So my primary care physician is a very nice lady in her late 50's or early 60's. I have been going to her for many years and she's wonderfully kind and supportive about just about everything under the sun except my struggles with weight loss.

For years she has given me bogus advice. Once she sent me to this super-crunchy-granola nutritionist friend of hers that made me answer a 10-page survey about my poop and pooping habits. Then tried to tell me I was 80 lbs overweight because my gut flora was all out of whack and all I needed was hundreds of dollars of her special-order supplements each month.

Thanks but no thanks.

Then my doctor recommended going to Curves. While I'm sure that is a fabulous suggestion for many sedentary fat people, I am and have been for several years a regular runner. Periodically I get involved in some other kind of activity too-- flag football league with coworkers, a couple months of boot camp, lifting weights at the gym, etc. In other words, her recommending that joining a gym is my solution came across as kind of insulting. I kinda have that angle covered.

For years I have begged her to prescribe me medications to help me lose weight, to no avail. She is, for a standard-issue medical doctor, awful conservative when it comes to such things. She'd never agree, for example, to Xenical or Meridien or anything like that for me. I knew she'd never, ever countenance the thought of recommending a lap band for me either, but I went and got one in spite of that (in Mexico, on my own dime).

She got really, really judgy when I went to see her in December for my regular "well woman" exam and told her about the lap band. I expected it but was still kind of hurt by it.

In any case, I think it is time for me to move on and find a better doctor. One that will be a little more understanding than she is, and possibly one that will explore the possibility of some kind of appetite suppressant medication for me, at the very least. Any ideas of how to perform a search for someone like that?

I live in Atlanta, so if there are any Atlanta-area folks that have a fantastic doctor they'd like to recommend, I'm all ears.

I would begin by asking your friends and/or co-workers for recommendations. Honestly, I live in Atlanta, and think we have some of the best primary care doctors here, but medical weight loss is still a pretty new area for them. What you need is a caring and open-minded physician. You may need a Bariatric Specialist for a weight loss prescription, but a good primary care doctor will help you find one, and work with them to help monitor your weight loss.

My primary care doctor had been telling me for years to lose weight. he gave me the AMA dietary guidelines, told be to try South Beach...all very general things. When I told him I decided to get the lap-band surgery, he was very supportive. He gave me my pre-op clearance, and told me to check in with him in 3 months for bloodwork, so we could re-check a few of my levels, and make any necessary medication changes (cholesterol RX and acid reflux Rx). I felt like he was working with me, not humoring me.

i've been "obese" since i was 8 years old. Other than the pediatrician I had at that age, NONE of my PCPs have ever told me to lose weight. i think that's a bad thing.

if you think for one second that your doc is judging you, get a new one! shop around. set up appts for consults. don't settle.