Self-Pay, What If Dr. Doesn't Support

[theosmom 9]

Love this forum and have learned SO much from everyone. Okay, I'm 50, 5'8", 200lbs. I've suffered from depression, back and neck pain, and have yo-yo dieted for 20+ years with tons of shame/failure, etc. I've done every diet and lost and gained what feels like a million times.

So, I'm thinking of doing the self-pay and either going to Mexico or trying find someone here. My big question is what do you do if your physician doesn't support you? I'm seeing him Wednesday and plan to tell him I'm determined to go forward.

Thank you for your help!

[kyllfalcon 768]

Get another physician.

[takroom 192]

I was self pay & went to Mexico. If your Dr. doesn't support you, find one that will. I wish you the best of luck & I'm sure you will have much success in your journey.

[IsB 209]

If he's not going to sign off you're going to need to find a different doctor who will. My surgeon spends and awful lot of time educating other doctors about the benefits of weight loss surgery. Many just don't want to hear or believe it. They don't look at all the latest data that proves just how beneficial this can be. If you run into one of those you are pretty much stuck and need to find someone else

[JenC 90]

I didn't even tell my PCP that I was going to MX for surgery. I didn't meet the BMI qualifications with my insurance and the Bariatric providers in my area and I knew it so I went off and took care of things myself. I had gallbladder trouble last month and had to go in and had to tell her (my PCP) that I had, had recent surgery. She/they at the hospital didn't skip a beat. They took care of my gallbladder and so I carry on...not sure if it would be so easy for others with different docs but that was my experience lately.

[Rootman 1,101]

I was fortunate that mine DID support me - after the fact even, he was glad I was doing something about it.

I know it's a bitter pill to swallow and may be a titanic problem but I agree with the others - time to get a new doctor. That is if getting a sleeve is what you really want to do. I have insurance and went self pay because the cost was going to be about the same and I just did not want to wait. By the time I would of been able to get sleeved (provided I could talk the USA surgeon into a sleeve over a bypass) I was already sleeved about 6-12 months already by going self pay and had lost a good portion of my excess weight. EACH method has its own issues and merits and NEITHER is risk free. Sus it out, do your homework and do what's best for YOU.

[Getting There 198]

Do you have any other co-morbidities? High blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea? Those will help build your case. Depression and aches/pains usually won't.

Ask you doctor why he/she doesn't support WLS for you. If you're not happy with the answer, absolutely find another doctor. This would be a great site to use to do that as most here have a PCP that encouraged the surgery.

If you chose to go self-pay (I did because my insurance won't pay for WLS period) make sure to verify whether or not your insurance will pay for any complications resulting from the surgery. Some will, many won't. If yours doesn't, you can buy insurance that will cover complications. I didn't even know about this before my surgery and I'm grateful I didn't have any problems. And while the chances are great that you'll do fine, there is always that small chance - and complications can run into a huge expense!

My surgery was 8 weeks ago today. And I'm VERY VERY VERY happy that I did it. Yes, there are significant changes. Yes, I do miss eating the way I used to sometimes. No, I don't miss the 40 pounds I've lost so far - and I won't miss the 90 more I'm going to lose over the next several months

Best of luck!

[theosmom 9]

Thanks, All! My sister is having gastric sleeve 12/12, so I'm going to get to see how she does and what her recovery is like first hand. Her's is covered by insurance as she has HBP/HChol. She needs to lose about 80+lbs and I need to lose 50+lbs.

[abetterme4.2 268]

Find another physician. Really. You and I are the same height and weight!

I am pre-sleeve and contacted my PCP and asked of he would do a complete physical with all of the labs and explained why. I then asked him if he would be willing to continue my follow-up care and run my labs very 3-4 months to insure everything is normal. I understand for emergencies I will go to the emergency room. Which is what I would do for a broken leg or anything else major. He was completely on board.

You are not asking him to do anything else or treat anything out of the ordinary.

Do you have any co-morbidities he may be concerned about?

[theosmom 9]

abetterme4.2,

Thanks for your response. My only co-morbidities would be depression, GERD and back/neck pain. I love my physician but he is very, very conservative - which is usually good as he always checks everything out before he comes to a determination and is very, very careful. But he is just very no nonsense and doesn't like that I use Splenda! I anticipate he'll tell me I should do this by myself, regardless of the fact that he could look at my roller coaster weights if he went thru my history in his charts and see what a struggle I've had.

My issue is that I've done so many different diets; WW 10-12 times, New Day, South Beach a half dozen times, supplements, eating prepared meals, self help books, therapy, you name it. The negative things that go thru my head because I feel like a failure all the time are just all consuming and I really don't want the next 20 years of my life to be like the last 20.

You're right though, I may have to find a new doctor. I've also considered just setting it up and going to Mexico and doing it. But maybe they require a US doctor recommendation in Mexico?

[allnewme 262]

I went to speak to my PCP about my surgery in MX. I was self pay and chose to go to Dr. Alvarez in Piedras Negras. My PCP was very gratuitous about me having the surgery. He has watched my weight go up and down for years. I tell everyone about my great experience and if you need the surgery, do not feel bad about crossing the border to have it done. Pick your surgeon carefully and you will do great. check out Endobariatrics.com.

If you Dr. Says he will not continue to care for you after surgery, find another Dr.

[sunshyneqtie 73]

I didn't tell my PCP, though I'm sure she will be happy to not have me in her office about al my pain Any more. I told my GI doc, whom I have worked with for 15 years and he was supportive. He even gave me meds to prevent gallstones and he did an upper Endoscopy to make sure I didn't have any ulcers or hiatal hernia. As far as labs for Vitamin deficiencies, if my PCP won't run them, I will go see a naturopathic doc or go to the "Any lab test now" place by my house. If I am worried about a leak, I will see my GI doc or go to the ER. That's my plan.

[kmwheel 127]

Don't what-if yourself too much about the whole thing. I did that, too, and gave myself a lot of anxiety. Whenever I do that, things always turn out better than expected. If this doctor won't support you, definitely seek out another one who'll be willing to handle your follow-up care.

I didn't even tell my PCM because she was moving anyway, so I never saw her. I didn't bother seeing the new one before I went for surgery. I had already had all of my labs and psych eval done here (by the surgeon) in the states when my insurance denied me, so I knew that I qualified. I just went in for a 6 week follow-up with my new PCM and she couldn't have been nicer about the whole thing. There was no guilt or judgement handed out, the entire office was thrilled for me and told me what a good job I was doing. She said she's seen people after RNY who would lose weight too fast and get really sick. She did some labs and told me she'd let me know if there was anything wrong or if I needed to supplement Iron, etc. I did take in my entire bag of meds that I take (prescription and non-prescription) so they could make sure I was on the right track. I go back in a month for a blood pressure check to see if I can lower my meds again.

[theosmom 9]

Thanks for all the helpful replies. I really enjoy reading about your experiences.

[AmandaRaeLeo 2,146]

My PCP is supportive and I will be his first patient that has opted for Medical Tourism. It was important to me to have his support because I really like my PCP. I may have backed down had he advised against it. He assured me his support and his continued care postoperative.