Feeling More Discouraged

So yesterday I finally saw my new/old PCP. I don't want to make it a long story but I don't feel it went well. First I got admonished for missing my last appointment. I told her I didn't miss it, I was there but because of a mix up with my calender I was 20 minutes late and was turned away. I was basically told that she was so busy that if anyone missed an appointment without calling she would have to dismiss them as a patient so I don't even know if she will continue to be my doctor.
Then she refused to do the labs I asked for, too. Basically told me that she didn't feel it was necessary since my labs last January were all normal. She asked why I felt I needed them run again and I explained everything and told her about Vitalady but she said that my surgeon was the expert on my surgery and she would defer to him and if they didn't feel it was necessary she wouldn't order them, either, I told her my insurance would pay for them but she said she would never order tests she didn't feel were necessary.
When I was weighed it showed I was up about 2 lbs from my last visit about 10 days ago so I was happy about that but when I weighed myself this morning it said I was 97.4lbs! WTF?????? That is about 5lbs lower then it said yesterday. I weighed myself several times to make sure it was right. The scale has been accurate up to this point. How could I be losing weight? I have been getting in about 1800 calories a day. I dump just about every day because I am pushing the complex carbs and fats. I hope that is a mistake and the scale will be right tomorrow.
I would like to find another surgeon and PCP to follow me but there isn't a lot around here. I don't know if I should just give up and get my labs every year and hope for the best or what I should do. I would go back to my other old PCP because at least she ran the labs when I asked for them but when she did half of them didn't get ran anyway. And I would like a PCP associated with a hospital with a bariatric program and she isn't. There are only a few bariatric programs around here and most of them only do bands and RNYs and don't really have good reputations that I have heard of. There is one surgeon that used to do the DS but she won't do it anymore, either and I have heard even worse things about her then I have about my current surgeon. Maybe I should find a gastro doctor?
If anyone has any good info on doctors in Portland, Oregon let me know.
What really ticked me off about seeing my old PCP was that she was the one that referred me to my surgeon and when I first had my surgery she didn't know much about it but as all about learning what she could and she did. When I had complications with an auto immune problem due to my chronic bacterial overgrowth she was the one that referred me to the doctor that diagnosed it when he had only seen it in one other patient, a WLS in the hospital, because it was so rare. I had a lot of faith in her because she really seemed to care about her patients. Now it seems that she is just so busy that she has become impersonal and rushed.

Crap, crap, crap!!!    Perhaps someone on Vitalady's grads board knows of some decent docs out there. Please ask there too if you're a member.

--gina
 

Big hugs to you Taz!

Could you chalk it up to a bad day for her? If not, I would be looking for someone else in a hurry.

Maybe the gastroenterologist you saw before may be a good starting place.

It's a shame that you have to go through this.  Did you give her the 6 month and 1 year list?

I copied Vitalady's list and gave it to my PCP and told him "these are the labs I'm suppose to have at 6 months and at 1 year"  He never questioned it and he just signed the bottom.  The girl at the front desk actually has it in her desk drawer file so when I call and say it's time, she dates it and faxes it to me.  I was surprised at this and it makes me wonder if they use it for other patients too. 

She didn't even look at the list.  She knew I had them done in January.  I don't even know if she will do that at one year since she told me that most of those tests were unnecessary and she never runs them because she never sees any deficiencies in them.  I did have tests run at 6 months but they were the same as they always did in the past which didn't show anything.  All they run is a CMP, CBC, vitamin D, B12, folate, pth, and ferritin and iron just because I asked.  They wouldn't even run the tests that I was concerned about because they were in the lower range of normal because to them they were normal.
I am going to look around and see if I can find a PCP who is experienced working with bariatric patients.  It is just frustrating because this is the university hospital.  You would think they would be more progressive in the medical field.  I really thought I would get state of the art treatment.  I guess I want Dr. House or Dr. Welby or something.

LOL...some of our LW's probably don't even know who Dr. Welby is? 

If it wasn't for Gina I'm quessing I wouldn't be getting my labs done because I wouldn't know any better.  None of my friends ever mention getting labs done.

Do you go to a support group?  I thought maybe if you did there might be someone there who could recommend someone in your area.

No, I haven't.  I keep meaning to.  The only ones I know about are at the hospital I already go to and I would assume everyone there gets their care there, too, and the other one is with the surgeon who I haven't heard anything good about.
Isn't there some kind of doctor referral service?  I think the hospitals have one but I'm not sure.

I hope you can find someone who will do the labs for you.  My PCP won't do mine either.  I have to get them from my surgeon and he only wants to do them once a year after the first year.

Sure hope you can get the weight loss stopped.  I would sure be worried about deficiencies if I got that low.

Good luck.

Linda

Tazz
Hang in there.  I know you're having a tough time, but it will all work out.  I'm encouraged that you're not consistently losing weight, and seem to be getting a handle on things.

My PCP actually thought it was important to get some key labs at 3 months to make sure I'm on the right track.  He listens, as does my surgeon's office.  I am blessed to have such a great team.

Take Care.

 

Yes you are.  Can you clone them and send them to Portland?