Fighting the annoyance

Hi All,
  I had my pre-admission visit at the alex on Friday and have been fighting some of the things that were said to me since.  Overall the appointment went as I thought but when the anesthetist came in to speak to me the first thing out of his mouth was "your not that big, why are you doing this".  First I thought it was a test, perhaps they were making sure I knew what I was getting myself into.  As the conversation went on and he reiterated the same question repeatedly I had to ask him why he was so concerned about my choice for this.  He said that he has seen people that were in much worse shape than me and he could understand it.  I started going through the "this is a tool that will help me keep the weight off long term" spiel, but then I stopped because evidently he didn't care.  But ultimately he left and I took a deep breath and was moving forward.  I went for my chest x-ray and came back to wait for the doc to come see me.  He came in (a small asian man who didn't speak great english) and again I got the speech about not needing the surgery.  This guy even went so far as to tell me that if I wasn't going to keep up on what I am doing now then I shouldn't bother taking the 'easy' way out.  I was mad.  I pretty much ignored him as he reviewed every time I have ever been in an emerg or the hospital since I moved to alberta 15 years ago and looked up Dr. Sharma's blog on why I support bariatric surgery.  I remember him having an amazing argument and figured I could at least lead this mis-informed doc to somewhere that had correct info.  I wrote down the URL and handed it to him with my final comment of I'm glad you aren't doing my surgery but please educate yourself for anyone else that may come through your doors.  Now I get that I have lost 90 lbs since I started with the clinic in November and perhaps I don't look like some of the other people that come in for this surgery any more, and I get that this is a struggle every day of my life and people like this will always have their opinion....what I don't get is why the people at the pre-admission clinic wouldn't be more well versed in this procedure.  It's sad to say that I even heard this from Dr. Sebastian as well.  I hear it from my husbands family...I have heard it from some friends...GEEZZZZZ
My resolve is stronger than ever though and in many ways it just makes me want it more. 
Do you think I should call the clinic and let them know about this...or would that be a waste of everyones energy?  What do you guys think?

So proud of you for standing your ground.....gets tiring though doesn't it?? I think you should let the clinic know of this unfortunate experience. Perhaps an educational update/inservice could and should be booked for the anesthetist and Doc.......Keep steady on your chosen path and always remind yourself that you are not alone!!!

OMG! Thats terrible! Im sorry you had to go through that. Good for you for sticking up for yourself. I would DEFINATELY tell the clinic! You shouldn't have to explain your decision to anyone. Especially hospital staff. Good Luck with the rest of your journey. Everyone here supports you!

Hmm....WTF?! 

Sorry for my 'language' but gee whiz...obviously you've had the consent of doctors and surgeons to get this surgery why on EARTH do they think they should be sticking their noses into things at the 11th hour? 

I'm certain i was about your weight (a little heavier) when I had surgery in January.  Not a peep from anyone (that I recall). 

Good thing is.....you will never have to see those doctors again. 

You can tell the clinic manager Michelle, she's super nice.  But you know what....if it's just more stress on you wait until after your surgery, closer to your follow up to raise any concerns.  That way you can give them a whole picture...and just say that the preadmissions people you saw were really inconsiderate and rude. 

So sorry this happened to you!  Good for you for sticking up for yourself!!

D

Hi D!

I know exactly how you feel! As one of the 'lightweights" we have a whole different experience in relation to having to justify our choice for surgery. The orderly who rolled me into the surgery suite said "But, Mam... you're not very big" and my response "Thanks."

I got tired of explaining that I had lost about 50 lbs before surgery, explaining that I had been overweight my whole life, that I had been on a diet of some sort since I was 10 years old, that no matter how hard I tried I could never lose it- I could drop 30 lbs easily enough and did several times, but would put on 50.

Good for you for having that URL ready and offering some education. I'm so proud of you and I know you are going to be a rock star with your new tool.

I know it is hard to ignore the people who are supposed to being part of our care and should know better about the issues concerning Obese patients but when it comes down to it... YOU know how to go forward and need to ignore the distractions.

I had the internist come in and say the same thing to me while I was at my pre-admission. "Don't you think you can do this with diet and exercise? You lost a lot of weight on your own." My reply was not as concise as yours! I said "No. I don't think I can do this on my own. I have been successful because I have a team and I have surgery in the distance as an incentive. But I KNOW I can't do it on my own. I need the tool."

I'm holding my pom poms and cheering you on as loudly as possible...

Hi Deanne,

You have me wondering now why I haven't been called for my pre-admission visit yet and my surgery is booked for September 7 :(   I wonder if I should start phoning to find out why they haven't called? 

That is too bad that you had to go through that on your Pre-admin :(  Hope this isn't how they treat everyone...  I would let the clinic know as well.

Good luck,
Christina

Thanks all! Christina did you get the pre-admission sorted? There is a number in one of my previous posts to the PAC.

Good luck

I got it figured out.  I called pre-admission and they hadn't received my name for the surgery or anything.  I asked if that was weird and they said no.. lol  So I am booked in for Wednesday morning (aug 24)  Eek.... do you find time is flying faster than it has ever? 

D,
I am so sorry you had such a crappy experience!  You are so focused and strong in your decision, I am SO proud of ou! 

Jenn