NEW SURGEON LAST FRIDAY
Well..... I saw the new surgeon Friday. Where do I start? I did feel confident about what I am going to do, but I was not that happy with him. I have decided to follow his directions for now.
After finding out last week that my labs came back abnormal, I had decided to hold off on trying to get reversal surgery. I was defecient in B12, pantothenate, and antioxidant levels.
When I scheduled my appointment, they set me up for the WLS seminar before I saw the dr. I found that seminar by itself a little unsetteling. They did go over many of the risks with each surgery.... but 1. they said that RYGB was reversable. I am glad that they did say that, but knowing what I know about it, they should have been more specific. They didn't bother saying that it was rare to do a reversal. If I was going in for my first WLS ever, I may think that if I didn't have a good experience it would be simple to have it reversed. 2. They stated that they do not make EVERYONE go through psych testing before surgery. For me, that should be a must. One of the reasons for failure is that a patient is not mentally ready for such a dramatic surgery. 3. They stated that they did not look at the standards for doing WLS, they said that they would do WLS on patients with less than 35BMI, but insurance would not pay for it. Those patients would have to be self pay.
One thing that I CAN say positive about this physician's office is that they stay on top of you to make sure you do as you should. They require you to follow up. If you don't, they call and check up on you. They even require you to call and check in between your follow-up visits. They hold you accountable for what you do. That makes a big difference. They really care about their patients after surgery. I have heard that from all of their patients.
When I went in, I THOUGHT that he would ask me what was going on and we would talk. I was wrong. He shook my hand and had me sit in the chair beside him. He started reading my medical records and highlighting things. Every once in a while, he would ask me a question.
When he finished asking questions, he told me that he wasn't sure he wanted to take me on. He told me that he knew how I felt about reversal, and he knew how my previous surgeon felt, but he wanted to know how others felt. He told me to get a letter from my GI physician and my physchologist, then he would decide. He told me that he would like to see me a few more times before he reached a decision. He told me that he has only done one reversal and that the lady was crazy. (Was he implying something?)
I asked a few questions like would I be on a feeding tube forever, and he never answered me directly. (I don't think he knew the answer.) I was really discouraged.
When I went to check out, I started crying and told the office that I wasn't sure if i even WANTED a reversal this point but got the feeling that he wouldn't take me on if I didn't. They talked to him and told me that I was wrong. He didn't think that I needed reversal surgery and that he thought I needed to take more vitamins. Apparently he thought I was only there to discuss reversal or nothing.
When I left, I felt a whole lot better. His office gave me a whole lot of advice about vitamins and protein. They also gave me a bunch of samples. It was nice to see someone that cared. So.... we will see what happens.
After finding out last week that my labs came back abnormal, I had decided to hold off on trying to get reversal surgery. I was defecient in B12, pantothenate, and antioxidant levels.
When I scheduled my appointment, they set me up for the WLS seminar before I saw the dr. I found that seminar by itself a little unsetteling. They did go over many of the risks with each surgery.... but 1. they said that RYGB was reversable. I am glad that they did say that, but knowing what I know about it, they should have been more specific. They didn't bother saying that it was rare to do a reversal. If I was going in for my first WLS ever, I may think that if I didn't have a good experience it would be simple to have it reversed. 2. They stated that they do not make EVERYONE go through psych testing before surgery. For me, that should be a must. One of the reasons for failure is that a patient is not mentally ready for such a dramatic surgery. 3. They stated that they did not look at the standards for doing WLS, they said that they would do WLS on patients with less than 35BMI, but insurance would not pay for it. Those patients would have to be self pay.
One thing that I CAN say positive about this physician's office is that they stay on top of you to make sure you do as you should. They require you to follow up. If you don't, they call and check up on you. They even require you to call and check in between your follow-up visits. They hold you accountable for what you do. That makes a big difference. They really care about their patients after surgery. I have heard that from all of their patients.
When I went in, I THOUGHT that he would ask me what was going on and we would talk. I was wrong. He shook my hand and had me sit in the chair beside him. He started reading my medical records and highlighting things. Every once in a while, he would ask me a question.
When he finished asking questions, he told me that he wasn't sure he wanted to take me on. He told me that he knew how I felt about reversal, and he knew how my previous surgeon felt, but he wanted to know how others felt. He told me to get a letter from my GI physician and my physchologist, then he would decide. He told me that he would like to see me a few more times before he reached a decision. He told me that he has only done one reversal and that the lady was crazy. (Was he implying something?)
I asked a few questions like would I be on a feeding tube forever, and he never answered me directly. (I don't think he knew the answer.) I was really discouraged.
When I went to check out, I started crying and told the office that I wasn't sure if i even WANTED a reversal this point but got the feeling that he wouldn't take me on if I didn't. They talked to him and told me that I was wrong. He didn't think that I needed reversal surgery and that he thought I needed to take more vitamins. Apparently he thought I was only there to discuss reversal or nothing.
When I left, I felt a whole lot better. His office gave me a whole lot of advice about vitamins and protein. They also gave me a bunch of samples. It was nice to see someone that cared. So.... we will see what happens.
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