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My WLS has a sign "Please tell us if you've been waiting more than 20 minutes". I have made use of that sign in the past. Usually when I am there for the doctor. I once waited 2 hours to see my orthopedist and even got a parking ticket! Very aggrevated! I have never in my life got a parking ticket. I am a corporate recruiter and I have been stood up or been made to wait more often by Hiring Managers than I have my doctors. Though admittedly some of them are making more than my doctors. I LOVE it when they are traveling to China or India and see me online at midnight my time and instant message me to say "I see you're working I have time to talk now". Great. So excited about that!

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In addition, when making your selection for a WLS surgeon, it is best to choose one who ONLY does WLS and is not a general surgeon, too. General surgeons have many emergencies that bariatric surgeons generally do not. So, waiting time would be more predictable.

Cleo's Mom, this is very good advice! Even though the first 3 docs I went to when looking for a WLS were actually WLS surgeons (but turned out not to be on my insurance ... even though they were listed on my insurer's website), by the time I found a surgeon that would do it, I was so frustrated I just said "okay!". It did not even occur to me that he was a general surgeon. I am pretty sure he had recently (within the last 2 or 3 years -- I spoke to some of his patients in the waiting room) started building his WLS practice. But still did general surgery as well. That said, it is a REALLY good idea to choose a surgeon that only does WLS. I am sure this suggestion will help a lot of pre-ops that are checking out this forum before making their decision to have WLS.

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Screw this some of you guys are making it seem like it is my fault i am out of here adios. Thought this was a support seems like you are ganging up i dont need this. Later have fun without me

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Cleo's Mom, this is very good advice! Even though the first 3 docs I went to when looking for a WLS were actually WLS surgeons (but turned out not to be on my insurance ... even though they were listed on my insurer's website), by the time I found a surgeon that would do it, I was so frustrated I just said "okay!". It did not even occur to me that he was a general surgeon. I am pretty sure he had recently (within the last 2 or 3 years -- I spoke to some of his patients in the waiting room) started building his WLS practice. But still did general surgery as well. That said, it is a REALLY good idea to choose a surgeon that only does WLS. I am sure this suggestion will help a lot of pre-ops that are checking out this forum before making their decision to have WLS.

I made the mistake of choosing a general surgeon, who along with his partner, jumped on the WLS bandwagon. I had several appointments canceled due to their emergencies and had a few long waits in the waiting room to see him. I switched to another doctor, who only does WLS, seven months after my surgery because of the realization that this former doctor had poor follow up skills and didn't know how the band worked, overfilled me, and then blamed me for the resulting problems.

That is why I offered the advice. I wish someone had offered it to me before I made my mistake.

Edited by Cleo's Mom

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Screw this some of you guys are making it seem like it is my fault i am out of here adios. Thought this was a support seems like you are ganging up i dont need this. Later have fun without me

This is a support forum...But did you ever just consider that there might be some truth in some of the stuff they said? If we were to just agree with you and make you think that being unnecessarily angry was ok, we wouldn't be very good at supporting you, would we?

I think you need to look at yourself. It's obvious you're not in the right head space at the moment. It's ok though, we've all been through it. The first step is to realise that you're not ok with yuor emotions...I think this htread and your last post (the one I'm quoting) is an obvious indication that there's some issues there.

All the best to you...I mean it...I didn't write this to make you feel sad or upset, I'm writing this to make you realise that you might need help.

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Let's look at this from different perspectives...yes our time as patients is important and doctor's offices often do overbook appointments. Many times this has nothing to do with the doctor personally( especially if he is in a practice with other physicians ) they often have someone else determining how many patients they have to see in a day and their support staff such as secretaries, receptionists, nurses etc, book the patients, Also, many days start off smooth and uneventful, but with sick folks you can't always predict...sometimes emergencies happen!!! I can speak from experience on both ends as a patient that has had to wait longer than I wanted and as a nurse that has worked in several different doctors offices...the doctors I have worked with were always looking for ways to make the process faster and to keep patients satisfied. We don't always know what is going on behind the scenes. I know it is frustrating, but the advice Betsy and others have offered is sound...try to relax, take a book with you or magazines and use as a "down time", if you have another pressing appointment, notify the receptionist and ask her to let the nurse know...if you still have to keep waiting if all else fails offer to reschedule or voice your complaints nicely...often they will not want to have to go through rescheduling and office managers monitor how many patients cancel or reschedule and try to find ways to help avoid this. I hope your next appointment goes better!

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    • BabySpoons

      Sometimes reading the posts here make me wonder if some people just weren't mentally ready for WLS and needed more time with the bariatric team psychiatrist. Complaining about the limited drink/food choices early on... blah..blah...blah. The living to eat mentality really needs to go and be replaced with eating to live. JS
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