Dr Refuses to Fill two in row -- yelled at me and said not to tell him how to practice medicine when i asked how much he was filling

[suf1987 0]

I am so depressed. i have been the best patient and never once have complained -- i got banded April 29 2010 -- so i am coming up on a year (keep that in mind).

I dont want to say my dr's name yet. But I weighed 224 at the band. and i was 192 last weigh in. Ive been 192 since last summer. i got down to 184 but i had some phentermine for a month and that really helped. but obviously i dont want to continue with those since i had a lap band for $13K which i paid out of pocket.

Anyway--in january -- he wouldnt fill. said it's fine. i said i was hungry and the indication on the color chart was yellow, but he said he knew better. he said -- "dont become a fill-aholic." he has said this so many times.

then february -- i lost bec of the phentermine. he said i was in the zone and didnt need a fill. i was still 30 lbs from goal. HE DIDNT EVEN LOOK AT THE BAND. he didnt exray or anything.

fine i respected his decision.

Now i went in last week and i had gained up to 192 -- he says NO FILL. again. i asked him why and he said the liquid i drank on the exray was going thru fine. but i am hungry i said. and can eat more than i should as if i have no band at all. i havent had a fill since December and i havent lost..."

he says, "FINE OK, I WILL FILL YOU A LITTLE BIT"

i lay down for the fill and as he has the needle in me i say "so how much are you going to put in?"

he says, and i quote:

"DONT TELL ME HOW TO PRACTICE MEDICINE!"

as soon as the needle was out i told him i wont be back -- i dont care if i have two free fills before my year is up. I told him i have every right to know how much he is injecting into my body. that's not telling him how to practice medicine, it's being an informed patient and i wont tolerate this. i told him i have referred patients to him and now i will not.

he immediately started groveling like a weirdo -- said he's in physical pain bec of a surgery -- to which i said "i dont care. dont come to work if you cant be civil to your patient who spent $13 thousand dollars" he said he's just had a bad day. said he put 3/10 of a ml. or whatever into my band. which is like nothing.

i feel depressed and like i wasted my money. i will have to go to another dr and get fills and pay for it. i have to beg this guy to fill me. i have been a perfect patient. never hassling him. always on time to appts. always follow directions. then he has the nerve to not tell me what he's injecting?

NO -- i hate this guy.

i know the lap band is just a tool. but it's a tool that is supposed to restrict the amount of food i can fit in my stomach and i am supposed to get satiated with less food bec it takes longer to go thru to my big stomach -- sorry for the juvenile words.

but you know what? aside from not being able to eat some foods bec they get stuck - i have no difference. i dont know how much my band is at now - i would guess 5.3 maybe but this guy makes me feel so helpless i can't stand it. i have NO SAY in my treatment. i UNDERSTAND he's the expert and i need to defer to his expertise

BUT HE DOESNT EVEN LISTEN TO ME IN ORDER FOR HIM TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

i tell him i am hungry

i tell him i can eat more than a cup of food

he sees that my pouch is not stretched out or misaligned

and yet he refuses to fill me -- why?

it's not bec he says i need to learn -- he says its bec the exray indicates the liquid is going thru like it's supposed to

ISNT he supposed to take other factors into account? like my physical description?

OBVIOUSLY something is wrong -- i havent lost since AUGUST!!!!!

i have two fills left til i have to start paying $100 each -- do you think that's the real culprit here?

i do

i hate him

[Noturningback15 45]

Your story almost sounds like mine. I would ask questions about how much I was getting and telling her I think I needed more and she always followed with rude remarks. She asked me how many patients did I have and not to worry about the numbers but how I feel...blah...blah...blah. I was paying her money and not the other way around so I switched doctors and I am in heaven now. I don't even have to ask how much I got now. He ask me how I am doing and assess my loss. He will say okay I will give you .5 cc's and we will see how that works or whatever the amount is. I love that! I was with that old place for over 7 months and wasn't losting and that messed my year up almost. I started losing so much better when I left. Encouragement is a big part of losing as well.

[reverie 49]

New doctor, definitely. I have no experience in getting fills but that seems ridiculous. I do agree with his "fill-aholic" comment, which some do become, but in your case it's obvious that you're not at a reasonable restriction and you're not one of those patients with an extremely tight band, otherwise you'd not be so hungry/using other weight loss methods.

Sorry you've had to go through all that! It amazes me how some doctors can treat their patients. Maybe you can find a doctor on here who is in your area and has patients who post here.

Good luck!

[dits4golf 0]

It's time to seek another Dr.......

