Scary Doctors

I was told by someone today that she went to a WLS doctor's office and was told some very scary things.  Now, I know several people who have had the surgery by the surgeons at this office& have been fine, but here is what disturbs me:

Dr.'s consult is scheduled within 2 weeks of initial call followed immediately by the psche eval, therapy (exercise) appt & nutritionist appt all on the same day.  All 3 appt's can be accomplished within a 4 hour time span.  The surgery is scheduled when the initial consult is completed, pending no insurance problems, it is a go.

Here is the frustrating part for me...2 people that I work with are not obese, but a little chunky. One has had surgery last week, the other was scheduled for next week - however, they have found a "female" problem that will delay the surgery.  The delayed person shared with me today (was bragging) that "if you go to them and you have no co-morbidities then you can still have it done even if you don't weigh enough over...you just stuff your pockets, bras, pants..etc. with weights."   My response was OMG- that scares me...do you realize what you just said to me? She was like..what?  They just want to help the patients to have the surgery.  I am in shock...

I actually visited this office in October 2007 & one of the surgeons told me that I was "too high risk" for infection and that he was not willing to compromise the reputation of their office if something should go wrong.  I was devastated, I cried all the way home.

I am now so thankful.  I have been waiting since my initial seminar on 2/28/08 to actually see my surgeon (July 10 appointment)...but guess what, along the way I have learned so much.  I have actually lost 50 pounds on my own. Yes, ON MY OWN...I am proud.  Never in my life have I been so knowledgeable about nutrition, balanced meals & how my body digests different foods & how it reacts to others.  I am so grateful that the first surgeon said no. 

 

Am I over reacting?  It scares the H*LL out of me that the WLS doctors, a center of excellence, is putting patients that really are not prime candidates through this surgery.  How successful will they be if they are not educated, mentally evaluated, taught how to eat properly?  My psych appt was short, too, but holy cow!  From what I heard the psych affiliated with this office asks you, do you know what this surgery is about? Are you ready? Have you tried other ways to lose? Okay, thank you.  Have a good day.

 

YIKES!

 

Yes that is scary, but you know, people lie or exxagerate sometimes.  First of all, regardless of whether these people weighted themselves down on purpose, any surgeon would do a physical exam and be able to see the truth. Maybe they could add an extra 10-20 lbs, but I would talk with your doctor about this bluntly & honestly. Are you reconsidering surgery because you lost the 50 lbs on your own?  Every one of us has proven we can lose weight....keeping it off is another story. Its ultimately your decision, but I would give the doctor the benefit of the doubt on this one first.  Good luck!  HUGS  Jeanine

WOW is right.  I also agree with another poster, people exaggerate, I'm hoping this is an example of that!

I see a lot of this too - people who are borderline for surgery having no problem getting approved, but truly large people who NEED this surgery being turned away because they are risky.  My doctor does not turn anyone down, but if you are high risk you definitely have to lose weight first and go through a myriad of extra testing and get and IVC filter, etc.  Unfortunately people, patients and doctors, do not always treat this surgery as the last resort.  If you are willing to re-arrange your guts, risking not only death, but complications and a lifetime of possible malnutrition, you should be feeling pretty desperate and your health should be in jeopardy.  But people are treating it like its just another diet fad.  It makes me very sad and concerned for their future well-being. 

I couldn't say it better myself Jenn. I have been overweight all my life and it took me till last year  to realized that I had taken it off many times by myself but that I needed a little help to take it off and keep it off. It took me a lot of soul searching to come to having WLS I am glad I did but I didn't do it lightly

Exactly what I mean, Jenn.  I have been looking into WLS for about 6 years. I have finally found a doctor that I trust his abilities, his routine, his philosophy on weight loss.  I have been very educated on nutrition and I think I can be successful now when I go forward with the surgery.  I am not reconsidering surgery at all, as a matter of fact, the more I lose the more excited I am about getting closer to the actual surgery date.  I just feel that the more I lose ahead of time, the better it will be for me later & of course, the less I will have to lose later. I just wanted to share the story, do a sanity check...thinking maybe it was just me feeling that the doctors would even consider telling people to do things that are deceitful so that they can have the surgery.  It makes me angry as some of these people are just a little chubby & might look at this as a quick fix....as we all know, it is anything but that. Anyway...thanks for the feedback. XO Penny