Today my pain management doctor tried to talk me out of rny surgery. I have been having terrible back and hip pain for the last year. Painkillers run my life and I am so ready to stop them. I hate the pain clinic and I hate being in pain!!

I have a herniated disk right in my low back ( which is e region of the back most connected to weight) and I carry allllll my weight in my stomach, it's like being 9 months pregnant forever.

He said that he has many patients who had rny and some of them are now in wheelchairs or skeletons. I thought- well the skeleton part isn't all bad! Hahaha. He is Indian or Arab maybe and he said his moral, ethical, emotional, and spiritual beliefs tell him it is wrong to rearrange our bodies.

He told me my back pain has nothing to do with my weight, that my weight is fine how it is, and if I just work out my core muscles my back pain will go away. He said I am not morbidly obese ( I weight 240 and am 5'6) and that there are better ways to change my weight, and that I honestly don't need to lose weight.

He said he would call my rny surgeon and talk to him if I wanted and he would give me the phone number of one of his patients who had rny and she would talk me out of it. Hmmmmm.

What do you think?

Also do you think he would call my surgeon and tell him not to do the surgery for me? I know I'm crazy but you know people do crazy things.

He said if I was his sister he would never let me do this surgery. And then he wrote me a script for Percocet and told me he'd like to inject my spine with a steroid. I have an "inflammation" problem.

Edited November 21, 201411 yr by bellabloom

That whole thing sounds a little fishy. RNY has had many years of proven success. I agree that there is a risk of complications and things not turning out well, but the risk has decreased as time has moved on. More advanced and safer ways of doing the procedure are around. I strongly encourage you to read me three part posting on my blog about how I prepared for surgery. I think it will help to clarify some things. The link is below my signature. If you have issues viewing it just message me.

It sounds to me like he may be trying to do two things. The biggest one is that if he is a pain management doctor and you lose weight and get better, then he would lose a patient and the income they generate. You need to realize that by you staying pain, you are keeping in wealthy and in a job. Not all doctors look out for their patients best interest. This may not necessarily be the case, but you just need to realize we all put on own lens and spin on how we view surgery. The other thing is that it sounds like his religious beliefs about "unnecessary" body modification are playing a role here. It should not be his place to impose his religious view on you whatever they are. His job is to present you with options.

I don't believe he would call you RNY doctor to talk him out of surgery, but there is a chance he would to protect his interests. The nice thing is that if your RNY doctor has agreed to do the surgery, hew would not do so unless he felt it was medically appropriate. He would more than likely argue the case with your pain doctor and ultimately still do the surgery. He also is looking to make money so if he can safely do the surgery on and verify that it meets standards of medical necessity, he will. You may also need to seek out a new and more supportive pain management doctor.

The surgery is a ground for a lot of debate among individuals and medical professionals. Some will argue its cheating and taking the easy way out. I can tell you it is not easy, but if you follow the plan laid out by your doctor it works amazingly well. Others think that you should just try harder to lose weight. Still others are just scared of what they do not understand. My in-laws were even really concerned about me having the surgery, not because they were scared for me, but they were concerned about how it would affect their daughter. The decision to have surgery is a personal choice and one you should not take lightly. I do not think you are and it sounds like you have done your research.

Just remember at the end of the day, it is your choice.I applaud you for taking those first steps to reclaiming your life. This is a truly amazing journey of discovery. It will not always be easy, but in the end I can guarantee you that it is completely worth it.

If you have any questions or if there is anything I can help you with at all, please contact me using the links in my signature line. Or you can message me on here!

GOOD LUCK! I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!

Edited November 21, 201411 yr by Jonathan Blue

Wow I read your blog Jonathan and you are truely an inspiration to me. I needed that this morning. Thank you. Continued success to you. I tried to list my goals under your blog but really didnt know how to do. I'm terrible with the computer. I will do them on paper instead.

That whole thing sounds a little fishy. RNY has had many years of proven success. I agree that there is a risk of complications and things not turning out well, but the risk has decreased as time has moved on. More advanced and safer ways of doing the procedure are around. I strongly encourage you to read me three part posting on my blog about how I prepared for surgery. I think it will help to clarify some things. The link is below my signature. If you have issues viewing it just message me.

