Re: Kathy/Idea to find a sane MD

August 3, 2001

Kathy -

I am a newbie here, and from reading your story, I am not sure if you work

as a nurse in that town or what. But, you might wish to remind that a--hole

of a doctor that he has violated some serious federal medical privacy rules

by blabbing your issues up and down the hall of his office, and calling you

crazy repeatedly could call for a lawsuit alleging " intentional infliction

of emotional distress " and or other things such as slander. I am not

advocating a lawsuit and don't think they necessarily solve anything, but

sometimes jerks such as this need to be reminded (perhaps by a letter to him

and the medical board of your state) that they can't treat people like crap

and get away with it. You might also wish to send a letter to the director

of the clinic, and possibly (but not probably) the media in your town.

Good luck.

>

>Reply-To: duodenalswitch

>To: duodenalswitch

>Subject: Kathy/Idea to find a " sane MD "

>Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 12:43:52 -0000

>

>Hi Kathy,

>

>Here's an idea. Get a listing from your insurance co all the

>participating primary care physicians in your area. This list should

>include both phone number and office address. Even if you have a PPO

>they should be able to provide this list as they typically have

>doctors they consider in-network. Go through the list and highlight

>everyone who is in a reasonable driving distance from your home or

>work.

>

>Now comes the fun part... Write up a brief (no more than one page)

>letter overviewing your status (weight, height, bmi, brief diet

>history, co-morbidities and pertinent bloodwork). State when and

>where you are having the bpd/ds (even a very brief description of the

>bpd/ds or at least a reference to the www.duodenalswitch.com website

>may be helpful). Lastly state that you are looking for a PCP who

>will work *with you* in both the pre-op and post-op stages as you

>strive to improve your health. Ask them to contact you (provide

>both phone number and address) if they feel they can provide any

>assistance.

>

>Mail a copy of this letter to every doctor on your list (minus the

>prick you just saw) and wait for the following 3 things to happen.

>First, expect that most doctors will simply ignore your letter.

>Second, you may get either frantic phone calls telling you this

> " tragedy " surgery is *not* for you, or a form letter stating you must

>make an appt to speak with the doctor. And 3rd, you will get a small

>handful of phone calls (or even letters) by doctors who sound like

>they are genuinely interested in helping you through this process.

>

>You can then schedule consultation appts with the docs in the 3rd

>group to discuss your case in greater detail. Your decision should

>become much clearer.

>

>Hope this helps. Good luck and please keep us informed how you make

>out!

>

>Terri Hassiak

>BMI 61.8

>http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=H980366398

>Appealed " Out-of-Network " Ins. Denial - AND WON!!!

>Laparoscopic BPD/DS with Dr. Pomp on 6/25/01 - Down 50 lbs in 5wks!

>email(no spaces): bunsofluff @ hotmail.com

>

> > Hi everyone,

> > I just re-joined this group and plan on having a DS with Dr.

>Elariny

> > as soon as I finish the preliminary workup. I have relocated to NE

> > North Carolina and need a good internist or Family Practice MD

> > preferably in Greenville NC, or Chesapeake, VA or nearby

>communities.

> > The following is the reason why I am asking for your help.

> >

> > Events of the Day, July 31, 2001

> >

> > Dr. Gaddy Lassiter stated he would not allow me to have a duodenal

> > switch. I asked him why he even saw me as a patient as I had

>informed

> > the staff well in advance that one of the reasons I was coming was

>to

> > have someone care for me pre and post operatively. He replied

>loudly,

> > with a red face " are you nuts woman? Your problem is

>hypothyroidism " ,

> > and then he circled the TSH test result of 7.14 several times.

> >

> > He picked up some research I had given Terry, his nurse and stated

>he

> > didn't know who was giving me this crap but that it wasn't true. I

> > explained that it was my research and that it was, indeed true.

> >

> > He told me that he had several patients who had hypothyroidism and

> > lost weight and that a person with hypothyroidism does not have

>weight

> > loss surgery. I told him that many of the patients who have WLS

>have

> > hypothyroidism. He exclaimed " You're nuts, they do not!, how many

>do

> > you know? " I replied 1128 from my internet support group. I asked

>him

> > if he could show me statistics on his patients with hypothyroidism.

>

> > His reply, " You're nuts! " I told him I had researched Obesity for

>10

> > years and WLS in particular for a year and asked how much research

>he

> > had done? He replied " Are you crazy!? " Seems he feels MD means he

> > can spout off falsehoods and not be held accountable.

> >

> > Next he told me my pituitary function was normal and that my only

> > problem was hypothyroidism. Apparently he forgot about the glucose

> > resuts in LA which showed impaired glucose tolerance and the

>altered

> > cortisol/aldosterone levels in Alabama. He further stated my

>memory

> > problems were related to hypothyroidism only, which indicates that

>he

> > also forgot about my hemangioma resection (brain tumor removal).

