Has anyone had their Dr's not support their WLS decision?

[ginajeans 4]

Hi all,

Earlier this week I had a physical exam with one of my doctors a GYN and informed her I was in the process of being approved for weight loss surgery. She shook her head and the first thing out of her mouth was Ut uh. She then went on about how having your bowels rerouted is a bad idea and starting going on about malabsorption. I stopped her and tried to explain that with the sleeve bowels are not rerouted and malabsorption issue are minor if nothing compared to the other surgeries. She didn't seem to be familiar with the sleeve gastrectomy. I respect her as a physician and surgeon, I was just very disappointed that instead of getting more information from me she just shut me down. Here is the big kicker, she said if you want to do something drastic why not try the HCG diet. I was stunned. I feel like there is far more statistical information on the Sleeve than the HCG diet. She was serious too, she referred me to a local ARNP who provides the treatment. A few weeks before I saw my PCP who told me that WLS is too drastic and wanted me to do anything else.

I am 31 years old I have been overweight most of my life. I am experiencing joint and foot pains that make me feel like I am a much older person. My BMI is 41. I have been on and off diets since I was 8. Isn't it enough to consider WLS?

My surgeon feels I am a good candidate and the nutritionist I am working with thinks so too. I have made up my mind and am going to have this surgery. I know that this is best for me. I just assumed I would have more support from my medical "team". Have any of you been told by your doctors that they did not support your decision for WLS?

*On a positive note: I have lost 10lbs since working with the nutritionist. I have completed my EGD and psych eval and am just waiting to complete my 6month insurance required nutrition program I should be done in September.

[wishes 125]

Wow, I am so sorry your medical team hasn't been more supportive, but you have everyone here on this forum rooting for you. Thank you for sharing your story, and you are not alone. Some physicians just haven't caught up to the curve yet, I mean even Medicare and Tricare are still saying the VSG is investigational.

Also, I feel ya on the 6MSWL. I will be done August 1st and it can't seem to come soon enough. I am hoping for surgery September 2nd. Good luck on your journey!

[myrori 55]

Hi all,

Earlier this week I had a physical exam with one of my doctors a GYN and informed her I was in the process of being approved for weight loss surgery. She shook her head and the first thing out of her mouth was Ut uh. She then went on about how having your bowels rerouted is a bad idea and starting going on about malabsorption. I stopped her and tried to explain that with the sleeve bowels are not rerouted and malabsorption issue are minor if nothing compared to the other surgeries. She didn't seem to be familiar with the sleeve gastrectomy. I respect her as a physician and surgeon, I was just very disappointed that instead of getting more information from me she just shut me down. Here is the big kicker, she said if you want to do something drastic why not try the HCG diet. I was stunned. I feel like there is far more statistical information on the Sleeve than the HCG diet. She was serious too, she referred me to a local ARNP who provides the treatment. A few weeks before I saw my PCP who told me that WLS is too drastic and wanted me to do anything else.

I am 31 years old I have been overweight most of my life. I am experiencing joint and foot pains that make me feel like I am a much older person. My BMI is 41. I have been on and off diets since I was 8. Isn't it enough to consider WLS?

My surgeon feels I am a good candidate and the nutritionist I am working with thinks so too. I have made up my mind and am going to have this surgery. I know that this is best for me. I just assumed I would have more support from my medical "team". Have any of you been told by your doctors that they did not support your decision for WLS?

*On a positive note: I have lost 10lbs since working with the nutritionist. I have completed my EGD and psych eval and am just waiting to complete my 6month insurance required nutrition program I should be done in September.

Doctors are just people with opinions, sometimes not educated ones. My doctor did not have a clue what VSG was and kept pushing the lap band on me. Glad I did my own research. Get your surgery done and then go back and WOW this doc!

[losetobemeagain 9]

My pcp was the same way, In her opinion it was all in my head and if I wanted to I could lose the weight... She was acting as if I never dieted... She didn't want to write my letter of medical necessity after several conversations with her she finally wrote it.. I explained she didn't have to say that she recommend it just that she felt due to my illness and BMI that I would be a candidate for it and should be allowed to have the surgery I choose...

[AutumnLily 77]

You will run into these non-believers from time to time. It is too bad that it had to be your doctor. I would personally try to brush it off and carry on. You will see her in a year and will probably knock her socks off when you do. Congratulations on starting your journey.

[urmisnshin 0]

Hi, I'm new on this forum, scheduled for surgery on 6/29/11 self pay, and I feel your pain. My pcp said,,,,uh, no I'd rather you not do that, but if you have to then the only SAFE procedue is the lap band....(I know! )...and then proceeded to tell me to stop eating so many sweets (umm...I'm not a sweet eater, I'm a volume foodie and can pass on the sweets all day long, and I don't even drink sodas at all)..and if I could lose 20 lbs per year then that is an acceptable wt loss to him (ummm I'm 5'6", 260lbs, been obese literally since I was six years old)..my GYN is essentially the same way. Thanks goodness for my cardiologist and my employer (a rheumatologist) who both discussed wls with me way before I was ready to admit I couldn't do it on my own, and are supporting me all the way!..keep your head up! I've decided if they become crappy about it at my next follow-ups (which are both scheduled after my surgery date), then I will change doctors, and I will keep changing until I find the right ones for me! Good Luck!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I was lucky that my med team were all supportive, but my best friend, who is a Doc was not. She did say she would support me in any way she could, but did not personally think it was a good idea. She has been out of town working for months, and has not seen me yet minus the 62 pounds... so I expect she might change her mind when she sees that!

