Canadian Doctors/Clinics

[argon 3]

Just wanna give you a heads up. I bought various berries to add to my Optifast. Adding a few berries to it is BARELY noticable. I ended up eating the berries by themselves Don't bother with them, you'll probably end up eating them alone like I did... adding ANY of the other suggestions (tea, coffee, flavours, crystal light) would be 100X better.

and nope, no frozen fruits, becca. No nothin'. You're allowed a cup of veggies ('that grow above the ground' {except potatos, carrots, corn}) a day. I had them a couple times, but they just weren't enjoyable to me with no flavouring (cheese, sauces, butter)... so I stuck to JUST shakes. (mostly) After a while, I was so sick of them, I was lucky if I had more than 1 shake a day!

haha... but I'm sure you'll love it!

[becca77 0]

OMG!!! I am going to need all the strength within me to get through 2 weeks! It will be worth it though.:phanvan

[JAC 1]

I am from Calgary and self-paid in Mexico as the wait is too long for the procedure here. I am expecting my reimbursement cheque any day from AB health care (about $1700 of the $8500 US I paid). I am finding it a challenge to get back into the health care system now as those patients done in AB are getting fills for free, but because I self paid, I am not. It does not make sense to me and I am trying to get that changed or at least voice a loud concern about it.

I would invite you to join our on-line support group for Calgary lap banders.

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/calgarylapbanders/

Julie C

Nov 6/06

Dr. Ortiz, Mexico

[sg_sg 0]

are you saying fills are covered by the healthcare system in AB? is teh band covered too?

or are those patient' fills a part of the price they paid upfront? i this case i can see why a dr. wouldn't do it for free for someone else's patient.

[JAC 1]

Just to clear up some things about whether the procedure is covered in Alberta. It is if you are one of the lucky people who gets in. In 2006, the Calgary Health Region was limited to 25 people. If you did not live in that region or were not one of those 25, you were out of luck. So yes, it is covered if you are in Alberta, but only for those 25 people, and if you had it done out of province, you only get about $1000 back of the total amount that you pay.

There are other doctors doing lap banding in the province, and they are not limited, but the wait list is about 2-3 years. My surgeon has said they are working on getting more people done in 2007, but they have to have approval for funding. The 25 people that were done are part of a study to see if the cost of getting the band improves people's health and in the long run will be less of a cost on health care than if the procedure was not done.

Having been self-pay in Mexico, I am trying to figure out how to get back into the health care system and have some of my on-going fills and visits covered by AB now. For the patients done here, it is covered, but because the lap band is not widely covered and the funding is only limited to those 25 in the control group, the fills are not covered right now, although I got one yesterday for free as I started voicing my concerns to my doctor.

Julie C

Nov 6/06

Dr. Ortiz, Mexico

[Gaffer 1]

Julie, who are you seeing for fills in Calgary? Dr.Mitchell?

Andrew

[JAC 1]

I am seeing Dr. Descoteaux. There are four doctors in the Weight Management Clinic who were part of the original group doing the surgery. Dr. Descouteaux and Dr. Mitchell are the two that are doing the most with the lap band patients as the other two have decided that they don't want to see their practices become limited to only lap band surgery.

Dr. Descoteaux I would say is the senior of the two as he is a teaching doctor at the Foothills as well as the doctor that speaks to AHC about funding, the study, etc. From what I understand from other patients, Dr. Mitchell is quite agressive in his fills. I have heard he charges $125 per fill. Dr. Descoteaux charges $100 and Dr. Botha (trained by Dr. Coburn to do fills) charges $99. As far as the fills go, I don't think there would be a great deal of difference between them all. I do think that Dr. Botha probably has the least amount of experience as he is a family physician, not a surgeon.