[suf1987 0]

thank you so much. I am so grateful for your reply. I have hope again. I saw a post i sent last july where i was 198 - 6 lbs since JULY!??? OMG i feel like i have been ripped off. 8 months and nothing has changed but a trickle of 6 lbs and i just dont get it.

i am so bummed

I have an iPhone app and i have been keeping track -- i am only 6 cc filled out of a 10 cc band. i have never been as hi as this i dont think. i would have to check my chart. I dont get accurate info from him. he tries to be very evasive. i dont like him smiling at me saying "dont worry about that" when i ask him how much i have in me -- well it's important bec i track it on my iPhone app and i need to know what is most effective.

Anyway -- if anyone has any referrals to a good fill dr in the north houston conroe The Woodlands area i would appreciate it. thanks

Your story almost sounds like mine. I would ask questions about how much I was getting and telling her I think I needed more and she always followed with rude remarks. She asked me how many patients did I have and not to worry about the numbers but how I feel...blah...blah...blah. I was paying her money and not the other way around so I switched doctors and I am in heaven now. I don't even have to ask how much I got now. He ask me how I am doing and assess my loss. He will say okay I will give you .5 cc's and we will see how that works or whatever the amount is. I love that! I was with that old place for over 7 months and wasn't losting and that messed my year up almost. I started losing so much better when I left. Encouragement is a big part of losing as well.

[suf1987 0]

Again -- thank you so much for taking the time to post this. i am either 5.9 or 6 ccs and havent lost since june or july -- since the initial band placement really.

I am looking in The Woodlands TX for an alternative to this guy. He seems to me to be scamming me until i have to pay out of pocket -- i had one year of "free" fills under the original $13K i paid him. Funny -- April 29 he said i have to start paying...and he hasn't filled me the last 3 times.

I think i should get 12 free fills -- regardless of when they are. Just bec he doesnt think it's right to adjust me doesnt mean i am not due ...

New doctor, definitely. I have no experience in getting fills but that seems ridiculous. I do agree with his "fill-aholic" comment, which some do become, but in your case it's obvious that you're not at a reasonable restriction and you're not one of those patients with an extremely tight band, otherwise you'd not be so hungry/using other weight loss methods.

Sorry you've had to go through all that! It amazes me how some doctors can treat their patients. Maybe you can find a doctor on here who is in your area and has patients who post here.

Good luck!

[suf1987 0]

Yeah unfortunately - i thought i would be near goal by now. almost a year later. make me sad. I know there is a Dr. Wilkenfeld nearby. This current dr i see bad mouthed him -- maybe that should have been my first sign!

It's time to seek another Dr.......

[dcowens 2]

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had such a rough experience. I would not have tolerated that either. I wish you the best in your future fills and with your future fill Doctor. =/

[RGinHB 0]

I am so depressed. i have been the best patient and never once have complained -- i got banded April 29 2010 -- so i am coming up on a year (keep that in mind).

I dont want to say my dr's name yet. But I weighed 224 at the band. and i was 192 last weigh in. Ive been 192 since last summer. i got down to 184 but i had some phentermine for a month and that really helped. but obviously i dont want to continue with those since i had a lap band for $13K which i paid out of pocket.

Anyway--in january -- he wouldnt fill. said it's fine. i said i was hungry and the indication on the color chart was yellow, but he said he knew better. he said -- "dont become a fill-aholic." he has said this so many times.

then february -- i lost bec of the phentermine. he said i was in the zone and didnt need a fill. i was still 30 lbs from goal. HE DIDNT EVEN LOOK AT THE BAND. he didnt exray or anything.

fine i respected his decision.

Now i went in last week and i had gained up to 192 -- he says NO FILL. again. i asked him why and he said the liquid i drank on the exray was going thru fine. but i am hungry i said. and can eat more than i should as if i have no band at all. i havent had a fill since December and i havent lost..."

he says, "FINE OK, I WILL FILL YOU A LITTLE BIT"

i lay down for the fill and as he has the needle in me i say "so how much are you going to put in?"

he says, and i quote:

"DONT TELL ME HOW TO PRACTICE MEDICINE!"

as soon as the needle was out i told him i wont be back -- i dont care if i have two free fills before my year is up. I told him i have every right to know how much he is injecting into my body. that's not telling him how to practice medicine, it's being an informed patient and i wont tolerate this. i told him i have referred patients to him and now i will not.

he immediately started groveling like a weirdo -- said he's in physical pain bec of a surgery -- to which i said "i dont care. dont come to work if you cant be civil to your patient who spent $13 thousand dollars" he said he's just had a bad day. said he put 3/10 of a ml. or whatever into my band. which is like nothing.

i feel depressed and like i wasted my money. i will have to go to another dr and get fills and pay for it. i have to beg this guy to fill me. i have been a perfect patient. never hassling him. always on time to appts. always follow directions. then he has the nerve to not tell me what he's injecting?

