Rabkin vs.

[Guest guest]

I don't mean to be repetitive, but since someone said there is a lack

of info on , I thought I'd post this here as well as the

Welker list. Thanks Sandy!

Rabkin vs.

Celebrity Death Match: WHO WILL WIN?

Okay, just kidding. Two people have written to me asking why I

switched from to Rabkin. I'm going to post the letter I

sent to them privately here. I'm not trying to start trouble for

loyalists (if there is such a thing), or start any ill

feelings over this. I just thought some people would like to hear

it. If not, don't read it, I'm not going to get into a " thing " with

anyone about it. Here it is:

----

I consider myself a reasonable person, but find it really hard to

talk reasonably about my experience with Dr. . The wasted

time, money and effort, when I think about it, really angers me.

Going into this, I really didn't know what to expect from a Dr. I'm

really tired at the moment and am about to go to bed, but I'll

simplify this for you.

In Feb I made two appointments, one with P () and one with R

(Rabkin). My dr. P appointment was April 12th and my dr. R was May

2nd. From what I understand, Dr. R is easier to see than P lately.

(this can change)

My problems with dr. P:

She makes you see HER psychologist, who makes you take an MMPI test,

I.E. a 564 question test that is scored by a computer. It is an out-

dated method of telling if you have any problems. That is your first

appointment, you have to have two. He is really hard to get into to

see, I had to wait almost five weeks. He is also rude, condescending

and a control freak. Really unpleasant all the way around. $355 for

that fiasco.

Have to see her dietician who didn't even understand what a DS was,

mainly an RNY person. Had to wait 6 weeks for that.

Finally saw Dr.P. My problems with her is as follows:

-Her staff is rude and disorganized. I was constantly told different

things by different people and then when I corrected or said someone

else said different was practically told I was a liar.

-When I finally met her she was rude. She asked me " So what is your

diet history? " I started to speak and she sighed loudly and looked

at her watch. She did this three or four times during the visit.

Later when I told my husband about it I burst into tears and said " I

waited for two months for that appointment and she doesn't even

listen to me. She just sighs and looks at her watch. " It really

made me mad.

-She didn't know what she was talking about. She told me with the DS

there is dumping (not possible) that I couldn't take Advil (not true)

and that eating sugar would make me physically ill (not true)

-I found out she has done only one DS in private practice

-Almost everyone who I have talked about her with has said when they

talked to her she tried to talk them into a different procedure,

either the banding or RNY. She tried to get me to do the banding

because it's " better for bigger people " (my BMI is 60). Another

woman who is BMI of 38 posted that Dr. P said she wanted HER to do

the banding because " it's better for smaller people. "

-She asked me why I didn't want the banding or RNY. I said everyone

I talked to about the banding say most people hate it and later have

it reversed. She said, " All my patients are happy with it. " I said

I didn't like the dumping syndrome associate with RNY, she

said, " None of my patients have ever dumped. " I didn't believe that

at all. Someone else went to her support group and said all her RNY

patients talk about is all their dumping. She's an out and out liar

as far as I'm concerned.

-I was told by her that I needed to lose 40lbs. before my surgery

date, and that they'd send in my insurance paper as soon as my PCP

wrote to her specific things she had on a piece of paper. I went on

her all liquid diet she gave me and went to my PCP. He sent her the

info the next day. I called two weeks later and asked if they sent

anything to my insurance yet. The woman said, " It says here in your

file that you have to lose 40lbs before your surgery, so we won't

even put the papers in until it's shown that you've complied with the

Dr.'s orders. " I found it really stupid, knowing that I can lose

weight, but can't keep it off, that I was lose the weight THEN fight

the insurance company for approval. I told her that. She fought

with me for a half an hour then told me it was her " 2nd day there,

but she was sure she was right. "

Well, I hadn't even considered going to my Rabkin appointment before

(believe or not) because was so much closer to me.

Portland is three hours away, SF is 10. My Dr. R appointment was in

two days, and I hung up the phone with the P people in tears and I

told my husband, " I've got to go to SF and see what Rabkin is like,

this is killing me dealing with these people. " So I did some

research on the web and found out Dr. P has only done ONE DS in

private practice and she really " doesn't like the DS. " Well, fuck

her then.

Dr. R and his sidekick Dr. J have done close to 200. I drove all day

Tuesday the 1st of May to SF and kept my appointment with them. The

change was unbelievable. They know so much more, they had a big

seminar like thing with lots of patients who want the DS. They knew

what they were talking about, they were KIND and FUNNY and HELPFUL.

I got to talk to Dr. J because R was out of town, and he was really

really nice and told me everything I wanted to know. They knew my

husband and I were in a hurry to get home so they brought the

insurance woman to us and had to talk to us. They were running

around trying to get things done for us. So much different from

Dr.P. They also said since we would self pay if insurance didn't

cover it, we could get an appointment immediately if we paid the Dr.

fee in advance. That was fine for us, and I had even told Dr. P

that. She didn't give a shit (huge surprise).

I paid my fee and got my appointment, June 13th. They have great pre-

op care, great post-op care. Gave me a phone number to bypass all

the front desk people in case I need to talk about my surgery. Dr. P

would make you see a specialist if you had even a tiny problem with

anything. She wanted me to see a hematologist before surgery because

my mom died of a pulmonary embolism. Dr. R and Dr. J say they can

handle that, and I don't need to see a specialist. I asked Dr. J

about the banding and told him said that would be best for

me. He said, " We used to do those, but found they don't work and

don't improve your life. " That was important to me, that he could

admit they did something that didn't work and changed it.

Someone else said the psychologist who works for her said Dr. P likes

to make people " jump through hoops to see how compliant to her wishes

they are. " No such fucked-up mind games with Dr. R. Just nice, sane

Dr.s

Oh, also, Dr. P won't help you out if your insurance denies you. You

are on your own. Dr. R people help you fight for your surgery.

I'm going to bed,

Donna