to a few friends and was told don't give up.
June 18, 2015 I went to the NEW PCN here. I was told that they couldn't do much with out a doctors referral. But asked if I would be interested in seeing a Dietician. I said yes. They were going to call my doctor to see if they could just get the referral. Left my name and number. Got out to my truck and called the Weight Wise Clinic that I wanted to be able to go to and asked what I could do if my doctor wouldn't give me my referral. The lady had to call me back and when she did with in the hour of me calling she said that it has to be a Dr. But told me that I could go to a walk in clinic to get it done and that I should report my doctor as I am allowed to have access to everything in our health care. Then the dietician called and because she works out of the hospital and I am taking the Moduals I didn't need the referral. Made an appointment for the next morning. Called a Clinic in a near town and was able to make an appointment for a walk in clinic for the next day also.
June 19, 2015 Went to the dietician and talked about my issues. Which is just eating at proper times during the day. We set up some goals and made another appointment. Then off to my doctors appointment. I got out of my truck at 2:30pm and went in and gave them my health care card. Sat down and my name was called. Walked into the doctors office where he was sitting (strange). Explained to him what I would like and what happened with my GP. To find out he went to school with my doctor. We went through questions and weighed in. And he said he would have my letter written up and sent in a couple of days. And to call in a week to see if the Weight Wise Clinic received the letter. Thanked him and was back in my truck by 2:45pm. It took 15 minutes. I was in shock.
No - how it works here is we have a referal from GP or clinic. Then wait a few months and have an orientation at a Bariatric Center. We then have appointments with nurse, social worker, and dietian and eventually the surgeon. We might attend group classes. It usually takes about a year of preparation. Our health plan recognises that WLS is a solid treatment for morbid obesity so they have developed a super program to efficently & effectively treat as many patients as possible.
Does your health plan have a robust WLS programme? Ontario performs probabaly more than 1000/year, that is one of the reasons why the Ontario forum is one of the most active on OH.
Those modules sound very helpful. There are a number of formal & informal support groups here that might offer some of the content of those modules.
We will look forward to hearing of your progress through the Alberta system.
Hi Andrea,
Welcome to the forum. You'll catch the odd person on here who's not from Ontario, so don't worry about not being from here. We may not be able to answer specific questions on Alberta's process, but I'm sure we can help with general WLS questions.
We don't have modules like you describe, but we do have some CBTs and come classes on things like Mindful eating. There are also several clinics that offer a non-surgical program. Basically it involves either a 3 or 6 month (depending on the amount of weight you need to lose) term of Optifast (4 prescription shakes per day) as well as retraining you how to eat, exercise etc to have a healthier lifestyle. Some people do well on this, but others do not. It depends on the person.
You are not the only one that has problems with getting their GP, but we've found ways around that like you did. Definitely contact the Weight Wise Clinic in a week, to make sure that they have the letter. Here our referrals are sent on line to a central registry, then to the appropriate clinic.
Enjoy the journey!
Cathy
on 6/23/15 1:16 am
Welcome to this forum! It's a wealth of knowledge and encouragement here.
I was on Ideal Protein and that stuff will run you in to bankruptcy!!!! Honest to goodness, it is about $1200 a month!!! The nice thing about WLS is first, it's a HUGE tool, but when you're in the swing of eating properly, it becomes your lifestyle. It's not easy- the prep stuff is hardest imo, traveling, commitments, cost etc. But I could do this forever and although I'm only 4 months out and have been told my cravings will creep up, I figure if I just stay away from them, I'll be good. I've found other things to keep me occupied and I love it. And I love the food I'm eating, and how satisfied I am when I'm finished.
Good luck!
