After care for out of country surgery question

 Hi, I will be having my sleeve surgery in Mexico this January. I just told my family doctor today of my surgery intentions. He was supportive of my decision, but recommended that I find another doctor who can help me with my follow up care, since he isn't trained to help me. I think he was looking out for my best interest as well as protecting his @ss.

For those who chose to leave your country for wls, were you able to find a doctor with experience in bariatric after care at home? I'm nervous that I won't find a doctor, who will be able to help me, with my follow up labs. My doctor wasn't very open to learning, when I told him they will provide me with a list of labs, and times they will be required. 

I need a doctor here, that will know what to look for in my labs, and what I need to adjust accordingly if needed.The surgeons here won't take me, since I am not their patient. I am worried that I won't find one in time. If your family doctor, refused to provide you after care for your wls, what did you do? Any recommendations? 

I had my surgery with Dr. Kelly in Mexico. He is willing to work with my Dr in the states - my primary care physican had no problem ordering the blood work, looking them over and reviewing them with me. He even recommended we do this every quarter for the next two years. And Dr. Kelly will look at anything I send him or email him, I can even call him if I want to....I am sure Dr. Aceves will too - I have heard great things about him. This is just a sign that it is time for you to move on and find a primary care physican that is either knowledgeable or willing to learn. They are out there and you have time...don't stress - it will all fall into place.  :  )

 Thanks for the reassurance. I have full confidence in Dr. Aceves. I will contact him and see if he can help provide my doctor with all the neccessary information he will need to provide the basic labs needed.

I do believe it is time to move on and find another doctor, but they are soooo hard to come by.

There is  a poster here Jo777 who is an Aceves patient also.  She's very knowledgeable and she has talked about getting her labs done here I'm almost sure.  Look her up and send her a private message.  I'm sure she's a wealth of information.  Hope that helps.

I am also Canadian and went to Dr Aceves. He is available to speak to your dr if needed. He also provides you information about your after care, whi*****ludes the tests your dr needs to order. For example, I need to get into my dr soon so that they can order my tests, so that I can get them done around the 3 month mark. I need specific lab tests ( they tell you which) as well as an upper GI. In my community, the doctor really cannot tell me to find another doctor, since there are really no options. Good luck! I had a great experience there and am so glad I was able to self pay instead of waiting so long.

My PCP supports my having sugery .. I am having mine in Mexico with Dr. Kelly next Month.
My PCP said she wants to see my 1 month out and go from there.
Best wishes finding the right Dr. for you at home..
Julie

Hi, I got sleeved by Dr Aceves in late September.  He sent the surgery report and labs with me when I was discharged.  My GP reviewed them briefly and then sent me for another set, including an ECG.  He wants to see me fairly often.  I'm no doctor, but bloodwork analysis shouldn't differ for sleeve patients and non sleeve patients.  Healthy levels should be the same but someone jump in if I'm getting that wrong.  Now if you needed an adjustment to the sleeve, that would be a different situation, but I think that's rare.  Our American friends may not be aware that finding a family doctor in Ontario is VERY difficult.  Tens of thousands of people haven't had one for years, so changing doctors is not easy.  It's one of the downsides of government sponsored health care.  Of course we also figured out that Mexcio was our best bet for a VSG.  BTW, a VSG is not common here in Ontario. Because the demand exceeds the supply, the heaviest patients are correctly treated first and they generally get a RNY.  I'd like to find a support group here in Mississauga that has a few VSG patients since our issues are different.  Cheers!

 Thanks Carpe_Diem for sharing that. It definitly shows that OHIP has its drawbacks too and doesn't always benefit everyone. You also can't pay for medical treatment in Ontario either, so we are forced to go else where for it, or wait stay on a long waiting list, which could last years. (depending on who's in government at the time)

I will talk with Dr. Aceves about the follow up plan I require, and if he can provide my doctor with a full list of tests required and dates neccessary too. I agree that it shouldn't be much different than running other blood tests. I believe he is just worried about complications, and not being trained in detecting and treating them.

Glad your surgery went well! Looking forward to joining you on the bench soon!

To be fair, I should mention that I had a dreadful fall last year and severed my quad tendon ( you don't ever want to do that) and OHIP covered everything.  I had surgery within 5 days and they did a great job here at Mount Sinai hospital.  In Ontario, it just depends on what needs to be done.  Heart attack, cancer or well understood injury, stay here.  Anything that requires complex diagnosis or is elective, you have to go elsewhere and pay the price.  Just sayin.
There's lot of room on the loser's bench.  I'm hoping the time flies for you and you join us soon.  Cheers,   Stewart

I  am in Mississauga being sleeved on November 23 in Hamilton.  There is a group that already meets in Mississauga once a month for all surgery types (Karen on the Ontario board posts dates and place)  but am open to a VSG group too if soomeone wants to have one meet regularly or irregularly.