had my first PCP appt,the doctor was not friendly and told me that it's very hard to get approved ,and that all I need to do was start walking, that I do not need the surgery it's for people that are four hundred pounds and that she haven't seen anyone get approved.

I switched doctors needless to say

I'm 5'0 212 .. 209 now ( no walking..I stopped drinking soda)

Where are you from? I think your right about getting a new dr.my dr in Santa rosa is very kind and helpful and I don't weigh 400lbs.but I do have sleep apnea and my bmi is 40 I weigh 244 and I am 5ft 6 but diabetes and him blood pressure run in my family.

She's ridiculous good thing you moved on.

A word of caution. Document your weight at your new doctor's office immediately. Your BMI is probably right on the borderline. You don't want to get denied for losing weight before the surgery.

I really agree with that in fact my dr talked to me about that very thing. So his team will work with me to make sure this will work for me. I have tried so many things and nothing works so I need help. Please keep me up on things I need to do I don't want this to fail. Thank you

@@taweedeegirl .. In general, insurance approves at a BMI of 40 or more and also a BMI as low as 35 if you have co-morbidities such as sleep apnea, diabetes, joint disease, etc. Obviously, all insurance is different but these are the general guidelines as my surgeon explained them to me. Hope that helps.

My PCP was less than enthusiastic. But while I really liked her and she was a super physician... very sensitive to women's issues... she was an athlete, as in marathons, laps in the pool at the Y at 6 am every morning. You get the picture.

As luck would have it, right before my surgery, she left the practice. I switched to her partner, who actually was sleeved last year! I am one happy camper to now have a PCP who is not only supportive but really able to understand so much better the journey of WLS.

I didn't bother to tell my PCP until after surgery. Besides my doctor he is a good friend of mine and I didn't want his disapproval. I finally told him about a month postop and of course I got "the look". But He still supported me, takes care of all my followup, and now over a year out and looking and feeling great with perfect labs, he has admitted I made a very good choice. It's just that he had seen so many failed WLS patients in the past that didn't take the lifestyle change seriously or have lost weight but failed to maintain their health. I'm thrilled to be his "good example"

Having someone frown at WLS should motivate you to be an ultimate success and disprove their misconceptions.

I didn't bother to tell my PCP until after surgery. Besides my doctor he is a good friend of mine and I didn't want his disapproval. I finally told him about a month postop and of course I got "the look". But He still supported me, takes care of all my followup, and now over a year out and looking and feeling great with perfect labs, he has admitted I made a very good choice. It's just that he had seen so many failed WLS patients in the past that didn't take the lifestyle change seriously or have lost weight but failed to maintain their health. I'm thrilled to be his "good example"

Having someone frown at WLS should motivate you to be an ultimate success and disprove their misconceptions.

I was thinking the same thing....like I'll show her..she mentioned the complications she had seen, but that was five years ago.. procedures have changed ...

glad u are the good example like I plan to be

PCP told me it's hard to get approved I switched doctors

@@taweedeegirl

you need to weight 400 lbs ???

almost impossible to get approved ???

all you need to do is walk???

yeah right!!!!

wouldn't be nice of me to say he is so stupid, mean and uninformed

but - he is so stupid, mean and uninformed

gotcha

Ms. Smarty Pants

glad you knew to switch doctors

that is great that you have quit soda!!!

how about upping your Water too

continue reading alot

watch U TUBE

get lots of info

have fun jumping through the hoops of insurance

good luck

kathy

PCP told me it's hard to get approved I switched doctors

@@taweedeegirl

you need to weight 400 lbs ???

almost impossible to get approved ???

all you need to do is walk???

yeah right!!!!

wouldn't be nice of me to say he is so stupid, mean and uninformed

but - he is so stupid, mean and uninformed

gotcha

Ms. Smarty Pants

glad you knew to switch doctors

that is great that you have quit soda!!!

how about upping your Water too

continue reading alot

watch U TUBE

get lots of info

have fun jumping through the hoops of insurance

good luck

kathy

thank you...

I was soo upset.. I just said a lil prayer while she talked..

I also put in a formal complaint about the doctor.. she was very rude n judgmental.. ( come to find out there have been other complaints about this doctor) what ppl need to understand is that it takes a lot for a person to admit they need help..and for a " professional" to belittle someone is totally wrong..

other complaints about this doctor

@@taweedeegirl

a dr should never be rude

no iffffs ands or butttts

good for you on standing up for yourself by reporting doc to????

doc needs to be straightened out

he needs to know the proper info about the subject you are talking about

in this case the sleeve

improve bedside manner in the office, etc

rudeness not allowed

bring a pad of paper to ask new dr your questions

write down his words of wisdom

info about surgery

good luck bud

kathy

Edited March 28, 201511 yr by proudgrammy

I'm 5'0 and I weigh 208 BMI is 40.6. I have hypothyroidism and PCOS. Diabetes and heart disease run in my family. My doctor never discouraged me. If anything she was all for it.

I have Kaiser in Southern California and my PCP

was VERY unsupportive! All I needed from her was a referral to the Health Ed dept and the Bariatric program takes over from there. Don't let the first DR discourage you! She's obviously closeminded and shouldn't be in a field where she helps people!!

I am 244 and I have sleep apnea and my knees and back hurts I am large chested so that doesn't help. But my dr is so nice and said I would be approved you must need a good dr. I also have parnership so they help get a good dr. My is in Santa rosa he is dr woodbury and I really like him.

I have Kaiser in Southern California and my PCP

was VERY unsupportive! All I needed from her was a referral to the Health Ed dept and the Bariatric program takes over from there. Don't let the first DR discourage you! She's obviously closeminded and shouldn't be in a field where she helps people!!

I soooo agree!!!

I'm glad I changed doctors.. I'm glad I made a formal complaint hopefully everything goes in my favor!!!