I’ve seen 2 (of the 3) endos in Victoria and frankly wasn’t impressed with either.
I was really excited to see Dr. Vandenberg since she’s a female. I saw her before I was diagnosed and complained to her about my high blood sugar, exhaustion, weight gain and slight hair problem. She didn’t do anything for me but tell me to lose weight by going on Atkins. I was only about 25 pounds overweight so I wasn’t very impressed with this suggestion. Oddly enough my vegetarian friend went to her for thyroid issues and she told her to start eating meat and go on the Atkins diet! So not very helpful.
Next I tried Dr. Von Westarp. He put me on Met but didn’t do any testing other than blood sugar. In researching Met I came across this site and diagnosed myself. Dr. Von Westarp agreed to do all of the necessary testing and agreed with my diagnosis. He kept me on the Met and added Avandia when I had to go off Met. He just wasn’t very pro-active and pushed the pills on me. I don’t know what I expected but he wasn’t it.
My friend sees the other endo Dr. Marshall for her thyroid and really likes him. The problem is that both Dr. Marshall and Dr. Von W and pretty old and not very progressive.
Wish I had better news for you! Keep in mind that DH and I are not TTC yet so I don't know how either of them are for RE issues.
Where on the island are you? I’m in Victoria and my grandma and all my cousins are in Mill Bay/Cowichan Bay
__________________ TTC #1 since 10/05.
February 2008: M/C - 8w1d (fetal bradycardia)
March 2009: chemical pg. Out of options, out of hope. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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While not a specialist, my old GP in Cumberland is awesome. Dr. Janice McLaughlan. She's very familiar with PCOS and has several friends who have it, so she knows it's not "all in your head."
She diagnosed me. I had to stop seeing her as I moved to Ontario, but my mom still sees her and aparently she asks about me all the time. While she's not a specialist, I'm sure she knows a few on the island. very very nice woman.
I don't know her phone number off hand, but she works at the Cumberland Medical Centre.
__________________ me:
Julie
age: 26
dx: at age 15? 16?
living in sin with my man (six years already?! - engaged! 01/15/07)
happily child-free
meds: Cyclen bcp
wow, i didnt realize how crappy the doc situation would be, i should have guessed though when there was only 1 doc accepting new patients in my area. i guess ill just stick to my gp, unless i hear of any better news.
I live in Duncan, moved here in may, before that i was in Calgary. But i am originally from the island, and lived in Victoria for most of my time.
sh, happy belated bd, you are 1 day older than me!
__________________
Brandon 21/08/03
Charlie 28/09/05
Flora 03/10/07
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One of my best friends (who is also a cyster) and I both went to Dr. David Miller here in Victoria.He is an endo/internist. He has a specific interest in PCOS and was apparently involved in some of the research done on it. His office number is (250)727-6621. His office is on Quadra St. The wait list when I went to him a few years ago was about 6 months but you could also try to get in on the cancellation list. Good luck to you in finding treatment!
hi island cysters,
Dr. Marshall is my endo. He seemed pretty open with hearing about what I was comfortable with. I also really liked that he spent a lot of time with me, the only doctor I dont feel like is rushing me out of the office. He was frank about what he knew and didnt know and he didnt push pills on me. I still dont have the answers that I want, but I dont think I will with any other doctor either.
I'm posting from Louisiana in the US. I'm a 33yr. nursing student diagnosed at 18. My partner and I are planning to move to Vancouver after we graduate nursing school and would LOVE to know how you ladies like living there. I'll tell you what also, it's hard to find a good doctor no matter what country you live in!
When I lived in BC, I used to see Dr. von Westarp and was quite pleased with my care. When I was diagnosed, Dr. Marshall initially treated me and had a shocking bedside manner, had clearly not reviewed my medical history and "disciplined me" for letting my blood sugar reach such high levels despite the fact that I had only been diagnosed a few hours before I saw him.
Dr. von Westarp is patient, seeks out new treatments and promotes them to his patients. When I was his patient (a long time ago and before this treatment was standard), he put me on an insulin pump and arranged for my insurer to foot the bill. Since then, I have changed treatment options under the advice of another physician, but his treatment stood for twelve years and the results were positive.
I had little contact with Dr. Miller, though I think I saw him speak at a CDA event and he presented well and responded to questions from participants sensitively.
Need Vancouver Island Specialist 