[feedyoureye 3,087]

I was lucky that my med team were all supportive, but my best friend, who is a Doc was not. She did say she would support me in any way she could, but did not personally think it was a good idea. She has been out of town working for months, and has not seen me yet minus the 62 pounds... so I expect she might change her mind when she sees that!

[Raine 170]

One of the things that stands true for the medical community is that like everyone else, they have opinions and most non-surgeons think that any kind of sugery is "barbaric". This is the term my husbands cardioligist used when my husband was having issues, and wanted to know if a bypass would be more beneficial than stents. Just because we do not have medical degree does not mean we do not know how to do research. You have done your research and came up with the right decision for yourself. Personlly I don't like the idea of the lap band because of having something foreign in your body that has to be constantly adjusted. Besides the fact that my research has shown me that it is not all that effective and the complications out weigh the benefits in my opinion.

[Sammi25 18]

people who dont have to face the decision of having wls have no idea the amount of effort time hard work and emotional work that goes into it. i was lucky enough to find a doctor who is a primary care physician who also is a specialist in weight loss and bariatric medicine, and even with him he occasinally says inappropriate comments but i chose to disregaurd it because in the end the only person who has to live in your body is you, and you know what is right for you. unless someone has struggled for years they have no idea how upsetting it is. As you get further along in the process people will come around, and if they don't you can always find a bariatric friendly doctor, and they are out there! good luck on your journey and just keep thinking of the end result!

[lostalongtheway 5]

No, I saw both my pcp and gyno about 2 weeks ago and they were both very supportive. In fact I was too nervous to bring up the subject with my pcp thinking that she'd be against it and I was so relieved when she brought it up to me. She went and got me a list of doctors and everything.

[Brian66 85]

Thank goodness, no. In fact it was my PCP who initially recommended weight loss surgery to me. He was recommending the bypass as he has a few patients who had not done well with the lap band. At first I was highly insulted - I did not see myself as being "that big" or needing the surgery. It took me several months of thinking about it before I faced reality and reached out to a surgeon. I am very grateful that I took some time to consider the whole idea because it was during that time that Aetna started covering the VSG. If I had acted too quickly, I might have ended up with the bypass which I was never crazy about.

Despite my initial misgivings, I now realize that the decision to have this surgery was the greatest gift I have ever given myself and my three children. I will forever be grateful to my pcp for having the courage to recommend the surgery to me.

Don't let a skeptical doctor keep you from making this decision. Do your research and find a surgeon with whom you feel comfortable and who knows what he or she is doing.

Best to you,

Brian

[ILKrista 36]

My original PCP was horrible about it. He very rudely told me that I was so fat because 1) I ate like a pig (yes, those were his exact words) and 2) I was lazy. In fact, he told me that those were the only 2 reasons anyone on the planet was obese & he would never recommend me or anyone else for weightloss surgery. I was so humiliated that I didn't ask about it again for 2 more years. Then, being heavier than ever before, I finally found a new PCP, went in there ready to do battle if necessary to get this surgery. Thank god, it wasn't necessary & she agreed that it would be a good option for me. Just remember, doctors are not experts on everything... they just sometimes think they are.

[kellyw74 258]

Maybe it is a OBGYN thing!! My OBGYN was the same way when I told him I was having WLS done. He was so negative, telling me that I could die and surgery was an easy way out! I was so stunned by his remarks! My primary Dr. was so supportive and referred me with no problems!

I am going the first week in July to see my OBGYN and have lost almost 80lbs since his stupid remark! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees that I am still ALIVE and I can tell him in NO WAY is it an easy out!

Kelly

[M2G 1,836]

Well, I had a great PCP, (who even though I had asked about bypass for a couple of years and he would always steer me in a diff. direction), who was 100% supportive when I went to him and said "I am having WLS, I need your approval, and BTW, here is a list of every single diet I have EVER been on and how much I weighed at the start, how much I lost during the diet, and how much I gained back after it was over." I think drs. like it when it shows that we have done our research and make our 'case.' He was more than happy to help me.

That being said, I got sort of a 'surprised' when my OBGYN didn't make a fuss about me losing weight. SIde note here: Anyone who thinks that they can tell their various drs. about their surgery on their own terms, is mistaken. Any surgeon worth his/her salt will 'notify' each and every dr. that you see. So when I sat down with my OB he was looking at his notes in my chart and was like "what's this, did you have bariatric surgery?" Heh. No breaking it to him gently he had a big form that was faxed over from my surgeon. But it was all good. He had never heard of the VSG, but asked how much I had lost (at the time it was 60lbs) and he basically said "gee I never know what to say to people who have WLS...I think our society places too much emphasis on 'looks' anyway." I explained that it was more than that, it was about health and he did seem to acknowledge that. And then I got a half-hearted congrats. He certainly didn't gush over the fact that I had WLS...interesting since he had tried to push me to have my tubes tied when I was done having kids. I pushed DH to get snipped instead.

Anyway, that is just my story. If you are finding that your PCP isn't willing to be your partner in this, you can do a couple of things. You can continue to see him/her and hope that they change their mind. If you don't need their medical okay and like the person, maybe you can see them after you are post op for a couple of months...it's hard to argue with the truth about lower BP, cholesterol, and a healthier weight, etc. Or you can find another dr. one that supports you in your decision to better your health.