Have any of your PCP's been reluctant to give you the go-ahead for the surgery? My appt. is next week and I'm nervous that I'll have to convince my doctor to sign the papers so I can have this surgery done. I don't want to have to plead my case. My BMI is over 43. I need to get this done.

My Doctor of 13 years has told me for the past 13 years,Im not a fan of WLS. So this last time in July of 2011, I asked again..... Long story short, I have an awesome new Doctor who actually supported my choice, now Im 2 1/2 months post op and 48 pounds thinner!!

Don't take no for an answer and keep on until you get the support you need!!

Good Luck* fingers crossed for you*



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I agree with hellonurse, my first PCP wouldnt give me a referral for surgery so I had to find a new one.

I just have this feeling that mine will be the same way. I'm not sure how to go about finding a doctor who is friendly towards this surgery.

Wow! I cannot imagine not having a supportive PCP in this! Though, at one time, I had a PCP that was indifferent about a lot of things. Mine now told me several months ago that he thought I would be a great surgical candidate even before I was convinced that I wanted the surgery

I hope yours is cooperative, Christine.

I just have this feeling that mine will be the same way. I'm not sure how to go about finding a doctor who is friendly towards this surgery.

You can try to find others on here or other WLS forums in your area and see if they can reccomend a PCP. Wishing you the best of luck!

Mine was supportive and encouraging, BUT...getting him to fill out the monthly weigh in's and send them to the surgeon has been like pulling teeth! I have had to beg and cry. I think there was a major miscommunication issue between pcp and surgeon and I think it has been rectified. Hoping for a call with a surgery date sometime this week!

Christine

I asked my surgeon's coordinator who she knew of that understood my needs,I made an appointment with him, and it's been wonderful.

I really like him and his office staff!! I do miss my old Doc and his MA, but I had to do what is best for me. Maybe you can also ask your insurance company for a good referral?

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I just have this feeling that mine will be the same way. I'm not sure how to go about finding a doctor who is friendly towards this surgery.

I think it might help if the doctor you have been with for quite a few years refers you because insurance wants to see that you have tried numerous diets and programs before and failed at them. I would encourage you to try to get your PCP to recommend the surgery. A possible way to do this is to have a plan to convince him/her that you need the surgery. Talk about all the programs you have tried over the last ??? years. he will ask how many pounds you lost on them and how long the weight stayed off. emphasize your concerns regarding your health and why you believe the procedure will make you healthier. I'd give it a shot with your PCP before moving on to another one. hopefully you can convince him but if you don't it's not the end. there are other doctors who will support it because you BMI is over 40. tell him your insurance just needs a referral because you meet the criteria of having a 40 BMI. make it simple. keep your explanations simple and i'll be it flies if you focus on how your health is going to improve. good luck!

I too had a pcp who told me she wouldn't recommend it unless I weighed 400 pounds! I am 235 at 5'7" and hypertension severe plantar faciitis, arthritis . I immediately found a new and competent physician who agreed WLS was a good option for me.

My pcp was supportive until it was time to do the paper work he told me he would write the letter and two weeks letter I called to see if it was done the nurse said dr ****** wasn't going to write that letter for u and just do low calories and exercise I damanded to have him call me .. I wanted to kno why he changed his mind his nurse informed me that dr ****** don't call patients .. WTH !!! I can't even speak w him ... Well I have a new Dr and he's great and that it was a great idea to have the sleeve ...I'm not sleeve yet I have eval and 5 months left for supervised diet ... My thing is the Dr can't support u now pre op well how will he support you post op you need that from the beginning cus to convince him his heart is not there and you want a doc who's heart and expertise to be there for u .. Good luck everyone

My pcp was supportive until it was time to do the paper work he told me he would write the letter and two weeks letter I called to see if it was done the nurse said dr ****** wasn't going to write that letter for u and just do low calories and exercise I damanded to have him call me .. I wanted to kno why he changed his mind his nurse informed me that dr ****** don't call patients .. WTH !!! I can't even speak w him ... Well I have a new Dr and he's great and that it was a great idea to have the sleeve ...I'm not sleeve yet I have eval and 5 months left for supervised diet ... My thing is the Dr can't support u now pre op well how will he support you post op you need that from the beginning cus to convince him his heart is not there and you want a doc who's heart and expertise to be there for u .. Good luck everyone

My bariatric surgeon gave me a sample letter to give my pcp. I went one further and constructed my letter using the information needed about me according to the sample they gave. I printed it out with room for a the office header and all it needs to be copied on to their letter head and signed. Lets see if he goes for it

I should probably clarify that I'm doing this as a self-pay patient, but I need him to order the pre-op labs and sign the paper that says I'm ok to have the surgery. I will give him a chance but I'm looking at other doctors in case he doesn't go for it. When I originally made the appointment, I told the scheduler I was planning to have weight loss surgery and asked if he was friendly towards weight loss surgery. All she'd say was I'd have to talk to him about it. It didn't sound promising, but maybe that's what they're required to say. I am a nurse myself but it's different being on the "patient" end of things.

My PCP is not a fan of WLS at all. He asked me to leave his office if I wanted to proceed with this. He knows of one patient who had complications and died. So, I did exactly as he told me; I picked up my chart and left. I found a GREAT doctor who is supportive of the surgery. Don't let anyone hold you back. If he doesnt clear you for surgery, move on and find someone who will do it.

Good luck to you and keep us posted.

My surgeon who is also a leading researcher of bariatric surgery said that in a survey of doctors who are not supporters said they revealed they are afraid of loosing patients who have health problems once the weight is off. That is so selfish and greedy.

My former PCP was always reluctant about WLS but he'd been w/me thru years of up and down scale numbers, trying different diets, health issues, etc. When I finally approached him about it, he was happy to give me the referral to the bariatric program.

About the time I was finishing up, I needed to get an okay from my PCP saying I was in good enough shape for surgery and he had just moved on to another department! My 1st appt w/my new PCP was to get the surgery okay!!! I was freaking out! I had NO clue as to who this guy was and here I'd gone thru the whole program and was only waiting for this step so I could get my date and then pre-op testing done! Well, he was happy to do that for me! He'd had WLS patients in his private practice before coming to Kaiser and he'd seen good things happen.

Fast forward and I have yet another PCP and this guy is typical anti-WLS, you can do this by cutting calories and exercising, blah, blah, blah. He's good but he makes me nuts too! LOL!! Didn't help that by this time I was having weight gain issues, due to problems w/my band.

I did NOT have to go thru him to get my Sleeve. Good thing b/c I don't think he would have signed off on it. My surgeon told me my band had to come out and he was offering me the Sleeve as an alternative. I don't even think my PCP knows about my surgery.

I would try your PCP first. Don't be nervous, they work for you. But have a plan of action to put in to play IF he gives you grief about it. Best wishes!