I want to slap my sleep apnea doctor...so tempting

Okay...this guy right here? 

My sleep apnea doctor is totally against surgery… and says bariatric surgery is no answer for weight loss….Also said that it causes more health trouble than actually solves anything….. WHAT?! He also stated dieting solves everything and that people are just lazy… I had to hold my tongue. As a doctor I can truly say he is not ‘educated’ enough in this type of surgery to be spouting these judgments. Does he not know that sleep apnea has a high chance of being CURED after surgery?

He's an asshole and he deserves to be so informed..when the time is right.  Do you need him now?  Because, in case you didn't know, you are going to be in there ALL THE TIME for adjustments to the pressure when the weight starts coming off. 

If you don't have an Auto-PAP, he needs to prescribe one or YOU are going to need repeated sleep studies.  An Auto-PAP will keep track of what pressure you need and he can continue to adjust the settings downward.  When I refused yet another study, my guy let me rent--for a small fee--an Auto-PAP and that info was used to order me one of my own.

But if your guy wants to continue to be an ass, you might have a difficult time getting those adjustments without new sleep studies...and you KNOW what fun they are.

I completely agree but for right now I think I am stuck with him until I am approved for surgery. I really don't like to be stuck with him and my first instinct was to get a different doctor but... what can I do. I would have to wait at least 2 months for another evaluation. I have my surgeon appointment in 2 months and I wouldn't have time to get that test finished before my surgeon appointment.

After I get the surgery I am going to try to switch my sleep doctor to someone local...if its possible. Its just hard in Montana, I don't have a lot of options and I really don't wanna travel to much. So I will have to put my foot down with this doctor and then when I am post op get a understanding 'non-biased' doctor.

I promise if he ****** me off I will turn from sweet soft spoken Danni ..... into ***** Danni really quick if they mess with me. :) I will channel all  my knowledge provided by you vets and let him have it! lol

Dump Him,

You never know what additional clearances you may have to obtain from him down the line. Line your ducks as much as possible. It porbably seems like a setback now or a delay, but like Ms. Cal Culator says, if your machine or mask or whatever needs tweaking, he may be a pain to deal with. I'd dump him....

This is a very passionate subject for me because my pulmonologist saved my life!! I was also his case study proving that WLS alone cures certain forms of sleep apnea. He actually wrote a paper about me (I think).

I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea about two years before my surgery. Actually life threatening to be exactly. I had been having symptoms for a while and finally went to my primary doctor. She immediately sent me to a pulmonologist. During my sleep study my heart stopped for 8 seconds -- to put that in perspective - at about 12 seconds you're dead. Yup, flatline and I have a copy to prove it. Anyway I was immediately given a c-pap and even had to have a pacemaker put it because of it.

The pulmonologist was the first person to seriously talk to me about WLS. It still took me about 6 months to realize I needed to do something because even though I loved my c-pap (finally slept). I needed to lose weight.

Fast forward - about 6 months after my DS (and losing 100+ pounds) the sleep apnea was completely gone (confirmed with another sleep study). Even had the pacemaker removed about a year later.

Find a sleep doctor (pulmonologist) who is not so biased against WLS.

Janet I really enjoyed your story. I wish had a great doctor like that. You sound like you were in very good hands. I am happy for you. I love to hear great stories where doctors and patients work together to find the right solution. I am glad you had such a doctor.
I am going to have to think long and hard on my choice.... I also found out that the sleep doctor that is local is really really bad and isn't even a educated sleep doctor?! He is a neurologist and psychiatry?! ... I guess local is out of the question... I honestly think I am stuck with this man :(

Is it possible to check with the local hospital for a pulmonologist? Not sure if your insurance allows you to pick your own doctors but its a thought. You need a pulmonologist not a psychiatrist

My pulmonologist even had his own sleep clinic. I remember when I was first diagnosed the original sleep clinic I went to (because that was the only one my insurance would cover) was only able to do the first half of the sleep study because they didn't have the right mask size (are you kidding???). When my pulmonologist got the report showing me flatlined he was so concerned for my health that he sent me to his sleep study to finish the test. When I told him my insurance wouldn't cover his clinic, he said I don't care your health is more important -- floored me that a doctor was actually more concerned about a patient's health than his own pocket. Renewed my faith in the medical profession.

And then there are idiots like the one you're seeing. Not sure I understand why your PCP won't refer to you someone else.

Wish I had an answer for you but I hope you find a solution.

Specialists aren't terribly thick on the ground in MT, unfortunately. Well, pulmonology is medium-well represented because there is a high incidence of lung (and heart disease) resulting from mining exposures. But it's a whole different world from here in the East. That's part of why I was so thrilled to land with a good internist on my first try out there in the summer.

EN I am so glad you are from Montana! It is nice having someone who understands this more than anyone here. Specialists are few and far between, its sad but true. I love having someone I can get advice from that is a local gal! The way you say-it-how-it-is is also great! I am glad you found a great provider because gosh dang they sure can be hard to find here! If I find any doctors that are great here I will let you now them for sure. You better keep me up on those good doctors as well :)

Right now all I know is St. Peter's (Helena's local hospital) is rough.... if you can avoid it

St. Patrick's (in Missoula) so far I am liking them a lot. I have Dr. Jeff Knight as my PCP and Dr. Chris Corsi as my Endocrinologist. They are fabulous! I also like my dietician Sara Mortenson, she is very young but loves to educate herself. She has been getting a lot of bariatric patients lately sooo she decided to educate herself more on treating them! She has signed up on bariatric sights and blogs 'lurking and learning'. I just was so impressed by that because she is willing to learn and adjust to help her now rising bulk of patients. To me that speaks volumes about her.

Wish me luck my new pulmonogist, Dr. Holle.

Have you checked out the Bozeman folks for this stuff?

There is no local pulmonologist and they have a very sad substitue for a sleep study doctor as a neurologist/psychiatrist. The closest one to me is an hour away but my PCP will not refer me to this pulmonologist. His reasons are (which I understand and makes sense) that he doesn't know those doctors and how good they are. He knows the doctor he sent me to is a GREAT pulmonologist and knows I will be treated well. So I understand why my PCP would do this but I just am going to have to bite the bullet. Here's hoping he treats me for what I have and doesn't improv in my notes about bariatrics.