How many years do/did you see the Bariatri dr after surgery

Just wanted to throw this out there. I always thought I would see my Bariatric doc once a year, or his PA.

I moved out of state and transferred my records to a new bariatric doc, saw the doctor for 3 years, and now she has told me I don't need to see her anymore. I am out 9 years and she said I can have my primary care doc do the bloodwork. I guess I make an appt if there is a problem.

I was surprised, but maybe that's how it goes....

What is your experience?

Thanks for your input in advance.

NJ

Any primary care can take care of the bloodwork. You only need a surgeon if more cutting needs to be done. My weight loss surgeon removed my gallbladder ten years after my RNY.

During the pre-op process they told us we should commit to annual check ins for life basically. I have seen mine each year so far and in between when I've needed to.

I only saw the Bariatric doctor through my 18 month visit. When I moved out of state they gave me a list of doctors in my new area but I ended up being fully comfortable with my PCP. I think the biggest thing is if you have a PCP that is well informed of the vitamin panels that are needed and actually listens to your requests. If you have someone who thinks you need cholesterol and iron checked and you're good to go - run fast.

I saw mine for my 3 month appointment and then moved to the other side of the world.

All the PCPs I have had have taken the time to learn about weight loss surgery and our needs and I'm VERY proactive in my own health so collaborate with them on what I think I need.

Returning patients in a bariatric program are a revenue stream, but unless you are in some sort of research group, your PCP can give you everything you need.

We talked specially about this a week ago at our virtual support group meeting for my program. The answer is LIFE. The pcp has no idea what blood levels trigger alerts for WLS patients. They will say key numbers look fine, but the combination of numbers indicates anemia or something else coming up quickly due to malabsorption. We become ambassadors to the program helping them recruit patients when they see us and hear us at support group. My program is great and encourages active involvement in long-term mgmt.

A perfect example of why WE should know what our levels etc should be. Noone will ever be as invested in our health as ourselves and thankfully many vets here have learned to watch and document their trends to make sure that they remain healthy.

Doctors tend to look at the results in front of them and not the trends for the last few years. I'm there to remind my doctors of my needs.

If you are the sort of person who will never leave their home town and nor will their doctor, being part of a group can work well.

For those of us who wander, it's imperative that WE take the responsibility.

my bariatric surgeon will see me for life, but then, I don't know what would happen if I moved. My current PCP I think would be fine. She seems very positive about WLS, and she's the type who would consult with a specialist - or refer me to one - if she didn't know how to deal with something. My former PCP (whom I had for just a year or so until she left the practice) seemed to have some issue with WLS - the first thing she told me when I had my new patient appointment was that almost all of her patients who had it had gained most of the weight back, and one was anorexic. She didn't sound very encouraging to me...

If your PCP is willing to order all the labs you need, I would not worry about having to see a bariatric surgeon. Mine does not order enough labs so I still see a bariatric surgeon yearly even at 12 years out, mainly for the labs but I also like her so I will keep seeing her. After I see her I make my annual appointment with my PCP and bring my labs with me. I like seeing both of them.

Thanks for all your replies.

I didn't care so much if I saw the surgeon, because I never saw my initial surgeon after surgery. And I thought that was weird.... I only saw the nurses or the nutritionist, but I knew they were tracking everything. Early on I developed reactive hypoglycemia that no primary care would have diagnosed, but the nutritionist helped me deal with it.... I consider that visiting the bariatric doctor, even if I'm not seeing him or her.

And yes, I agree that I am my own best advocate, I do look at my own labs, I know the anomalies that have not changed over the years and would see anew issue if it cropped up.

I'm realizing though, that I would love to go to support groups once in a while, and maybe that's why I'm feeling the need to be associated with the bariatric team. So that's on me, I have to call because my current bariatric practice requires that you make a reservation for the support group.

Again, thanks for the feedback.