Your Dr. said what?

I've been waiting to see a friend of mine that works at the same place I do so that I could tell him about my upcoming vsg. He is huge and very unhappy so I thought he'd be into learning about another option he has to get healthy. When I mentioned that I was about to have surgery he left me speechless. His long term pcp had told him that if he had a wls he would not see him as a patient any longer. The dr thinks that the surgeons that do wls just mess people up and then leave town. All I could say to my friend was talk to me in a year.

Wow.  My PCP was admittedly pretty ignorant about the surgery but set to work learning so she could help me.  She has been one of my strongest supporters.  Sounds like his Dr needs more continuing ed about WLS for sure.

DWB, sounds like your friend needs a NEW PCP...there is a certain point when diet is no longer working...

If you have 10-30 lbs to lose, diet is appropriate but once you hit MO, surgery is pretty much your best option. The ods are far against a diet working at that point.

It still amazes me the amount of ignorance among the medical field regarding wls.

Hopefully your friend will see the error in his doc's thinking when he sees you doing so well.

WOW...sounds to me like his PCP is afraid he will get healthly and won't need his services as often in the future!!

My PCP was so excited when I brought it up and said "do you want today to be your first visit"...I never dreamed it was going to be that easy!!  

My PCP first brought up my weight at my last annual physical.  He said that dieting isn't working, and I should be really seriously thinking about it.  When I came back 4 months later and said I was looking into surgery, he was supportive, and said the ABMS programs are excellent.  He also spent about 20 minutes making sure that I understood that this was a lifelong commitment, and surgery was only one aspect, and that I needed to make significant permanent changes in my life to make this work.  He knows how stressful my job is, and didn't want me to commit to the surgery until I had resolved that issue. 

Overall, he was very thoughtful, supportive and practical.

I saw my PCP in October 2009 for a Gallbladder problem.  She said that she watched me exercise and diet religiously for years without good results and we talked about the surgery.  I had my GB out in early November, went to orientation mid-November and had surgery mid-February.  The rest is history. 

That's so sad that his PCP treated him that way.  I'd switch doctors which I bet he might do after seeing your results.

 You are a good friend. Ignorance is one of the reasons I share information about my surgery with anyone who asks how I lost weight. My PCP is wonderful. I raised the issue of WLS with him after I developed type 2 diabetes. He was supportive and referred me right away to a practice nearby. Unfortunately it was not covered by my insurance, so I lost a few months in my process. I went to a Center for Excellence and had a fabulous experience.

One of the nurses in the PCP office was negative. Said she had seen people get ill after surgery. When I told her about the followup care and my own commitment to vitamins and exercise, she backed off.

We can be ambassadors for WLS, since I think it can help so many more people. Even doctors need updates to know what's possible.

when i brought up WLS to my pcp she told me that she wasn't a WLS supported and felt that diet and exercise were the way to go, however, she was supportive of me throughout my 6 mo supervised diet process and continues to be supportive of me today.

i appreciate the fact that she was honest with me about her opinion of WLS, but didn't try to talk me out of it or hinder my process. i'm sorry your friend has such a short sight pcp, but i'm not surprised.

My PCP is a big supporter of WLS. As she says: it works!