Assessment/process

Question
Hi Dawn. My name is Jean I am 28 years old and have been struggling from obesity all my life. I have went up to 270 pounds then down to 175 then back up to 215 as of now. I feel like I am losing control and desperate for a consistent for a new lifestyle change. I have tried every diet out there on the market and that only seems to be a temporary quick fix. Yo Yo dieting is only ruining my set point metabolism. My blood pressure is on he higher end 150/90 and I have a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. I am tired of struggling and am ready for a new change. My aunt and grandmother just recently had the surgery. Would it be better for me to contact the general clinic for baritatric assessment or go to my GP and get a referral? I am also worried that I am not exactly 100 pounds overweight. I don't really want to have to gain another 10 or 20 pounds just to get accepted by OHIP. Is there anyway to get around this? Do I need to fill out any forms?

Answer
Hi Jean,

You need to have the following to have surgery:

This referral should be completed by the referring physician for those patients who
meet the criteria of being morbidly obese: having a BMI of 40 or greater or 35
with at least 2 existing co-morbidities.


Obesity-related Morbidity
􀂉 Anxiety
􀂉 Asthma
􀂉 Cardiovascular Condition
􀂉 Depression
􀂉 Diabetes mellitus
􀂉 On oral therapy
􀂉 On Insulin
􀂉 Dys-/oligo-menorrhea/
Infertility
􀂉 Exertional dyspnea
􀂉 Gallstones
􀂉 Gastroesophageal reflux
􀂉 History of DVT/PE
􀂉 Hyperlipidemia
􀂉 Hypertension
􀂉 Hypothyroidism
􀂉 Metabolic Syndrome
􀂉 Osteoarthritis
􀂉 Polycystic ovaries
􀂉 Skin rash
􀂉 Sleep Apnea
􀂉 On CPAP
􀂉 Stress Urinary Incontinence

You need to have your doctor contact one of the bariatric assessment centres which are here:

St. Joseph抯 HealthCare Hamilton
phone number : 905-522-1155 Ext 33240
fax number :     905-521-6152
website : www.stjoes.ca

Humber River Regional Hospital
phone number : 416-747-3720
fax number :     416-747-3731

Guelph General Hospital
phone number : 519-837-6440 ext. 2700
fax number : 519-837-6773

The Ottawa Hospital
The Weight Management Clinic
phone number : 613- 761-5101
fax number : 613- 761-5343
website : www.weightclinic.ca

Toronto Western Hospital (UHN)
phone number: 416-603-5800 ext. 6145
fax number: 416-603-5142
website : www.uhn.ca/applications/TWH/iNews/default.aspx

Windsor Regional Hospital Regional Bariatric Assessment and Treatment Centre
phone number: 519-971-9206
fax number: 519-971-9566
website: www.wrh.on.ca

You will be making multiple appointments so I suggest picking the one closest to you.

There is no out of country surgery anymore so if you are thinking you can fill out a form
to go to Michigan or NY you are wrong.

BTW, you should know that you will still struggle after surgery. It's not a quick fix and it won't solve your food issues. You'll probably need therapy for that. Food is a constant struggle with me daily.

Good luck
Dawn

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