help me please

I am in need of a Biaratric doctor for follow up care. I feel like I have been deserted. Dr Sapala recently moved to LI and then I have not gotten a call or called back to see how I am doing.. I need to see someone to make sure I am doing everything right. I have no clue on who to turn to. I live in Brooklyn....Someone please give me a clue!!!!!!!!

SAme goes for my NUT...It has been two months and after the first month everyone went MIA

Actually you can do follow-ups with your PCP. You don't have to go th rough your surgeon. Get your PCP to request you medical records. They will do all your follow-ups and your blood work too.

WOW THATS A TRUE bUMMER AND i WOULD BE SOOOOOOOOO PISSED...DO YOU GO TO SUPPORT GROUPS? iF SO i WOULD ASK SOMEONE THERE IF THEY COULD HELP YOU OUT.

Sorry to hear about your situation. I am also in Brooklyn and my doctor (Dr. George Ferzli) has a nutritionist on staff as well. I'm not sure if they would see you being that you had surgery elsewhere, but it won't hurt to try. The Brooklyn location number is: 718-630-8600; the Staten Island office location number is: 718-667-8100. Good luck!

Canyou clarify if YOU have called them for f/up or are awaiting them to call you?

If the latter you may wait a long time as this is not general practice that I have ever been aware of. For me I feel I need to be a consumer of my own healthcare which at times means agressively calling for apt or f/up.

Support group is a source of referral as well as someone mentioned. Counting on your PCP may or may not be best, depends if they are well versed with bariatrics, I have seen all too many times over past 6 + yrs folks going to PCP getting a CBC and comprehensive chem panel and being told their labs are great! UH they seemed to fail to obtain the other dozen labs we need (vits/minerals) and are not aware of other challenges such as osteoporosis risk and need for dexascan as well as sometimes how to treat our deficienceies EVEN IF THEY order correct labs! Or what additional labs to order if some things are amiss. Bariatric medicine is a specialty and clinical nutrition doctors/bariatricians are the best place for us to be, surgeons do not always order the labs for folks or follow up for life beyond the 1-2 yrs post op for surgical checks...

Also any dietician is not always versed in bariatric procedures and postop living, calling arond to inquire on experience is advisable!
So if you have not called consider calling, if you have consider calling again and agian until a call back for apt or referral! Many surgical programs will and many wont take other surgeons patients....Keep calling searching and asking you are worth the effort!

This is a typical lab for pts....
COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PROFILE
LIPID PROFILE
GGT, LDH, Prealbumin
PHOSPHORUS - INORGANIC, URIC ACID
CBC w/ diff
B-12 & FOLATE, B-6 & Thiamine (B-1)
IRON, TIBC, % SAT, FERRITIN
VITAMIN A, E & D (25-hydroxy)
THYROID PANEL (T3, T4, TSH)*only initially unless suspect.
ZINC, MAGNESIUM, Selenium, Copper
SERUM INTACT PTH
Homocystine, MMA
HGB A1C (only if diabetic or suspected)
DEXA SCAN every 1-2 years depends on results!
Diagnosis:
579.3 post-surgical malabsorption
268 vitamin D deficiency
269.2 hypovitaminosis
268.2 metabolic bone disease
244.9 hypothyroidism
401.9 hypertension


If you are going to go to PCP I have several articles that you could provide them if they are interested in being educated on wls!

I have to call through a answering service because of their move but no one has been calling me back>>>i am going to see a regular doctor but i wanted someone who was well versed in gastric bypass