Some of the Calgary patients have been going for fills every week, so I think the surgeons have become better at fills, but I have to admit there is no real pain to them. It is kind of like getting a blood test. On my second fill, it was much harder to find the port as it has slightly tipped forward, so that was more of a challenge, but it is well worth it. I can tell I have lost some weight this week, so I am happy.

Have you been referred to the Weight Management Clinic or done any programs through Living Well? They have been very informative to me and have helped me on my journey.

Julie

[Gaffer 1]

Have you been referred to the Weight Management Clinic or done any programs through Living Well? They have been very informative to me and have helped me on my journey.

Julie

I have not. I was refered to the Weight Mgt. Clinic by my family Dr., but have not heard anything from them since I was refered in August. I did call Dr. Mitchells office at one point to see how long the wait times were when I was trying to decide if I should self pay.

I will talk to my Dr. & see about the Weight Mgt. Clininc.

Andrew

[JAC 1]

It took me many months to get into the Weight Management Clinic and I got in when I did (Nov 23) because of a cancellation. You have to be part of the clinic for six months prior to them letting you even see a surgeon for the lap band, so it can take quite a while. They are estimating 2-3 years at this point, but it may change if funding comes through.

There are many classes through Living Well including exercise, diet, nutrition, psychological issues, etc. It is a self-referral or doctor referral, so you don't have to go back to see your doctor to get into the program. I have taken classes on High Blood Pressure, Exercise, Diet / Nutrition, and food and Mood is coming up in Feb. The Weight Management Clinic is also part of this, so you could call the number below and find out more about the time frame for when you might get in.

Living Well - 943-2584 (9HEALTH)

One issue at the Weight Management Clinic is that the dietician leading the program accepted another position, so they are now trying to fill that empty spot. Dr. Descoteaux said they are hoping to find someone who will specifically deal with only the post-op lap band patients and their specific needs, but I don't know how long that will take.

Good luck with the pre-op diet. I lost 12 pounds pre-op, so it was an encouraging way to start.

Julie

[JLB 0]

Hi Julie, when you say the dietician has aceepted another position are you referring to Nannette. I just spoke to her two weeks ago and she didn't mention that she was leaving.

Janice

[JAC 1]

Yes, Nannette is leaving. She said she accepted a position in the community, so I don't exactly know what that means. I have heard that it is taking about 2 months to get appointment now as they are short staffed, but what place is Calgary is not???

Julie

[andreerichards1 4]

Just to clear up some things about whether the procedure is covered in Alberta. It is if you are one of the lucky people who gets in. In 2006, the Calgary Health Region was limited to 25 people. If you did not live in that region or were not one of those 25, you were out of luck. So yes, it is covered if you are in Alberta, but only for those 25 people,

Why is there a limit of 25peoples? I dont really get that.

[Gaffer 1]

Why is there a limit of 25 peoples? I dont really get that.

Alberta Government foot dragging?

Andrew

[sg_sg 0]

Alberta Government foot dragging?

Andrew

if it's in a research stage, that's all they have funding for probably and i'm guessing the people who need it the most (ie. mult health issues) will get on the list

[JAC 1]

Having met some of the 25 that were banded, I am not really sure what their criteria was in choosing them. The one thing that bothered me, and I am not sure why, but there were 3 families of people who were done. Three sisters done in May that have lost over 220 pounds between them, two other sisters, and then a set of (young - 26 years old) identical twins. I guess why it bothers me somewhat is because I feel that one family is getting all the benefit and not spreading it around. I don't know if I would have been chosen as I only have 100 pounds to lose and I have high blood pressure. My BMI was 38.9. The talk was that you needed a BMI over 40, so I thought I should just eat a little extra for a weekend and I could make it. Some of the people there are very much bigger than I was. So far with losing 24 pounds, my blood pressure is now normal. I don't regret at all having to pay for the surgery myself, but I do wish I could take more advantage of the things that those 25 people have been able to get in the way of support and meetings. I guess that is why I am trying to push to get our on-line group larger and meeting together because I need it.

Julie