Hi! I am new here and just beginning this journey.

I have attended a seminar with Dr. Weaver at St. Francis. I've completed my application & am currently anxiously awaiting a date for my first consult.

My question for anyone in the Memphis or Northeast Arkansas area: Have any of you had to find a new PCP that was willing to refer you for surgery?

Ive only been seeing my current primary about a year and after bringing up the subject of WLS with him today he is clearly not on board.

Any advice, stories of your personal experience or of course names of WLS friendly PCPs will be greatly appreciated!

I am not from the area you stated, but I also needed a new PC when I started this journey. I went ahead and called the practice I was using for surgery and asked if they knew of a PC that they would recommend. I figured they would know of some that were WLS friendly, and they did.

Welcome, Trixie.

I live in NW TN and am also a patient of Dr. Weaver's. She is wonderful! She didn't do my original band surgery, but I wish she had.

My PCP was not on board either but I called his nurse to request a referral letter, and she wrote it, printed it out, and somehow got him to sign it. If that hadn't worked, I would've asked my gynecologist, who was/is very supportive about WLS.

I wish I could give you a recommendation for a WLS-friendly PCP, but there must be thousands of PCP's to choose from, and if they aren't part of your insurance policy's provider network, you may not get very far with them.

I feel compelled to tell you something about the St. Francis bariatric surgery program. They don't do a great job of support for bandsters because most of their patients walk in asking for the bypass. Some of the information about the band given out at the St. Francis support group meetings and nutrition classes is inaccurate or misleading. Don't get me wrong - I think very highly of St. Francis - but if you hear something there about the band that worries or puzzles you, feel free to ask me for another (non medical professional) opinion.

Hi Trixie,

I am from Northeast Arkansas! I am a self pay patient, but my PCP was supportive of my choice for the lapband. He said that he would be willing to write a letter of referral for me, however, my insurance did not cover weight loss surgery. I wish you the best of luck in finding a new PCP.

Becky

Hi, I am from Memphis & also had problems getting my PCP on board. He out right refused to write the letter, so I had my GYN to write my letter. I was also self pay, so I don't know if that makes a difference.