I went to the dr yesterday and told my GP I'm considering WLS. He said I wouldn't be successful unless I controlled my eating first, or else I'd gain the weight back. He recommended Weight Watchers. I've done that a few too many times already, and told him that it wasn't sustainable for me--I always gained it back. He said if I couldn't be successful on WW, I wouldn't be on WLS either. I said I the sleeve would give me an advantage that would allow me to be successful. He responded by saying I'd lose weight at first but then I'd learn to eat around it, and the whole thing would be a waste. A heated discussion ensued.

When I was researching WLS, the first thing I did was look up the five year outcomes of diet and exercise alone (specifically Weight Watchers) compared to WLS. There's no comparison. WLS has a success rate of 50-80%, depending on the type of surgery. Diet and exercise is under 5%. Also, the definition of "success" was much more strict for WLS.

I'm so frustrated. I think I'm doing the right thing. I need some encouragement, folks!

EDIT: He seems to think I sit around and eat donuts all day.

Edited February 19, 201610 yr by careya123

I mean they are supposed to do their own continuing education like any other professional.

I don't think a patient should have to educate them.

Obesity is an epidemic in the US. They should be researching what they can do to help their patients.

If they aren't keeping up to date on some general things in their field how can you trust them?

I don't code but I keep up on code for my career. If you are a serious professional you keep up to date on your profession.

The bottom 10% of the class become Doctors just like the top 10%.

Don't fix them, replace them.

I mean they are supposed to do their own continuing education like any other professional.

I don't think a patient should have to educate them.

Obesity is an epidemic in the US. They should be researching what they can do to help their patients.

If they aren't keeping up to date on some general things in their field how can you trust them?

I don't code but I keep up on code for my career. If you are a serious professional you keep up to date on your profession.

The bottom 10% of the class become Doctors just like the top 10%.

Don't fix them, replace them.

I would agree that ideally they should, but that doesn't mean they do.

I think a patient referring them to a recognized journal article would have more credibility and be more effective than just disagreeing and telling he or she that they are wrong.

Do you really think that would be well received from a Doctor? Most of them have egos bigger than Texas.

Sorry you might need a new pcp. Mine was the one who encouraged me to have surgery. You need support not negativity during this time.

I can't believe no one ever mentioned it to me. I saw something about it online a month ago, and decided to look into it. Until then, I thought it was only for people who were 500 lbs. I wish I'd looked into it sooner.

That was always my perception as well. Surgery is now about a month out, and I'm so excited! You found the right place. Find another doctor.

True story ..... I go to my first visit with bariatric surgeon and the nurse just happens to be the old nurse from my pcp's office. She looks baffled and confused. Did Dr. SoAndSo refer you? I said, " No I am a self referral. I didnt see the point talking to her about this." She immediately nodded... She knows what that Dr is like. My asked my pcp of 5 years about my weight concerns for 5 years straight. Always got the same response.... I recommend weight watchers. But I tried Weight watchers twice , Medifast twice, medically supervised program with Phentermine and nothing worked. Bariatric surgery WORKS and I also have a new pcp who is very supportive of bariatric surgery. Get a new pcp, find a great surgeon and take your life back!

This makes me so mad, your doctor should be encouraging you to wanna do this, clearly if you're willing to have surgery you're willing to make changes. Afterall you pretty much are relearning how to eat. Certain foods are going to destroy your stomach and you won't wanna go near that food again.

Sent from my SM-G900P using BariatricPal

Edited February 19, 201610 yr by ohhsosweetxvb

Do you really think that would be well received from a Doctor? Most of them have egos bigger than Texas.

I've educated many doctors regarding my health and needs as well as regarding my son, who passed away from a rare genetic disease. If knowledge and questions offended a doctor, I never saw them again.

I guess because my sister is a pharmaceutical sales rep and spends her life educating doctors, I know that they don't know everything. They can't possibly keep up with ALL the changes in medicine without help. Plus, I would hazard a guess that one of the reasons they are so reliant on prescribing meds is because the pharmaceutical companies do such a good job of educating doctors. If something doesn't require meds then they MAY be less likely to hear about it unless they have a genuine interest and seek the info out themselves through journals or conferences.

I had a friend who is a radiation oncologist and she used to spend hours every night at home reading journals just to TRY and keep up.

Any MDs or other medical professionals on this site who may have insight into this issue?

I guess because my sister is a pharmaceutical sales rep and spends her life educating doctors, I know that they don't know everything. They can't possibly keep up with ALL the changes in medicine without help. Plus, I would hazard a guess that one of the reasons they are so reliant on prescribing meds is because the pharmaceutical companies do such a good job of educating doctors. If something doesn't require meds then they MAY be less likely to hear about it unless they have a genuine interest and seek the info out themselves through journals or conferences.

I had a friend who is a radiation oncologist and she used to spend hours every night at home reading journals just to TRY and keep up.

The doctors have an obligation to their patients to take a proactive role in reading the JAMA and other trade journals and going to seminars to keep up with the latest medical information.

The part of prescribing a specific medicine, just because a sales rep gave them samples and touted how wonderful it is, without them researching the information, studies and alternatives is laziness on their part.

Sorry if I offended anyone. But we are dealing with people's health and lives. This is the profession they chose and they do have an obligation and swear to upholding the Hippocratic Oath.

Edited February 19, 201610 yr by 4MRB4PHOTO

What Babbs said...your doc is a moron. Have the surgery, lose the weight, keep it off and go back to him in five years just to rub it in his face.

