Need help

I have talked to my doctor which seems to not care too much, and i don't know where to go from here

Do you mean you spoke with your PCP? If so, then I would suggest you go to a surgeon's orientation meeting. If you are in an HMO you are going to need a referral from your PCP before you can actually schedule an appointment with a surgeon, but most surgeons have orientation meetings and support group meetings that are open to the public and free. Once you attend that meeting you will have a clearer idea of what you will need to do or have done, and exactly what steps to take. Then when you see your PCP you will be able to tell him/her what you have decided to do and exactly what you are going to need him/her to do. The better educated you are - the more your doctor will pay attention. If you are not in an HMO (or do not need a referral to the surgeon) then find a surgeon that takes your insurance and let his office handle the rest. It is unfortunate but true, it is not unheard of for PCPs not to be on-board with WLS. Some people even have to change their primary care doctor in order to get a referral or to ensure that they get the proper follow-up care. Red

I have been to a meeting already but i,m still at a stand still

Is your insurance an HMO or do you need a referral for the consult to see the surgeon?

Sounds like you might be one that needs to think about changing your PCP Primary Care Physician I thought I was going to have to. I may yet, only time and me working on the drawing board some more will tell!

Melody, I just read your profile (keep up with this as it'll br easier to see where your at in your progress) and I see your on Medicaid not Medicare. And here's a problem. There is a couple of Surgeon in Florida who still accept Medicaid but many have stopped for now as Medicaid was approving the surgeries but Not paying for them afterwards thus sticking the patient as responsible for the bill. And many surgeon's not getting paid. There used to be a Insurance Section on here but with the new programing it seems to be gone now. As to your PCP not being Weight Loss Surgery Friendly. Get a list of all of the Medicaid Primary Doctors in your area. And start going to see each one till yiu find one who is WLS Friendly. Also check with Medicaid to see what their Requirements are to receive the Surgery you're thinking of such as Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, Lap-Banding, etc. Hopefully other OH members who are in your area can/will help you. There are a few OH Support Leaders and two Support Groups in the Jacksonville area, listed under Support Groups above. Go to the meetings looking for Help. I'm sure they'll be very helpful. But do keep posting here as you go along.

the insurance section is not gone. copy and paste in your browser. here it is: http://obesityhelp.com/forums/insurance/

HI Melody, If you are looking for surgeons that accept medicaid the only ones I know of are the surgeons at Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater. Their names are John Paul Gonzalvo, DO and Richard Gordon, MD. Their office number is 727-586-3751. They accept Staywell which is one of the managed care medicaids. If you are not on Staywell you can switch when there is an open enrollment. If you want more info email me or call me at the hospital 727-461-8658. I am a post op and the bariatric coordinator. Julie

Melody, I agree with what the others have said about changing primaries. Some times it has to be done. You may want to ask him or her what their opinion is or their misgiving about it for you. Sometimes you have to lead them by the hand. I gave my primary very specific instructions about what to include on my letter of medical necessity, a copy of a sample letter and the card of the coordinator so they could call her if they had any questions. A few days later they called me to pick up the letter and it was two sentences on a prescription pad. I was so angry. But I waited until I was farther along in the process and told him we needed to talk about that letter. He was agreeable to me writing it myself so I did. He had it put on his letterhead and then signed it. I would be happy to help you write one if you need it. I am in Jacksonville. We are having a support group meeting Saturday morning from 10am until we get ready to leave if you would like to come you are welcome to. It is on Merrill Road in the Arlington area. Email me if you would like directions oe the full address. [email protected] There are a couple of ladies in our group who went through Dr. Webb. They didn't even want to talk to me because my BMI was too high so they told me to call Dr. Overcash in Ocala. He just did my surgery Feb 7. One of our guys had his surgery with Dr. Jawaad in Ocala and several had lapband with Dr. Cywes here in Jax. I think a couple of the ladies had lapband with Dr. Webb too (I know one did). Anyway hang in there and keep plugging along. It took me over two years to finally get my surgery because I had a lot of roadblocks to get around to get there but it finally happened. Feel free to ramil me if you want. Kat