PCP Against WLS

Frankly, my opinion- good guy or not, fire him and find another.. ANY Dr. who ignores the facts that diet & exercise with or without therapy FAILS 95% of the time to get people to a normal healthier (not skinny, but not MO) weight and KEEP them there is in my opinion bordering on malpractice.. No other medically recognized disease gets as much discrimination within the medical community as obesity does.. Think of it this way, if he recommended bio-feedback an herbalism to deal with breast cancer, how long do you think he'd be in business? Why is obesity treated any different? Because many see it as a moral shortcoming.. can't control what we shovel into our mouths.. never mind the overwhelming amount of research that points to the fact that once a certain threshold is crossed, the ability to diet and lose and maintain that loss is next to nil without medical intervention (and even with medical intervention, the odds are just barely in our favor long term for staying out of the obese category- stats range from 55-60% with the VSG to 85-95% with the DS.) Find someone more up to date.. you need to be your own medical advocate, this may be where it needs to start.

I was going to reply, but then Jo said everything I was thinking.

Do you have a surgeon in mind?  If so, try calling their office and ask if they can recommend a PCP.  Often they will know who is most helpful to their patients. 

You will need your PCP after surgery, for lab work and follow up for non-surgical issues that may arise.  You don't need to feel like that person is judging your or non-supportive.

I got stuck in this spot and promptly fired my PCP (who is, ironicly, obese).

My dr has never ref anyone out for the surgery either and had confidence that I could do it on my own. He followed me from Oct 2011-June 2012 and in that time I did lose about 32 lbs but still have a long way to go. I am dinah scheduled for surgery next Friday. My dr told me that he feels like to many people get the surgery thinking its magic and it isn't. You still have to do the work. I'm the first pt he has ever recommended for the surgery but that is because he followed me for so long (I was seeing him weekly or bi-weekly to get weighed in) and he seen me losing on my own and making the changes that needed to be made for me to succeed after the surgery. I was aggravated at first that it was dragging but I'm thankful now because had I done the surgery when I "wanted" it I wouldn't have been successful because I wouldnt have made the changes needed to succeed. I will admit I am not 100% ready but I don't think I can be. You never know what the after will be like till you are there. I would figure out what your insurance requires and talk to your dr and show him how serious you are to make the changes and if he still can't get on the same page as you then find another dr.

I tend to agree with everyone else on this topic. In my case, I had a doctor who was part of a team. So I didn't always get to see him, but it was just convenient. When I went to my first WLS informational meeting, I stayed after to talk to the nurse who told me that doesn't always work out well for patients. So she told me to call her the following day and she gave me a list of PCPs who were familiar with WLS. You might want to try the same with the surgeons you are thinking about seeing. Good luck!

Mine gave me a lecture and made me feel stupid for getting the surgery. She still gave me the tests I needed and signed the paperwork "only because it's medically indicated" and I got a new PCP a week later. I blogged about it here (look back to my entries from May/June I think?). Anyway... find another one. Ask your surgery for suggestions.

 Wow...  Thanks SO much, everyone, for all the encouragement!  I am checking to see if the surgeon I'm interested in using requires a referral or not.  I have BC/BS so maybe not - ?  Anyway, I have also checked with others in my area and have gotten some good PCP suggestions - some are even in the same "group" as mine(!) - which would be sorta awkward, but oh well...!

Now to get 100% convinced *myself* that this is the way for me to go...!  It's so scary, but I'm also very tired of being "stuck" in this condition.  Yesterday, I just hadn't thought I'd immediately hit a doctor hurdle and was just starting to "ask" - so now I need to do some more reading and thinking and praying and get brave enough to go for it... !!!!

Yup, good plan.

My surgeon required my PCP to sign off and because I was cash pay, I asked her to order the tests I needed so the insurance would pay for that portion.

Hang in there. It sucks when the people you need behind you aren't. :(

Your PCP is probably one of the few PCPs who has this view on bariatric surgery!! I was very nervous asking my PCP about it because I was scared of what he would say. Needless to say, he shocked me at how supportive and positive he was! But even if he would have been negative about it, I was still going to get this surgery! I put in the research, plus I have a brother and sister who had bariatric surgery (one in Mexico & one with Dr. Smith in Atlanta). So I have seen first hand that bariatric surgery DOES work!! One is 5 years out and one is 4 years out, and they have done awesome! They both weighed almost 400 lbs., and are now at healthy weights. Believe in yourself and this surgery!! Good luck!

I went through the same thing as well.  My PCP wasn't into it at all and gave me the diet and excercise more talk.  He is all into the sports medicine, so he didn't want anything to do with it.  I went mostly to my OB/GYN and she didn't really take a side.  I just prepared all my paperwork, had my PCP send in all my records, and that was it.  I did it without him, whether he liked it or not - it was MY choice, not his!  Good luck!