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Letter of Referral/Recommendation from Primary Doctor



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So sorry for all of my questions and posts.

I have not had a PCP for years. I have been going to an urgent care facility for anything that comes up - sinus infections, flu, etc. My insurance (BCBS Fed) requires a letter of reference/referral from my PCP as part of my approval package. I asked today if the urgent care could write such a letter and was told no since they have never treated me for weight loss or obesity.

My bariatric counselor referred me to a PCP that takes my insurance and she said they refer a lot of people there. I have an appointment on Friday to get my blood work and EKG completed, and I have my medical records from the urgent care. Do I wait for a couple months before asking for this letter of reference? Do I mention it this week?

Any advice you have would be great - thank you!

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Mention it that day. Doctors know to expect this kind of thing. I work for a surgeon. Just be honest and let the doc know why you are there.

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Mention it that day. Doctors know to expect this kind of thing. I work for a surgeon. Just be honest and let the doc know why you are there.

Thank you!

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I actually had a similar situation. I'm 23, so my last doctor was a pediatrician, and I hadn't actually seen her in years. I got a new pcp pretty much right when I had my first seminar, and we basically discussed my history and filled out the required paperwork together. What they really need is a doctor to say "yes, this patient is telling the truth, and I've signed off on it." So it was basically our second appointment ever and she just let me fill some things out and she filled out the rest. I don't know if it will work this way for you but that's my experience. :)

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Do you have any print outs from those urgent care trips that show your weight? If so, it might help with the documentation. Good luck!

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I actually had a similar situation. I'm 23, so my last doctor was a pediatrician, and I hadn't actually seen her in years. I got a new pcp pretty much right when I had my first seminar, and we basically discussed my history and filled out the required paperwork together. What they really need is a doctor to say "yes, this patient is telling the truth, and I've signed off on it." So it was basically our second appointment ever and she just let me fill some things out and she filled out the rest. I don't know if it will work this way for you but that's my experience. :)

Thank you!

Do you have any print outs from those urgent care trips that show your weight? If so, it might help with the documentation. Good luck!

Do you have any print outs from those urgent care trips that show your weight? If so, it might help with the documentation. Good luck!

Yes, I have print outs that show everything from 2011 from urgent care. Including GERD, pre-hypertension, my weight, and whatever I was being seen for. :)

Thank you so much!

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
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      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

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