PCP NOT ON BOARD UPDATE (RANT)

OKAY SO I POSTED TO THE BOARD THE OTHER DAY ABOUT MY PCP NOT BEING ON BOARD WITH ME HAVING WEIGHT LOSS SURGERY EVEN AFTER I CAME INTO HER OFFICE WITH 150/100 BLOOD PRESSURE AT THE AGE OF 23. SO I WENT TO MY EYE APPOINTMENT TODAY AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENS,.....I WAS RUSHED TO THE ER. WHY? OH,....BECAUSE MY OPTIC NERVE WAS SEVERELY SWOLLEN AND I HAD INCREASED PRESSURE IN MY HEAD AND EYES (BILATERAL PAPILLEDEMA). NOT A GOOD THING AT ALL. SO AFTER MANY TESTS THE DOCTORS BELIEVE I MAY HAVE PSEUDOTUMOR CEREBRI. IT CAN AND IS OFTEN CAUSED BY OBESITY. BINGO!!!!!!! MY EYE DOCTOR WAS SO UPSET WITH MY PCP BECAUSE I SHOWED SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF THIS PROBLEM FOR YEARS AND SHE NEVER ONCE REFERRED ME TO AN OPTHALMOLOGIST

LONG STORY SHORT, SHE IS A LAZY DOCTOR WHO IS GETTING FIRED BECAUSE I CAN DIE IN HER HANDS. I STILL HAVE MORE TESTS TO RULE OUT BRAIN TUMOR BUT THEY STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT IT IS PSEUDOTUMOR CEREBRI.

SO AM I A CANDIDATE FOR THE SURGERY OR WHAT?!

P.S. SORRY FOR RANTING BUT I AM SO UPSET THAT THIS DOCTOR ISN'T DOING HER JOB. UGH!!!!!

Definitely time to fire that PCP and file some kind of complaint! That's not cool, at all.

Hope everything gets better soon

THANKS I HOPE SO TOO. I AM GONNA MAKE A COMPLAINT. I JUST HATE THAT I AM NOT TREATED THE SAME AS PEOPLE WITH A HIGHER ECONOMIC STATUS. IT'S HARD TO GET PREVENTIVE CARE WHEN YOU ARE POOR. IT SEEMS LIKE THEY LET YOU GET SICK AND THEN TRY TO TREAT THE PROBLEM.

Still depends on your BMI, comordibitires, employeer's coverage of WLS provisio, and prerequisite data and attempts needing documented by the insurance carrier.

Have you spoken to a WLS surgeon?

I HAVEN'T HAD A CONSULTATION YET BECAUSE MY INSURANCE REQUIRES A REFERRAL AND MY PCP WOULD NOT GIVE IT TO ME UNTIL SHE FELT I NEEDED IT. SHE SAID SHE THINKS I AM TOO YOUNG TO HAVE SURGERY. I HAVE A BMI OF 40, ASTHMA, JOINT PAIN, PCOS, HEADACHES, SLEEP PROBLEMS, BACK PAIN, VERTIGO, PREDIABETES, HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE, DEPRESSION, METABOLIC SYNDROME, AND BORDERLINE HYPOTHYROIDISM. I AM ONLY 23 AND AM ALREADY WITNESSING WHAT OBESITY CAN DO TO THE BODY.

Get a new PCP I mediately.

Personally I would report her to the medical review board. Yes I would be finding another PCP in a heart beat also... Good luck on everything else!

THANK YOU AND BEST WISHES TO YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY.

Step 1- Follow up with the initial diagnosis (yes, you are still a candidate for VSG with the pseudotumor, there were 2 or 3 that posted about a year ago on here)

Step 2- Get a new PCP immediately

Step 3- Get all of this documented, write it out, without emotion, and then file a major complaint with the state medical board, and if she is in a private practice, share reviews on every single one of the sites that pop up through a google search of her name or clinic name*again, be professional and attempt to remove emotion* I know removing the emotion is very difficult, my band surgeon is a complete douchebag, but filing that formal HIPAA violation and complaint with the hospital that he worked with was extremely gratifying when I was able to state factual, and very sound complaints without emotions.

WOW!!!! THANKS FOR THE GREAT ADVICE. I AM DEFINITELY GOING TO DOCUMENT IT ALL AND FILE A COMPLAINT. I HAVE TO BE MY OWN ADVOCATE FOR MY HEALTH. THANKS AGAIN!!!