My PCP won't support my WLS decision

HELP!!! My primary care physician will not support my decision to have WLS. He refuses to sign a letter of support and submit my medical records. He actually got on the phone with me after my repeated attempts to get him to send my records to my surgeon and said that he wants to see me first before I have my consultation appointment on 2/14 !!! He said that I am not 300-400 lbs, and that it is not necessary, that there's lots of complications involved with WLS, and that I need to work harder at trying to lose the weight myself. What Now????

Hi Donna, Few things to consider. Are you morbidly obese? Do you have co-morbities? Have you tried for over 1 year to lose weight on your own? And is that documented? I can answer all of those with a yes prior to my WLS. I had it all. And if you do too, then I would recommend that you find another PCP who will support your decision. Most insurance companies want some/all of those items mentioned in the first paragraph. Documentation. Otherwise they may not cover it. Just what I think. I fought for nearly 10 years to get this. I did my homework, researched, fought with PCP after PCP, and went on 100's of diets, lost and failed, and finally, was able to accomplish my dream in 2005. Don't give up. Are you at least 100 lbs overweight? Or more? I was close to 200 lbs overweight my ideal weight. And my BMI when I began this was 67. It's now down to 26. Hope this helps Stacey W

Do you have an OB/GYN that has access to these records? I think he/she would support you.

GET AN NEW, SUPPORTIVE PCP NOW AND DON'T LOOK BACK!!! Find one that is supportive of wls, then have your records transferred to them, then in turn to your surgeon. I would NOT go to a Dr. that wasn't behind me on this life-changing prospect. Does he think you just all of a sudden decided to do this? I mean, there is lots of research and soul-searching done before you came to this conclusion, right? I'm afraid that would ruin my relationship with with my pcp. Best of luck to you! Theresa

You might try changing PCP's but you will need to have at least 6 months to one year DOCUMENTED medical weight loss. If your PCP doesn't agree with your decision, talk to someone else. Another doctor can get your medical records. You can get them also, they are yours, not the doctor's. You might have to pay for them but they have to make you a copy.

I completely agree with the others. If you are significantly overweight and have one or more co-morbidities then see your ob/gyn or perhaps a new pcp that can have your records transferred over. Then they can help you or maybe if you do some research and then see your pcp maybe you can sway him to re-consider this. I wish I could be more help, I have seen lots of people on here have similar problems to yours so i'm sure they will be better at this. but know that I am here for ya if you need someone to vent on ! good luck and let us know ! ~~Rona

Thanks, Everyone for your kind words & support !!! I'm seriously thinking of changing my pcp. Just hung up the phone with my surgeon's office and they referred me to another doctor. I'll keep you posted !!

FIRE your PCP and don't look back!!~!!!!!! find one that is Weight Loss Surgery Friendly. You only have to be 100 pounds overweight to qualiffy for the surgery. go for the gusto you deserve it. Carla Klein Centennial Colorado/Chicago/Dewitt Mi

Get a new one. There is no sense in arguing with a fool. kp

Your PCP must have some valid reasons, or a profound prejudice against the surgery. Why not sit down with him and discuss those reasons? We make it sound like a wonderful thing here, but we don't always mention that we can't take asprin or any nsaids anymore. Not a big deal, until you are told that your pericardium is holding fluid against your heart, and that treatment for the inflammation is nsaids and asprin. Yes, I got out of the hospital this morning, not cured, not curable without risking almost certain ulcers. We eat strangely, and we will have to do so long after the cravings for "normal" foods and normal portions have returned. We start out satisfied with very little, and then start pushing the boundaries to see how much sugar we can tolerate, how many ounces of food we can hold, how few vitamins we can get away with taking. In other words, we learn to beat the system we wanted so badly in the first place. If you could get a solid survey of wls patients at various time points you would hear about head hunger and emotional eating coming back. You would hear about grazing and secret eating. You would hear about a sizeable percentage of lost weight returning. OH is skewed, the long timers here are working hard to stay thin or return to thin but many, many who suffered the surgery and enjoyed the wows went back to fat because that is where their head wanted them to be. Please, think this through. If you are 100 pounds overweight and only lose 40, will you be happy? Will you fight to keep those forty off? Do you have the money to pay for any future medical needs resulting from wls? Changing insurance companies can cut coverage. It happens frequently. Have you started working with a therapist? Can you afford to? Will you? Will you go to support groups, official and unofficial? Will you count on your family or friends for support? Your doctor is doing you a favor by making you think harder about this. See what it will take on your part to make him change his mind.