Sample letter to your PCP

Dear Doctor,

I am asking for your assistance in obtaining weight-loss surgery. It is difficult and embarrassing for me to come to you asking for your help, yet I know and feel that my health has and continues to deteriorate because of my obesity.

I have tried many weight-loss plans, including _______, _______, ________ etc. (List all diet plans you have tried.)

I now suffer from ______, _____, _______ etc. (List ALL your comorbid conditions.)

I have researched bariatric surgery in depth and I am well informed. I know there are risks associated with gastric bypass surgery, just as there are risks associated with any surgery. I realize that a lifestyle change and exercise are major components of bariatric surgery and I have already started making those changes.

The experts at ObesityHelp, for instance, say bariatric surgery is necessary because it is the only proven method of achieving long term weight control for the morbidly obese. Bariatric surgery is not a cosmetic procedure. Surgical treatment of morbid obesity does not involve the removal of adipose tissue (fat) by suction or excision. What it accomplishes is reducing the size of the gastric reservoir, with or without some degree of associated malabsorption. This reduces caloric intake and ensures that the patient eats small amounts of food very slowly, while chewing each mouthful well. Success of surgical treatment begins with the patient setting realistic goals and progresses through the surgery and lifelong follow-up by the bariatric surgeon. The different, accepted surgeries have been worked out over the last thirty years, and are now standardized, clearly defined procedures, with well-recognized and documented outcome results.

Prevention of secondary complications of morbid obesity is an important goal of management. Therefore, the option of surgical treatment is a rational one. Morbid obesity is a disease, not a disorder of willpower. The physiologic, biochemical and genetic evidence is overwhelming that clinically morbid obesity is a complex disorder. Contributing causes are inheritance, environmental, cultural, socioeconomic and psychological.

I have a couple of interesting and informative handouts from ObesityHelp.com. I have taken the time to print them out for you. I ask that you take a few minutes, at your leisure, and read them. Thank you for helping me.

Sincerely,

____________________
Your Name Here