Saw my dr. today for my physical, Told his I wanted a gasteric
bypass donw and he never discussed it with me. I am aklmost 299
pouinds overweight
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Possibly he doesn’t know enough about the surgery to feel comfortable
discussing it with you. Or, maybe he’s one of the few docs who are just
against WLS because we "should" be able to just quit eating (lots of
them didn’t get a lot of nutrition in medical school). Or maybe he got
sidetracked with something else and literally forgot about it in the
course of the physical. You are definitely morbidly obese - it may
require asking for a separate consult and just sitting down just to talk
about the WLS. Or - it may require your finding another doctor.
Have you done any research? Do you know what kind of procedure you’d
like to have? Have you looked for a surgeon? Have you been to
obesityhelp.com and looked to see what’s there - like has anyone chosen
a surgeon you’re considering, and have you read up on their experience?
I have a folder that’s almost 2 inches thick of things I’ve collected
over time - like my records from various docs, and I always keep copies
of my labs, and a letter from my intake at Duke University where they
mentioned my DJD and my "diabetes" - (I’ve got an order in for records
from Duke, but goodness knows how long it will take to get them). Have
you checked with your insurance company to see if they cover this
surgery, and if they do, what hoops you’ll have to go through to get it?
That will affect the letter that has to be written.
With my folder, I’ve typed up my diet history and my medical history,
including my parent’s and brother’s medical issues. I’ve included all my
surgeries, and any chronic conditions I have - and even referred to the
things like transient HBP, and the two times I’ve been diagnosed
"diabetic", but never put on medication. (I don’t have high fasting
blood sugar now, but I always laugh and say it’s because my reflux is so
bad I can’t eat after 3 o’clock, so my sugar has 16 hours to normalize
<G>.)
One thing about starting your own research and starting to put together
your own information into a file that you can carry into the interview
is that when you go in to see the doctor, he knows you’re serious and
that you are working on it. It also can give you a business-like
feeling, which helps you to bring the conversation back around to the
subject at hand if he drifts off somewhere else.
I speak only from my experience of dealing with my doc. I went into my
OB-Gyn today (he’s always done my weight-loss) and asked for a letter,
which he was happy to give. He was also happy to get my diet history and
my medical history all typed up neatly. It makes life a lot easier for
him <G>. But I saw him specifically for this as a consult. I still
have to see my regular doc (it takes so long to get an appt), but my
appt there is on the 5th. Once I see her, and wait a few days, I’m
going to request my records from the clinic, bundle them up with
everything else and send copies of them to the surgeon, who will write
my letter. I"m hoping I’ll be approved and ready for surgery the end of
Oct or Thanksgiving. (Nothing like working for a school - you do all
these things around holidays <G>).
Good luck!
HTH
Pam
Saw my dr. today for my physical, Told his I wanted a gasteric
bypass donw and he never discussed it with me. I am aklmost 299
pouinds overweight
January 30th, 2005 at 10:42 am
Kitten,
How very disappointing!
Possibly he doesn’t know enough about the surgery to feel comfortable
discussing it with you. Or, maybe he’s one of the few docs who are just
against WLS because we "should" be able to just quit eating (lots of
them didn’t get a lot of nutrition in medical school). Or maybe he got
sidetracked with something else and literally forgot about it in the
course of the physical. You are definitely morbidly obese - it may
require asking for a separate consult and just sitting down just to talk
about the WLS. Or - it may require your finding another doctor.
Have you done any research? Do you know what kind of procedure you’d
like to have? Have you looked for a surgeon? Have you been to
obesityhelp.com and looked to see what’s there - like has anyone chosen
a surgeon you’re considering, and have you read up on their experience?
I have a folder that’s almost 2 inches thick of things I’ve collected
over time - like my records from various docs, and I always keep copies
of my labs, and a letter from my intake at Duke University where they
mentioned my DJD and my "diabetes" - (I’ve got an order in for records
from Duke, but goodness knows how long it will take to get them). Have
you checked with your insurance company to see if they cover this
surgery, and if they do, what hoops you’ll have to go through to get it?
That will affect the letter that has to be written.
With my folder, I’ve typed up my diet history and my medical history,
including my parent’s and brother’s medical issues. I’ve included all my
surgeries, and any chronic conditions I have - and even referred to the
things like transient HBP, and the two times I’ve been diagnosed
"diabetic", but never put on medication. (I don’t have high fasting
blood sugar now, but I always laugh and say it’s because my reflux is so
bad I can’t eat after 3 o’clock, so my sugar has 16 hours to normalize
<G>.)
One thing about starting your own research and starting to put together
your own information into a file that you can carry into the interview
is that when you go in to see the doctor, he knows you’re serious and
that you are working on it. It also can give you a business-like
feeling, which helps you to bring the conversation back around to the
subject at hand if he drifts off somewhere else.
I speak only from my experience of dealing with my doc. I went into my
OB-Gyn today (he’s always done my weight-loss) and asked for a letter,
which he was happy to give. He was also happy to get my diet history and
my medical history all typed up neatly. It makes life a lot easier for
him <G>. But I saw him specifically for this as a consult. I still
have to see my regular doc (it takes so long to get an appt), but my
appt there is on the 5th. Once I see her, and wait a few days, I’m
going to request my records from the clinic, bundle them up with
everything else and send copies of them to the surgeon, who will write
my letter. I"m hoping I’ll be approved and ready for surgery the end of
Oct or Thanksgiving. (Nothing like working for a school - you do all
these things around holidays <G>).
Good luck!
HTH
Pam
Saw my dr. today for my physical, Told his I wanted a gasteric
bypass donw and he never discussed it with me. I am aklmost 299
pouinds overweight