I didn't tell my PCP I was having surgery. I just did it. I am actually good friends with him and his wife and have spent holidays and vacation together. He wouldnt have necessarily discouraged me, it's just that I was self pay and didn't need him at that point in the process. Never even dawned on me to mention it.

I came back from Mexico with a postop bloodwork schedule and gave it to him. He's been there for me ever since. 2 years later he and my OB/Gyn are recommending my surgeon to their patients who don't have insurance that covers WLS. Seeing is believing.

I guess because my sister is a pharmaceutical sales rep and spends her life educating doctors, I know that they don't know everything. They can't possibly keep up with ALL the changes in medicine without help. Plus, I would hazard a guess that one of the reasons they are so reliant on prescribing meds is because the pharmaceutical companies do such a good job of educating doctors. If something doesn't require meds then they MAY be less likely to hear about it unless they have a genuine interest and seek the info out themselves through journals or conferences.

I had a friend who is a radiation oncologist and she used to spend hours every night at home reading journals just to TRY and keep up.

The doctors have an obligation to their patients to take a proactive role in reading the JAMA and other trade journals and going to seminars to keep up with the latest medical information.

The part of prescribing a specific medicine, just because a sales rep gave them samples and touted how wonderful it is, without them researching the information, studies and alternatives is laziness on their part.

Sorry if I offended anyone. But we are dealing with people's health and lives. This is the profession they chose and they do have an obligation and swear to upholding the Hippocratic Oath.

Which is what brings me back to my first point of being able to suggest "specific" journal articles, etc. Because, there is SO MUCH information out there that no one physician, GP or specialist, can know everything about everything. A generalist by nature is going to know a little about a lot of things unless there is a reason to know more. We don't know what we don't know. Plus, some fields change so rapidly that what may have been appropriate at the time for the last patient they treated with a particular issue may be quite different. Case in point: Weight Loss Surgery.

Medicine is not adversarial, it is extremely collaborative. Why not help if we can?

PS, good pharmaceutical reps do much more than just "hand out samples".

I guess because my sister is a pharmaceutical sales rep and spends her life educating doctors, I know that they don't know everything. They can't possibly keep up with ALL the changes in medicine without help. Plus, I would hazard a guess that one of the reasons they are so reliant on prescribing meds is because the pharmaceutical companies do such a good job of educating doctors. If something doesn't require meds then they MAY be less likely to hear about it unless they have a genuine interest and seek the info out themselves through journals or conferences.

I had a friend who is a radiation oncologist and she used to spend hours every night at home reading journals just to TRY and keep up.

The doctors have an obligation to their patients to take a proactive role in reading the JAMA and other trade journals and going to seminars to keep up with the latest medical information.

The part of prescribing a specific medicine, just because a sales rep gave them samples and touted how wonderful it is, without them researching the information, studies and alternatives is laziness on their part.

Sorry if I offended anyone. But we are dealing with people's health and lives. This is the profession they chose and they do have an obligation and swear to upholding the Hippocratic Oath.

Which is what brings me back to my first point of being able to suggest "specific" journal articles, etc. Because, there is SO MUCH information out there that no one physician, GP or specialist, can know everything about everything. A generalist by nature is going to know a little about a lot of things unless there is a reason to know more. We don't know what we don't know. Plus, some fields change so rapidly that what may have been appropriate at the time for the last patient they treated with a particular issue may be quite different. Case in point: Weight Loss Surgery.

Medicine is not adversarial, it is extremely collaborative. Why not help if we can?

PS, good pharmaceutical reps do much more than just "hand out samples".

Yes, a good pharmaceutical rep does do more than hand out samples, but they have a vested interest in promoting the medicines manufactured by the companies they represent. They wouldn't keep their job very long if they told the doctor, "Yes, our new product is good, but it isn't as effective as this other manufacturer's lower cost medicine, which has lower side effects and also has more independent studies with high efficacy results. Also, we recommend you prescribe this medicine very sparingly so it isn't over-prescribed like many antibiotics".

Given that, a doctor should research a little more on their own and look at alternatives to that medicine to see if that is the best choice or should it be prescribed as frequently as recommended by the rep.

When a doctor recommends a medicine, I ask them why they recommend that particular one, the dosage, side effects, etc. I also read the information that the pharmacist prints out when dispensing it, especially the side effects and will even ask them too, if I have a concern.

Edited February 19, 201610 yr by 4MRB4PHOTO

Time to change your GP.

Seeing a therapist might not be the worst thing if you are concerned about sliding back to old habits once you out of the WLS honeymoon phase. However if this was your surgeon's concern then he should have recommended therapy in addition to the WLS not in addition to WW.

You would do better to do a 3 or 6 month pre-op diet supervised by your surgeon's NUT than to do WW. At least she can teach you how you will need to eat after surgery and you can get a jump on weight loss while waiting for the surgery.

In looking at your stats you are on the lower end of the BMI range so maybe he thinks that surgery isn't appropriate since you are only at 37.5. Once again he should be able to better articulate that.

He just sounds like he is not up to date on WLS or maybe has had 1 or 2 patients that it didn't work out for. But how many patient's has he had that don't lose weight on WW, Jenny Craig, Medifast, South Beach, Atkins, Zone, cabbage diet etc... or gain it all back. He may not even realize how many since they likely don't tell him about their many diets so he likely doesn't realize the much higher failure rate of these diets. The WLS failures will stand out to him.

If I take my car to a mechanic and he says he doesn't know about BMWs. I take it to the dealership. Unless you live some place with one doctor I don't see the point I educating a doctor. Information is readily available. If they wanted to know they would.

I'm not going to educate a professional and pay them for their services also. What am I paying for?