Surgeon is still a douche

I found out that my surgeon is basically putting me through hell for his own amusement. He wants me to loose massive amounts of weight pre op and as you know or i wouldn't be here I'm a light weight AND i have medicare which does NOT require any kind of pre op diet or supervised weight loss!!!! Tomorrow is my weigh in and then he will decide if he is going to do the surgery. I'm not sure if I've lost any weight but tomorrow will be a big day then if it goes well Monday will be HOPEFULLY my last weigh in before surgery. CUZ I"M LOOSING MY MIND WITH ALL OF THIS. I cry all of the time and I can't take it any more. I am so stressed out before each appointment all I WANT to do is smoke and eat, neither of which I can do!!!! I get sick to my stomach and cant sleep. Tonight will be no different i'm  sure. I DID make an appointment for a free seminar with different surgeon if my present surgeon cancels. I'm done with this guy treating me like the enemy. He is supposed to be helping me not making me feel like a huge loser!!!!  On an up note, I started the couch to 5k. Tomorrow is week 1 day 3 I am flying through it which is a huge accomplishment for me. It's a good thing that I quit smoking or I'd never be able to do this. I can't wait till I finish the program and can run a whole 5k without taking walking breaks.

He's trying to get you to quit with him so he doesn't have to do your surgery. Does he get less money from Medicare than regular insurance? Does anyone know? Sounds like he's trying to scare you off.  

You're doing great with your 5K and all the rest. Keep us posted and good luck!

--gina

doesn't every dr get less for every service with  Medicare? that was my impression. and wouldn't she be on medicaid onstead of medicare/

Not sure if they get less as the rest of the insurance companies base their reimbursement rate on what Medicare pays. But many do not want to deal with government controlled insurance plans. Esp since they don't do a pre-approval process, they reimburse AFTER the procedure IF it is a covered one...maybe!

Medicare is different from Medicaid. Medicaid is state issued/controlled. Medicare is federal based. Medicaid is income based, Medicare is based on other factors, age/work history/etc but income is not a factor. 

Liz

 

Yeah, I'm sure that's it. They won't pre-authorize so there is a chance he won't get paid and a lot of surgeons won't even take it so I bet he's having second thoughts.

Thanks about the 5k, I just made it through week one and did really well. No cheating no breaks I did the whole work outs which for me is a major feat. Also my son goes with me. He of course runs the whole time, my track star, but he said that my pace has gotten quicker also :D

i was weighed and lost 3.2 lbs BUT the nurse said that wasn't good enough and she'd have to talk to the surgeon and call me later.

Be sure to focus on how far you've already come. Your accomplishments are part of the journey.

Ugh!  I know you are between a rock and a hard place right now, but I would be so tempted to tell that nurse that her attitude change isnt "good enough" and that *you* would have to talk to the surgeon and call *her* later.  What a downer! 

Be proud of your accomplishments (including not telling off that nurse), and go see that other doctor.  Maybe this was meant to be.

Isn't there another doctor u could use? I'd be leery of a doc who made me feel so UGH! about the surgery. This journey is hard enough without having to deal with so much resistance from him and his staff. Sorry you're having to go through that.