Advice w/t regards to very negative opions

To all,
I have spent 2 yrs researching gastric by pass surgery and finally made the decision to move forward. I had an appointment with my primary care physician to discuss my decision. After I mentioned what I wanted to do I got a 45 min. lecture from the doctor as to why this is a terrible idea. "Messing around with the digestive system in that way opens the door to many complications etc......" Then he proceeded to tell me all about the patient of his who lost 150 on WW.  He also said that if I went ahead with the decision he would not deal with any complications or issues that may come up after surgery. He also said that he felt so strongly about his view point that he wasn't going to charge me for the visit.

What he said really has me doubting myself. I really wish he would have let me speak during the 45 min lecture. If he had , I would have told him that living my life as it is, is really not worth it.
(Not that I would kill myself) but that I really wouldn't care if I were to die tommorow. That is how serious this issue is to me. ( age 42, overweight  from age 12)  Yes I have tried all the other avenues of weight loss, failed & succeeded, but eventually gained it back.

For those of you who have had complications, would you do it again??????

Thanks to all for enduring my dumping of emotions.

                 

Yes, I would do it all over again without a doubt. I had a similar doctor that insisted that WLS was not the solution. While he was overly conservative and I respected his opinion, I disagreed with him. He was not fighting obesity and didn't have a clue on how it was affecting my life. I switched doctors. My new doctor is very supportive, praises my efforts and warns me abou****ching for re-gains. He sees himself as my partner in working on my health.

Wow, I can see how that would make you begin to 2nd guess yourself. It sounds like you've done alot of research so you already know there are compliations that can occur. You have to decide for yourself if the chance of those complications is something you can live with or not. WLS isn't something to go into lightly~it will require work for the rest of your life, but for me, its all well worth it. It gave me my life back! I haven't had any major complications, although I did have a problem just after surgery due to nausea and vomiting for 8wks after surgery. This didn't happen b/c of the surgery itself, but due to the fact that my blood sugar spiked after surgery and they had to put me on glucophage to manage it. The med made me VERY sick day and night and during that time of course I thought "what the hell did I do to myself?? Did I make a mistake?" Thankfully I had good drs' -surgeon and pcp- and they helped me thru it. As soon as I stopped with the medication I felt 100% better in less than 24hrs. This was a complication that had never even crossed my mind, but it happened to me and those 8wks were really hard to get thru. Things can happen, but after weighing the pros and cons I have to say that I am VERY  happy that I had wls and yes I would do it again. Finding a new pcp might not be a bad idea b/c you'll need someone that will be supportive and help you if the time ever arises. Good Luck no matter what you decide!!

Thanks for the input.

My (military assigned) doc was TOTALLY like this. I had done serious heavy resurch into diffrent meathods and modes of weight loss. Surgery was definatly the answer for me.  SO! I went to my doctor and asked about it. First time: He said no way in heck would he advise a patient to EVER have weight loss activity. He told me (honest) to get off my a$$ (yes really) exercise and diet. NO?!?! REALLY?!?! That works? Well in my condition and advanced state that just wasn't the best option.  SO! I went home, put together my food journal (I didn't have one at the time, so I started keeping one.) I put together an exercise journal (ditto on started keeping one) I put together all the resurch I'd done on surgery. I resurched why Tri-care would cover my surgery and my co-morbidities, I put together a formal letter explaining why I needed it. I scheduled ANOTHER appointment (3 months later) and calmly handed the (jerkface) man my "homework" I then explained to him that if he didn't refur me for gastric bypass surgery I'd talk to the guy above him (in rank and position) and get a doc who WOULD send in my reffural letter.  I HATE having to be a pushy broad, but I believed in this surgery and went the extra mile to make sure I got it.  It's too bad Dr. Jerkface got transferred (couldn't have had anything to do with a well worded letter to his superior could it?) Or I'd rub it in his face that 2 years out I'm happy healthy and have lost not just SOME but ALL the extra weight thanks to my surgery.

Did the doctor also mention the health issues if you can't lose the wt on your own? Too many of us have lost wt, only to put it back on PLUS more wt. This seems to be a vicious cycle for most of us. True some can do it on their own, but no everyone. I would have interrupted the dr. and asked what if I can't do it?  You know there are more doctors in the world with a much better opinion of the WLS option. My doctor was all in favor of it for overall health. I had high bp, sleep apnea, took cholestorol lowering drugs, had feet and ankles that swelled, my mom developed diabetes at 55, and I was 59 when I had surgery, etc. Too many issues going on and I had tried multiple times. I participated in one program for 8 months, and really made an attempt to lose wt--special supplements, chicken and fish for 90% of my meals, and I dropped from 345 to 286. Could not get lower, and really felt rotten physically. I don't regret my surgery, just wish I could have done it 10 years sooner--instead of physical issues over the past 15 years.   Good luck on your decision. You might want to examine my profile page for some further insight into this process. DAVE

Personally, I would find another Primary Care Physician...He's not only uninformed, he's dangerous and possibly vindictive. Have you sought out a bariatric surgeon? If you have one in mind, see if he can recommend a primary care doctor to you.

I was very lucky. I did the same thing that you did. I researched and found the surgeon that I wanted and THEN went to my PCP. She has been through 12 years of trying to help me lose weight and she'd been bugging me to get tested for diabetes but I knew the answer already before the test and resisted. When I wanted the surgery, I had the test and *surprise* I'm diabetic...then she looked at me and asked "So, what are you going to do?" and I said I was looking into gastric bypass. She handed me a business card that turned out to be from the SAME surgeon that I found...But

I already knew that if she had not been for the idea, I would have found another PCP...Even after 12 years with her..I felt that strongly about my research findings and my own gut feelings.

Yes, your doctor is suppose to be well informed. You should be able to ask them anything...But if you are not comfortable with that doctor, find another one. Seriously.

You need a new doctor.

I had someone very close to me (my boss)..demanding he'd pay for me to get another diet and not have my surgery. I did what was right for me..i had my surgery! Turns out after 4 years, no complications and i'm very happy i stood up for what i believed what right for me. You need all the support you can find and if your doctor can't do that for you, then he doesn't deserve to be your doctor.

Find a new doctor.

This one might want you to stay the way you are so he can treat all the comorbidities and upcoming health issues.  Does he have kids to put thru college or something?