Question:
Doctor postponed surgery due to counselor letter.

GOT A CALL FROM BTC IN ANN ARBOR MI. THIS MORNING. DOCTOR HAS CANCEL MY SURGERY DATE BECAUSE HES NOT HAPPY WITH COUNSELORS LETTER TO GO AHEAD WITH SURGERY. VERY UPSET ALL DAY. BTC IS GOING TO CALL ON MONDAY WITH APPOINTMENT TO SEE THEIR PSYC AND TO GET APPROVAL FOR SURGERY AGAIN. THIS HAS BEEN THE WORST DAY FOR ME. I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO HAVE WLS SINCE FEB.1999. I ATTEND SUPPORT MEETING AND HAVE BEEN THOUGH COUSELING (WHICH SHE HAS APPROVED ME FOR SURGERY) AND HAVE HAD LOTS OF SUPPORT FROM THIS WEB SITE. I HAVE ALREADY PUT IN FOR TIME OFF AT WORK AND HAVE PREPARED FOR MY DAUGHTERS CARE WHILE IN HOSPITAL. I DONT UNDERSTAND WHY THE DOCTOR HAD NOT LOOKED AT MY FILE BEFORE THEY SHEDULE MY SURGERY. I NOW WILL HAVE TO WAIT TILL JAN OR FEB IF THE PHYC APPROVES ME FOR SURGERY. I AM TRYING TO FIND POSITIVE THINGS ABOUT THE DELAY. BUT ITS NOT EASY WHEN I WAS ALL PREPARED MENTALY FOR SURGERY IN DEC. OH WELL I WILL KEEP TRYING. ANY WORDS OF ENCOURAGMENT WELCOMED. THANKS FOR LISTENING. LOUISE    — LOUISE M. (posted on November 19, 1999)

November 19, 1999
Just hang in there! I have been working at this long and hard, too. I think when we finally make up our minds to have this surgery, we want it NOW! My surgery is scheduled for March 15, 2000, and I had visions of 75 lbs or more being gone forever by spring. Oh, well! Just keep moving along and it is true, the squeeky wheel does get the grease!
   — Sandy C.

November 19, 1999
I feel for you as I too have been waiting since July just for an approval. I truly believe there is a `season` for everything and even though patience is not one of my virtues, I know my time will come when it is best for me. Just hang in there and things will turn out great for you !
   — Kay R.

November 20, 1999
Louise: What Kay said. Exactly...word for word.
   — Jaye C.

November 20, 1999
Hi Louise, Sorry to hear about your disappointment. I too got a call this week from BTC Ann Arbor with the news that they will not be able to do the surgery on me. I have been actively waiting and even gotten insurance approval since May 1999. My reason is due to a blood disorder and I too am distraught. At least we both know we are not alone. I hope you can get through this and get to a point that they will do your surgery. As for me I will not give up either and am seeking other alternatives starting with a Dr. in Atlanta that does this laproscopically. I will be rooting for you Louise. Diana
   — Diana G.

November 20, 1999
Does the cruelty of this BTC never stop? I have seen several postings over the past few days and I tell you I am not impressed. I feel for you, but you should find an individual Dr and stop waiting on these morons. You should not have to go this kind of anguish. Deciding on WLS is stressful enough without having problems with people like this. Find a good surgeon and go with him/her if you insurance clears or has already cleared. Stand up and be counted. Don't let them have the last say. The hoops they make you go through are rediculous. My doctor has already submitted my insurance and scheduled my surgery date and I have had no test run. He is also one of the best known bariatric surgeons in the state. Don't let people push you around. Tell them to scr#@ off and find someone who cares about you and your situation. Haven't you been through enough. Haven't you suffered enough. Hasn't there been enough humiliation. Life is too short to let money grubbing scum beat you down. You deserve to have what you want the same as everyone else. Take control and don't let them be in control. My doctor ask me when I wanted surgery and gave me two choices. I said 12/17 or sometime in March. He sent in my insurance letter with 12/15 as my date. You deserve to be treated as a human not a statistic. If someone tells you know, go to someone else. Ask someone here if they know a good surgeon in you area. If not go to another area. FIGHT -- FIGHT -- FIGHT. NEVER GIVE UP. REMEMBER YOU DESERVE IT. GOD BLESS AND GOOD LUCK
   — Jen L.

November 20, 1999
please contact me and let me know which doctor. I have had surgery at btc and i now have a friend that has been turned down surgery due to old old hospital records i would like to know if it is the same doctor. tina frey
   — Tina F.

November 29, 2000
Sorry, guys; i's not just BTC. The only surgeon in my area (NW Virginia) who does lap RNY, and whom I have waited months to see, insisted on a psych exam with a PARTICULAR psychologist at his University Hospital. Naturally, she does her research in the area of WLS outcomes, and since she is probably still using her data for research, would not let me do anything less than the 4-hour very intrusive exam, which included an IQ test! (The IQ test was allegedly to determine whether I could read/comprehend material (!), although we had to fill out a lengthy questionnaire before we even came to her office, and although I graduated college with a 3.9. Actually, it was simply one of the "outcomes predictors" used in her research, I am sure.)... Also in-depth personality tests (567 questions in just one of them.) She became quite angry (she probably thought it didn't show) when I argued politely that surely all that was not really necessary, and also when I disagreed that I need MANDATORY counseling because I have a long-ago history of sexual abuse. She also insisted that sending a brief summary with her recommendations to the surgeon wasn't enough, she had to send a 4-page report telling the surgeon (who has no psychiatric expertise, and is comprehends it less well than I do) EVERYTHING IN HER TESTS. INTERVIEW, ETC. When I protested that amount of unnecessary detail(becuase I have to work with many of the people who would eventually read my chart), she went to the surgeon WITHOUT MY PERMISSION, and encouraged him to refuse me as a patient because "we can't meet your confidentiality requirements". And he has, apparently. How's that for putting the interests of your patient first. Folks, I am a psychiatric nursing supervisor myself, and this would NOT be tolerated where I work! This is what I call the "I've got the keys" syndrome: If I have the keys to the locked doors--real or figurative--then everything I do is necessary maintenace of structure and boundaries, and everythng YOU want is "obvious evidence" of problems with authority, a sense of over-entitlement, a "controlling" personality", and so on. These people foist their own issues off on patients in the guise of helping professionals, and do a lot of damage while they are at it. It's little use arguing with them, because they are utterly lacking in self-awareness, and have been hiding behind credentials and the sysytem way too long to gain any insight now. Beware!!
   — Jesse M.

November 29, 2000
Boy, Jessie, I think you need to make a call to your state's psychological association & register your complaint. I'm not sure it's ethical for her to "require" you to participate in her research study. I see a real conflict between her "wants" as a researcher & your "needs" as a client. If you were there exclusively as a subject in her research, fine, but I believe her interests were in conflict with yours as a client. Sorry you got such a raw deal from the psychology community; unfortunately, it is consistent with the "key" syndrome. There are other Doctors out there; I sure hope you can get hooked up with one of them. I am very pleased with my results from my General Surgeon here in Idaho. Seven & a half months post & 132# lost.
   — Kathy W.