NO -- i hate this guy.

i know the lap band is just a tool. but it's a tool that is supposed to restrict the amount of food i can fit in my stomach and i am supposed to get satiated with less food bec it takes longer to go thru to my big stomach -- sorry for the juvenile words.

but you know what? aside from not being able to eat some foods bec they get stuck - i have no difference. i dont know how much my band is at now - i would guess 5.3 maybe but this guy makes me feel so helpless i can't stand it. i have NO SAY in my treatment. i UNDERSTAND he's the expert and i need to defer to his expertise

BUT HE DOESNT EVEN LISTEN TO ME IN ORDER FOR HIM TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

i tell him i am hungry

i tell him i can eat more than a cup of food

he sees that my pouch is not stretched out or misaligned

and yet he refuses to fill me -- why?

it's not bec he says i need to learn -- he says its bec the exray indicates the liquid is going thru like it's supposed to

ISNT he supposed to take other factors into account? like my physical description?

OBVIOUSLY something is wrong -- i havent lost since AUGUST!!!!!

i have two fills left til i have to start paying $100 each -- do you think that's the real culprit here?

i do

i hate him

[RGinHB 0]

suf1987.....Don't let this jackass get to you. You have gone far too long without any encouraging weight loss. Find a new Dr. and pay for your fills if you must. We are all here to support eachother.Don't let someone take away your success. The meds you mentioned, are they diet pills? You really should not need those if you are adjusted properly. If I have learned one thing with this surgery, is that you must work with it and not against it. Pay attention to your feelings and how much and what you are eating. This will be a lifelong process for most of us. We must change the way we feel about food to be successful. Hope the best for you.

RGinHB

[AquarianCrab 8]

I'm 8 weeks out and haven't had a fill yet. My surgeon told me at my last visit that as long as I weigh in less than the time before, no fill. He said fills should be done slowly, each time a plateau of no weight loss occurs. He said that after each fill I'll lose but eventually my body will get used to the situation and will need another jump start (fill) to resume losing and if the band is filled too much too soon your body gets used to it and you can't lose any more.

I'm not worried, because although I can eat 2 slices of pizza, it's way less than before my surgery when I'd eat 6. My husband is amazed at how I'm eating less than half the amount of food I ate before. Before my surgery if it tasted good, I kept on going until I was ready to burst. Now I'm rarely actually hungry and sometimes have to check the clock and force myself to eat.

[Melissannde 41]

While I understand hating to give up the 200.00 in free fills.. if you're not getting them or have to argue to get what you need.. what's the point??

If you want to give this guy one more try, I'd take in a weeks worth of my food diary to show him. Maybe that would help. On the other hand, it might give him more ammunition to say "you're not doing this right". I dunno. I don't have an adversarial or parental relationship with my surgeon, so I can't imagine. I never see my surgeon unless it's to pass him in the hallway.. nurses do all my fills/followup. And I've only had to press for my first fill.. and the nurse wasn't gung-ho on doing it cause I was loosing well.. but I insisted that I was too hungry and she gave in and gave me 1cc.

I'm not sure if either of these two docs are in your part of Houston, (or even if either of them are the idiot you're currently dealing with) but I recently met two at the TABS conference in Dallas.. and they were personable and good to talk to in a non patient-doctor relationship. Dr. Davis (he's involved with the Big Medicine TV show.. which I've never seen) and Dr. Duc Vuong (calls himself "the support surgeon"). I took an art therapy session with Dr. Vuong.. he's a character. I do know he won't do fills on patients who don't attend support group... or at least he states that on one of his sites.

I think I'd be looking for a new doc too. Best of luck to you.

[Paulax 8]

as soon as the needle was out i told him i wont be back -- i dont care if i have two free fills before my year is up. I told him i have every right to know how much he is injecting into my body. that's not telling him how to practice medicine, it's being an informed patient and i wont tolerate this. i told him i have referred patients to him and now i will not.

I think you reacted very well here. Your words were concise and to the point. Good for you girl. The time alone that you have not had a fill indicates to me, a 5 year veteran, that he may have helped you with a small fill. Did that fill he gave you kick in?

i feel depressed and like i wasted my money. i will have to go to another dr and get fills and pay for it. i have to beg this guy to fill me. i have been a perfect patient. never hassling him. always on time to appts. always follow directions. then he has the nerve to not tell me what he's injecting? I hope you have made that point that you have been a perfect patient, not complaining. That doc should LOVE you and be willing to help you get to goal.

