PCP

[Brosky 5]

I'm sitting in the waiting room at my PCP who needs to sign off on my surgery, and I'm nervous she's going to say no or talk me out of it. Is that crazy?

[EmmyJ 184]

I don't think it's crazy, I think there are a lot of PCPs who don't understand obesity or bariatric surgery as well as they should. But you can only stand your ground and explain why you believe this decision is best for your health! If your doctor can't get behind you doing something to improve your health, then I would think it's time to get a new doctor

[K_aane 356]

I changed my pcp because she did not help me when I complained of my thyroid and when I was interested in wls. I,am diabetic and all she talked about is how diabetes just gets worse and I will need more medd, it can't be reveresed, surgery doesn't really do anything., blah blah.
I found another pcp in january, saw the bariatric doc, Jan 24. My surgery is in July...I can't wait!

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[MSinger 348]

I went to my PCP to ask for weight loss help for 2 years. She never thought to suggest weight loss surgery. She never gave me any other help than to tell me to watch my calorie intake. To be fair, I never considered surgery for myself until I saw my Gyn this January and she recommended looking into it.

I don't think it's fair of a PCP to tell you what their opinion is on bariatric surgery. They should be able to give an unbiased clearance to proceed (as long as you don't have any contraindications to surgery). But some are against it for their own reasons.

If your doc happens to be the type to think negatively on WLS, just ask if you are healthy for surgery, and if so, whether they can just write the clearance for it. Try to stick to the facts and leave their opinion out of it. If PCP says no to surgery, ask why and what you would need to do in order to be cleared for surgery. If they're not willing to give it to you no matter what, I'd suggest seeing someone else. There are plenty of Dr's who have a good opinion on WLS, and you shouldn't be barred from this opportunity due to one Dr's opinion.

Hopefully, your doc will approve, and my post is unnecessary, but just in case...

[Brosky 5]

Thank you all for the helpful advice and comments. Well she was great about it. She was mostly concerned with who I chose to do the surgery because I'm not having it at a place that affiliated with the hospital she's with. I told her I did my research and was impressed with the doctor. She said she would take care of the paperwork. So one down a few more specialists to go.

[K_aane 356]

I forgot to add , it was my surgeon who told me to check into wls, at the same time I switched pcp.

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[EmmyJ 184]

Glad it worked out with no issues!

[K_aane 356]

I agree. Glad it worked out with no issues. I see a cardiologist, kidney doc and pcp and no one suggested it til I saw my surgeon for hernia. Now they all on board but gee it would have been nice to have started this sooner.

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