Doctor Not Supportive??? PCP

Hello All! I am Jessica, I've been researching the WLS avenue for about 3 years. After watching probably thousands of videos on YouTube, having close friends experience it, and doing research here, on OH (Thank You!) I have decided that the RNY Gastric Bypass would be my best option for ME!

Yesterday I went to my PCP ,which is an Internal Medicine Doctor, had my annual stuff done, bloodwork, pap, and all that great stuff. So I told him I'm ready for a referral to a surgeon for WLS, and asked his take on it. His response was this...

"I'm an Internal Medicine Doctor, This is my opinion, and you can take it with a grain of salt, but I feel that the surgery is not a quick fix and it takes dicipline, and dedication." Which I TOTALLY agree with. But he also said that if a person can have that dicipline with the surgery , they should have the same without it. He wants me to wait 3 months, make an appt with him, then if I STILL want to proceed, then he would support it fully and do whatever it takes to help me.....But why do I have to wait. I feel I have the information I need, and I have been to a couple "meetings" and "seminars". IDK, I think I am very frustrated...Should I be???

This is what I think, I am NOT a doctor, or an expert in any way, however, I've probably had more conversations and done more research on this topic than him (I think lol) and I know the risks involved, and I definitely know that it's NOT EASY! But I DO believe it is a tool, something to help us get to a place personally where we are comfortable exersizing and being more active, and being more conscious of what we are putting in our mouth.

I turned 30 in January this year 2012, I have Plantar Faciatis on both feet, left is worse, and I am 350lbs. I joined Weigh****chers a few times, tried several diets, and different changes, and for whatever reason, it isn't working. I feel like I am ready to move forward, and I want to....

I guess I need to know, is this just me being frustrated? I don't want to wait for a referral, should I try to force the issue? Or should I just be patient??? HELP!!!!

Does your Insurance require you to have a referral? Can you just make an appointment without the referral? If I was you and you had made up your mind this is what you want I would go back to him and demand he give you a referral. It is your health and who is he to deny you the chance to live a healthier and longer life. You have to be your own advocate and fight for what you want.

Schedule some time to sit down with the doctor and tell him exactly what you just wrote.

My PCP was totally cool about it....he told me that if diet and exercise alone really worked for most people, then the obesity rate would be what it is.  My issue is I was starving all the time....I had a ravenous appetite and a dead metabolism.

This surgery allowed me to lose the weight while developing the good habits (diet AND exercise) that I'd need for life to keep it off.  It was not nor is it now a "quick fix".

Explain to your doctor that you are well aware of the changes required and the strict adherence to supplements.  And tell him that you'd appreciate his support in pproviding the referral so you can move forward with your life.

If he won't do it, find another doctor.

 I do disagree with the statement from your doctor that if you can have the discipline after surgery you can also have it before.  Not the case.  Since he is not an obese person ( I assume ) he doesn't know what it's like,

Since you have to have his approval to get to the next level maybe take this time to find a therapist to work on your issues with food during these months.  Fixing your mind first will make the surgery so much easier.  

I don't think you doctor is wrong for wanting you to wait.  Yes it is frustrating, but there are so many side effects that come along with this surgery.  You really, really, really have to want to do this and you have to be ready.  I don't think asking you to wait 3 months is too out of line.  But I do understand just wanting to start the process and get it done.  But think on it some more...really think.

It's a big change that lasts the rest of your life.

My PCP was not supportive at all. Would not even consider discussing it with me. At that time I was going for lap-band was 325pounds and had high blood pressure and diabetes three kids and a husband 11 yrs older than me. I had done the research and knew I needed the help only surgery could provide.

It sounds like your PCP is at least willing to discuss it and once he realizes you understand that it's not a quick fix will be reasonable. What I would do is make another appointment and discuss how long you have been researching and how much you understand. If you have never discussed this with him before he may think this is just a thought you are having and not a well researched change of life that you are ready to begin.

Some insurence companies require a 6 month pre-surgical doctor supervised weight loss plan. Does your ins require this? If so, then make sure you see your PCP at least once a month for weigh in.

Good luck with your PCP.

Christine

 in my opinion you should push foward, the reason i say this is because you dont know how long your pre op is going to be it could be from 1-6 months and in you wait for three months and add 6 months to get everything ready then that will be a 9 month total wait time..
just speak to him from the heart and tell him that you respect his opinion and that you have done extensive research in to WLS and that you feel your ready to take the step and that you cant do it with out his support, he know your medical history and he should be able to understand why you need it and want it.. bring up how your weight effects your everyday life...
remember to write all your attempts to loose weight and have them ready for your meeting with your surgeron

you could also find a surgeron on your own, one that is covered with by your insurance and set up a consultation with him.. thats what i did..

i talked to a surgeron that was covered by my insurance first and then i went in and asked for a referall( i was told by my surgeron that the insurance approves it faster if i had a referral from my pcp)
 this is how i see it
talk to a surgeron first at consultation, find out what kind of preop you need to do to have the surgery.. and those 3 months that your PCP wants you to wait use them to loose the weight that the surgeron is going to require that you loose..
after the 3 months and some weight loss tell your pcp that you still want the referral and are ready to take it to the next step...

sounds like a mess LOL!!! sorry i hope you understand
good luck in your journey and hope to see you in the looser bench soon!!

I would explain to your do why you don't want to wait three months and ask for the referral now.  If he refuses, I would find a new PCP.  It sounds like this doc doesn't quite understand how WLS works.  It is true that you have to have discipline and dedication after surgery.  But surgery makes those things easier.  When your stomach is the size of an egg instead of the size of a football, like it is now, it's a lot easier to exercise the discipline needed to eat only half a cup of food at a time.

If this was the first time your PCP had heard of this from you he may not know all that you have put in to this. I think you should explain to him how this works and that you have a very powerful new tool to help you lose and keep the weight off.
Now my opinion "you can take it with a grain of salt" lol
If you like this PCP, have had him for a while and otherwise all is OK it's just three months. You will be on this new road the rest of your life three months will go by pretty fast. That being said it may look bad with the surgeon and your ins if you change PCP's before you apply for WLS. They may see a red flag. At 30 years old you are a spring chicken. You got time.
I think I may be the only one who sees this side.

why would they see it as a red flag and what kind of red flag?  A flag that indicated she wanted a PCP that supports WLS?  What's wrong with that?

I did exactly that, and my insurance company didn't say anything about it. After the 6 months of PCP visits, I was approved very quickly.

My previous PCP did not support the idea of WLS and kept telling me all I needed to do was eat less and exercise more. I finally got tired of trying to do that and went to a new doc that my friend recommended. On my first visit I brought up the idea of gastric bypass surgery and he said I seemed like a good candidate for it. Turns out his wife had RNY. She lost about 100 lbs and kept it off for several years. I was so happy to have a supportive doctor I could have hugged him! I only wish I hadn't wasted so much time listening to my previous doc! He counted that initial visit as my first of the 6 required visits and I had surgery a couple weeks after the 6th visit.