It sounds to me like he may be trying to do two things. The biggest one is that if he is a pain management doctor and you lose weight and get better, then he would lose a patient and the income they generate. You need to realize that by you staying pain, you are keeping in wealthy and in a job. Not all doctors look out for their patients best interest. This may not necessarily be the case, but you just need to realize we all put on own lens and spin on how we view surgery. The other thing is that it sounds like his religious beliefs about "unnecessary" body modification are playing a role here. It should not be his place to impose his religious view on you whatever they are. His job is to present you with options.

I don't believe he would call you RNY doctor to talk him out of surgery, but there is a chance he would to protect his interests. The nice thing is that if your RNY doctor has agreed to do the surgery, hew would not do so unless he felt it was medically appropriate. He would more than likely argue the case with your pain doctor and ultimately still do the surgery. He also is looking to make money so if he can safely do the surgery on and verify that it meets standards of medical necessity, he will. You may also need to seek out a new and more supportive pain management doctor.

The surgery is a ground for a lot of debate among individuals and medical professionals. Some will argue its cheating and taking the easy way out. I can tell you it is not easy, but if you follow the plan laid out by your doctor it works amazingly well. Others think that you should just try harder to lose weight. Still others are just scared of what they do not understand. My in-laws were even really concerned about me having the surgery, not because they were scared for me, but they were concerned about how it would affect their daughter. The decision to have surgery is a personal choice and one you should not take lightly. I do not think you are and it sounds like you have done your research.

Just remember at the end of the day, it is your choice.I applaud you for taking those first steps to reclaiming your life. This is a truly amazing journey of discovery. It will not always be easy, but in the end I can guarantee you that it is completely worth it.

If you have any questions or if there is anything I can help you with at all, please contact me using the links in my signature line. Or you can message me on here!

GOOD LUCK! I AM SO EXCITED FOR YOU!!!!

Some people have very strong opinions about the surgery and they're happy to share them. I don't mean to offend anyone but in my experience, some middle-Eastern doctors come across as very arrogant and they enjoy "pontificating" to anyone who will listen.

It's ridiculous to say you are not obese at 240 and 5'6". You meet the defnition of the word. Of COURSE excess weight especially around the mid-section causes back pain. My pain management doctor told me if I lost weight it would significatnly decrease the back pain.

I wouldn't even worry about what the doctor's motivations are... He sounds like a complete narcissist if he thinks he can call your surgeon and convince him not to do surgery. He's not going to talk the surgeon out of doing what that surgeon has seen be successful for hundreds or thousands of patients.

Only you can make the decision of how to move forward but make sure it's YOUR decision. I'm all for gathering information... I read all the good and bad I could find on this forum and others and felt that the risk to my health of staying overweight was more than the risk of surgery. My personal journey has been wildly successful -- hit goal this morning after 5-1/2 months... exercising, feeling wonderful, energetic, even a little sexy!

Being a year out from surgery and back pain being my biggest motivation to get the surgery, i can honestly say why didnt i get it sooner? Im pain free and havent taken any pain medication since my surgery. i had severe sciatica, bad hips bad knees and lower back spasms. I have NONE of that now unless i over do it working out. Sounds like the doctor is pushing his religious belief before his medical knowledge. I know on my first visit to my pain doctor he suggested weight loss surgery. *hugs* i know how frustrating getting started is, you can do this !

My hips used to kill me. My knees used to ache. I'm only 3 months out 45 pounds down and am running up stairs. (Sometimes 2 at a time) off BP medicine and feel great. Sure you can take pain pills your whole life but why would you want to?

I think it's just as risky having needles injected into your spine! If not the RNY try the sleeve. It's YOUR body, you have to be your best advocate...

Wow...I'm sorry you had to go through that. Sounds awful. I would DEFINITELY get a new doc. Medical doctors who are trained to look at things objectively are still people with prejudices, biased, opinions not always based in fact and still get a lot of power over people in vulnerable situations. He knows that you are dependent on him for treatment and pain relief. A power he should not take advantage of. He is welcome to his own personal opinions but medical evidence may place you as a prime candidate for bariatric surgery. Others in his profession would see things completely differently....Go get your surgery and come back in a year or so and do a pain-free whirl around his waiting room!!!