And I agree with the other poster, you have every single right to know how much fill you have in your band. I have kept track for 5 years, I know every single month and weight associated with that fill. AND I refer to it all the time.

i have two fills left til i have to start paying $100 each -- do you think that's the real culprit here? I was thinking about the same thing with my new guy. My surgeon is a 4 hour drive and I found a close one. In Canada, that is hard to find. Dr. Newguy, charges $125 for fills and I could care less. I save at least that not eating out and when I get to a good fill I can coast for a time.

I don't kwow what you want to do. Go in with a confident attitude, tell him you have every right to know your fill. You want to keep track of it. Tell him you need another fill and then you won't bug him for awhile.

or

get a new doc, but I'd be fighting for my free fills......you never know, he might be sheepish or have a completely different attitude next time you go in.

hugs

no one needs this crap, especially from the doc who is suppose to be rooting for you to get to goal.

[Medic1969 0]

I am so depressed. i have been the best patient and never once have complained -- i got banded April 29 2010 -- so i am coming up on a year (keep that in mind).

I dont want to say my dr's name yet. But I weighed 224 at the band. and i was 192 last weigh in. Ive been 192 since last summer. i got down to 184 but i had some phentermine for a month and that really helped. but obviously i dont want to continue with those since i had a lap band for $13K which i paid out of pocket.

Anyway--in january -- he wouldnt fill. said it's fine. i said i was hungry and the indication on the color chart was yellow, but he said he knew better. he said -- "dont become a fill-aholic." he has said this so many times.

then february -- i lost bec of the phentermine. he said i was in the zone and didnt need a fill. i was still 30 lbs from goal. HE DIDNT EVEN LOOK AT THE BAND. he didnt exray or anything.

fine i respected his decision.

Now i went in last week and i had gained up to 192 -- he says NO FILL. again. i asked him why and he said the liquid i drank on the exray was going thru fine. but i am hungry i said. and can eat more than i should as if i have no band at all. i havent had a fill since December and i havent lost..."

he says, "FINE OK, I WILL FILL YOU A LITTLE BIT"

i lay down for the fill and as he has the needle in me i say "so how much are you going to put in?"

he says, and i quote:

"DONT TELL ME HOW TO PRACTICE MEDICINE!"

as soon as the needle was out i told him i wont be back -- i dont care if i have two free fills before my year is up. I told him i have every right to know how much he is injecting into my body. that's not telling him how to practice medicine, it's being an informed patient and i wont tolerate this. i told him i have referred patients to him and now i will not.

he immediately started groveling like a weirdo -- said he's in physical pain bec of a surgery -- to which i said "i dont care. dont come to work if you cant be civil to your patient who spent $13 thousand dollars" he said he's just had a bad day. said he put 3/10 of a ml. or whatever into my band. which is like nothing.

i feel depressed and like i wasted my money. i will have to go to another dr and get fills and pay for it. i have to beg this guy to fill me. i have been a perfect patient. never hassling him. always on time to appts. always follow directions. then he has the nerve to not tell me what he's injecting?

NO -- i hate this guy.

i know the lap band is just a tool. but it's a tool that is supposed to restrict the amount of food i can fit in my stomach and i am supposed to get satiated with less food bec it takes longer to go thru to my big stomach -- sorry for the juvenile words.

but you know what? aside from not being able to eat some foods bec they get stuck - i have no difference. i dont know how much my band is at now - i would guess 5.3 maybe but this guy makes me feel so helpless i can't stand it. i have NO SAY in my treatment. i UNDERSTAND he's the expert and i need to defer to his expertise

BUT HE DOESNT EVEN LISTEN TO ME IN ORDER FOR HIM TO MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION.

i tell him i am hungry

i tell him i can eat more than a cup of food

he sees that my pouch is not stretched out or misaligned

and yet he refuses to fill me -- why?

it's not bec he says i need to learn -- he says its bec the exray indicates the liquid is going thru like it's supposed to

ISNT he supposed to take other factors into account? like my physical description?

OBVIOUSLY something is wrong -- i havent lost since AUGUST!!!!!

i have two fills left til i have to start paying $100 each -- do you think that's the real culprit here?

i do

i hate him

[Medic1969 0]

Soory for the no reply i was still swearing. just my opinion but he would have been fired right then and there. You keep your head up.