I weigh 304lbs and am 5ft 6in. I have Rheumatoid Arthritis and Fibromyalgia and she thinks my weight is making my joints worse. There is a 4-5 year wait for this. I feel relief yet anxious!

4-5 year wait ? What does the doctor suggest you do during the long wait ?

other than be patient, try to diet and exercise if my condition permits

What are typical wait times?

Maybe if you go out of province it will be less of a wait.Not sure but worth checking into.

I was wondering about going to a different province, too. 4-5 years is a very long time to wait for surgery.\, especially since co-morbid conditions generally get worse, not better, with time

Hopefully a Canadian will pop in, but in the states, the typical wait time seems to be between 6 months to a year.

My ex had gastric bypass, his wait time from first consult to surgery was about 2 years, he had to go to a different city (but within our province) to get it done. For him the biggest obstacle was getting a gp to give the referral.

omg im from st. johns missus! im sorry I get excited when i see someone who lives here lol. i have to wait about 7 months just for gallbladder removal its ridiculous. I started off at 335lbs and only an inch taller than you. It took me two, almost three, years though cause of regains to lose the weight ive managed too but in 4-5 years you may lose some of that weight and if you have issues losing or keeping it from coming back like I did there are support groups here in st johns (and im willing to help any way I can too). Its not a perfect solution but itll help your health in the meantime til a better solution can take place.

Just saying if you have to wait that long for it you could improve your health and wellbeing in the mean time. 5 years is a longgg time. I'm suffering every day just waiting to get gallbladder surgury I cannot imagine waiting in pain for 5 years. Also you could finance the surgury through private care outside of the province. Its expensive for sure but a lot of people getting WLS in newfoundland opt for this due to the weight times, but I know financing a costly surgury is not an option for all.

Didn't mean to sound insensitive earlier. I just wanted to show I know whats its like to battle the weight at relatively the same weight and give her some hope that it won't be all doom and gloom for the next 4-5 years if she ends up having to wait that long, I can't imagine being in pain that long so I'd go with what her doctor said and try a healthy lifestyle in the meantime until surgury to see if it helps any.


MODERATOR NOTE: The main reason people have surgery is not only to lose the weight but to keep it off. Those of us who have had surgery have gained and lost huge amounts of weight many times. Comments such as 'if i can do it, so can you' are not helpful or supportive in this particular forum [but can be helpful in other areas of 3FC]. The reason this post isn't deleted is because the writer lives near the OP, and understands the issues about accessing surgery in that province. to all - jiffypop

What type of bariatric surgery is he recommending?

good question, I don't know how to answer your question.

it's not slimband

My friend just had the surgery in Edmonton. She's lived in Saskatchewan all her life, but I don't think she had the option per say, I think Sask health sent her there because they had the opening. The waits here are typically 2 years. I've actually waited more than two years just for an appointment with the bariatric division to decide if I'm a candidate or not.

I think you get sent where ever they can get you in (within reason), but you still have to wait a very long time.

she told me I'd be an excellent candidate but I need a sleep study, etc, she was going to recommend me

I asked if bariatric surgery was available in the province where I live, told her my weight and reminded her about my physical limitations, she told me I'd be an excellent candidate but said there was a very long waiting time.