Question:
All my personal diet attempts thrown out the window by doctors...

In my 31 years I have been a yo-yo dieter & exerciser like all of you. I have spent the last 10 years on one diet or another and signing up at gyms (to only be humiliated in public) and even buying an expensive treadmill (which I FINALLY said goodbye to 2 weeks ago when I committed myself to WLS as an option). BUT NOW because none of my own personal attempts were documented by doctors, my pcm is disregarding them as if they never happened and has sent me back to square one like I'm a child!! I'm so frustrated. Off to the nutritionist where they are teaching me about the food pyramid (HELLO I was a USDA certified food preparer for years) and how to count calories & measure fat content. Off to more EXPENSIVE excercise classes that do NOTHING for me but lighten my wallet and leave me frustrated and humiliated, suffering emotionally. I don't want to go through this for another 10 years only to THEN be told I should have had WLS. I am one in a long genetic line of heavy women and men, there's no question that it is hereditary in my case. I just want the doctors to accept this. Should I humor them and go along with it for awhile or should I surf around for a doctor who will give me what I want? Who knows better me or the doctor, I really am not sure anymore!!?? I guess I just needed to vent more than anything else & hear that I'm not the only one who has had to go through this torture. Thanks for listening!    — [Anonymous] (posted on October 3, 2000)

October 3, 2000
I didn't need physican documentation of my dieting attempts for either my PCP or my surgeon. We just sumbitted the list from memory to the insurance company and all went through fine. I must say on another note that one thing you wrote is a concern to me. You said, ".....an expensive treadmill (which I FINALLY said goodbye to 2 weeks ago when I committed myself to WLS as an option". It is unlikely that the WLS will work well for you, especially long term, if you don't incorporate exercise into your post-op life. Now is not the time to be getting rid of exercise equipment; it is a time to be thinking about what type of exercise is going to be used as another tool to get and keep a new healthier you. The WLS is only a tool.. you will hear people here say that over and over again. Exercise and good nutrition are the other tools. If you don't avail yourself of all the tools out there, you're in a for a much harder and possibly dissapointing journey.
   — BethVBG

October 3, 2000
I would absolutely look for a WLS-friendly doc if it is your PCM holding you up rather than your insurance. Venting is great, but don't forget to keep a positive and persistant attitude! And dust that treadmill off and get back on it...I'll tell you what my doc said at my six week check up when I admitted I didn't exercise like I should: "You will NEVER BE SIGNIFICANTLY under 200 lbs. without exercise". So I have to ask myself, do I want to be 190 or 150? Okay, so I don't do 5 miles a day 7 times a week, but I do at least some form of exercise 5 days a week, and I feel great. Park that treadmill in front of the TV if you have to, but if your gonna throw it out, send it to me and I'll pay for the shipping! :) Good Luck and keep up the good fight!
   — Allie B.

October 4, 2000
I may be in the same boat. I am waiting to find out how long I need to be on a Dr. assisted weight loss program. The funny catch is my insurance will pay for the surgery but not for the required dr. assisted weight loss attempts. They get you coming or going.
   — MARK N.

October 4, 2000
Start doing what your doctor recommends, religiously, but shop around for a more enlightened PCP at the same time. Also, write out the most comprehensive list you can of all your diet attempts, when they were, how long they lasted, what the results were. Include the name of diet plans (if they had names), names of gyms, brand name of treadmill, and so forth. Also list all your morbidly obese relatives (dead and alive) for as many generations back as you can with their health problems and (if applicable) cause of death. Present your information to your present PCP for inclusion in your chart. If/when you change doctors it will have become part of your medical records! And DON"T GIVE UP.
   — Linda B.