My former (as of last week) endocrinologist is middle eastern (southern India) and he tried to talk me out of my RNY last week. He was telling me all about the bad things that would happen to me if I did it. However, he didn't change my mind!

Jonathan i could not get to your blog. Can you please send it to me?

Jonathan i could not get to your blog. Can you please send it to me?

@loveablelady36: I help Jonathan out as a guest blogger on his site. The link is in my signature for you- hope it works out!

I agree with something sounds fishy here hmm a dr telling a person who is overweight by a 100 lbs that they don't need to lose weight? That's not reality This is not his specialty his " beliefs" should not concern u your life your decision research talk to a professional keeping u in pain and on painkillers keeps him in "business " it's likely the more weight u gain the more discomfort u will have perhaps u should reconsider this drs ethics uh I mean "beliefs"? best of luck

I am 5'5" and was nearly 240 pounds. My knees and ankles and feet hurt everyday. I would be limping (hobbling is more like it) by 10am everyday. I broke L4 and L5 years ago and have had chronic pain in my lower back. chiropractic visits, narcotics, NSAIDS and steroids were a big part of my life for a long time (and let's not even get started with the two vertebrae I had fused in my neck). I am now almost a year postop (I had VSG, not RNY), down 100 pounds and am totally PAIN FREE. In fact, the relief was noticeable long before I reached my goal weight, and I have not needed any pain meds since surgery.

Everyone's ailments are different, and I'm not saying you will find complete relief, (no weight loss in the world would have relieved my neck pain), but excess weight can aggravate so many of the "little things" so that they become big things. I think you need to talk with someone a little less biased and better informed about WLS than your pain doctor when it comes to helping you make this decision.

good luck!

I consider hooking people on opiates a much more morally and ethically reprehensible act than WLS. I know there are people in incredible pain who need relief, but it makes junkies out of people. I've seen firsthand the hundreds of lives these thinly-veiled "dealer" doctors have ruined.

I think you are wonderful and very brave to try to get off the pain meds as soon as you can. I believe your priorities and methods are in order, and you should do what you can to get away from the toxic pain clinic staff.

Probably because a healthier clientele would take money out of his pocket because his services wouldn't be quite so necessary. People that are helthier and feel good wouldn't need pain clinics to survive. That would be a huge loss for his practice.

I would at least attend a seminar before I ruled RNY out.

I was going to a pain management doctor earlier this year for severe lower back pain that had greatly reduced my quality of life. She was the one who told me I needed to lose weight any way I could if I ever wanted to get relief from my back pain! It was interesting, before that, none of my regular doctors mentioned my weight - guess they were all trying to be "sensitive". Anyway, she was the one who planted the seed that got my ball rolling in the right direction. I had my surgery a little over 2 weeks ago. I've lost 40 lbs since I started the process in July and I have had NO MORE back pain. My hips, knees, ankles and feet are also much happier.

Our bodies aren't meant to carry that much extra weight. If you are 100 lbs over, you put an enormous amount of stress on your joints and spine. It can't support the weight well and pain is the way our body tells us that. Good luck to you as you find relief! It is amazing to wake up each morning not in pain!

Some doctors are just ignorant. My husband reminds me often that "someone had to graduate at the bottom of the class" and that's true with every profession. But with doctors, we have a trust that what they say is for our best interest, but that's not always the case. Like any other group of human beings, there will always be some who look out for their own interests, prejudices or uneducated beliefs before their patients. Take what he says with a grain of salt, weigh it against all the research you've done and judge for yourself whether or not there is any validity there. He's just one man with an opinion.

If he were to call your surgeon, I hope your surgeon educates him a little more and gets his view out of the dark ages.

I agree with Jonathan and everyone else.. You need a new pain management doctor. Additionally, he does not have the additional experience and training that your surgeon does in this area. Finally, RNY is the so called "gold standard" in wls... it didn't get that way because of skeletons and wheelchairs in my opinion.

Take care and good luck!

Andy H.