> >

> > After that he jumped up and ran in the hallway loudly exclaiming to

> > all within hearing distance (other tx rooms, the waiting area, the

> > office staff room) that " she's nuts, she's a nurse and she's still

> > going to have this surgery " He said this over and over and

>addressed

> > me with " you're a nurse, you're an intelligent human being, why do

> > this? I explained that I had been on synthyroid for a year, gone

>to

> > aerobics 7 days a week, had TSH, T3 and T4s done several times

>during

> > this period but only lost a pound. And that I had gone to weight

> > watchers 5 times, Craig, etc. He stated " yes but you're

> > hypothyroid, it won't work 'til you get euthyroid " . Apparently he

> > feels his prescribing synthyroid and his overseeing my diet and

> > exercise regime will be magical.

> > After he again told me I was nuts I turned to leave at which point

>Dr.

> > Lassiter grabbed my hand, shook it and said " Well I guess I'm not

>the

> > man to be your Doctor " . I acknowledged that and left. He

>immediately

> > ran to his staff and told them again that " I can't believe it,

>she's

> > crazy " . As I walked out the front door I mouthed to who

>was

> > on the phone to " cancel Glynn " . She shook her head in

> > acknowledgement. I had just made an appointment for Glynn prior to

> > this incident.

> > Thanks,

> > Kathy

>

>----------------------------------------------------------------------

>

August 4, 2001

Sparky,

I will get to the legal stuff once I've been switched. I live in

Edenton (a coastal historic village of 5,000). Dh (not dear husband)

has his office in Ahoskie (pop. 6,000) where 25% of the population has

the same last name as he does. I am sure his relatives control the

media, if there even is a paper. He is the only MD in HIS office. I

don't believe anyone else could get along with such a delusional

sociopath. I was born in NY, have lived and taught nursing all over

the country for over 20 years. I am currently half way through a PhD,

have attended law school, etc. He truly did mess with the wrong

person, but I'm focused on getting healthy right now. Did I mention

that my husband is in management at the company for which dh is the

plant MD? I am disabled currently (brain tumor removal aftermath).

Thanks for all the good suggestions. I can't wait to initiate them

Kathy

In duodenalswitch@y..., " Sparky Hobot " <sparkyhobot@h...> wrote:

> Kathy -

> I am a newbie here, and from reading your story, I am not sure if

you work

> as a nurse in that town or what. But, you might wish to remind that

a--hole

> of a doctor that he has violated some serious federal medical

privacy rules

> by blabbing your issues up and down the hall of his office, and

calling you

> crazy repeatedly could call for a lawsuit alleging " intentional

infliction

> of emotional distress " and or other things such as slander. I am

not

> advocating a lawsuit and don't think they necessarily solve

anything, but

> sometimes jerks such as this need to be reminded (perhaps by a

letter to him

> and the medical board of your state) that they can't treat people

like crap

> and get away with it. You might also wish to send a letter to the

director

> of the clinic, and possibly (but not probably) the media in your

town.

>

> Good luck.

>

> >From: " Terri Hassiak " <bunsofluff@h...>

> >Reply-To: duodenalswitch@y...

> >To: duodenalswitch@y...

> >Subject: Kathy/Idea to find a " sane MD "

> >Date: Thu, 02 Aug 2001 12:43:52 -0000

> >

> >Hi Kathy,

> >

> >Here's an idea. Get a listing from your insurance co all the

> >participating primary care physicians in your area. This list

should

> >include both phone number and office address. Even if you have a

PPO

> >they should be able to provide this list as they typically have

> >doctors they consider in-network. Go through the list and

highlight

> >everyone who is in a reasonable driving distance from your home or

> >work.

> >

> >Now comes the fun part... Write up a brief (no more than one page)

> >letter overviewing your status (weight, height, bmi, brief diet

> >history, co-morbidities and pertinent bloodwork). State when and

> >where you are having the bpd/ds (even a very brief description of

the

> >bpd/ds or at least a reference to the www.duodenalswitch.com

website

> >may be helpful). Lastly state that you are looking for a PCP who

> >will work *with you* in both the pre-op and post-op stages as you

> >strive to improve your health. Ask them to contact you (provide

> >both phone number and address) if they feel they can provide any

> >assistance.

> >

> >Mail a copy of this letter to every doctor on your list (minus the

> >prick you just saw) and wait for the following 3 things to happen.

> >First, expect that most doctors will simply ignore your letter.

> >Second, you may get either frantic phone calls telling you this

> > " tragedy " surgery is *not* for you, or a form letter stating you

must

> >make an appt to speak with the doctor. And 3rd, you will get a

small

> >handful of phone calls (or even letters) by doctors who sound like

> >they are genuinely interested in helping you through this process.

> >

> >You can then schedule consultation appts with the docs in the 3rd

> >group to discuss your case in greater detail. Your decision should

> >become much clearer.

> >

> >Hope this helps. Good luck and please keep us informed how you

make

> >out!

> >

> >Terri Hassiak

> >BMI 61.8

> >http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/profile.phtml?N=H980366398

> >Appealed " Out-of-Network " Ins. Denial - AND WON!!!

> >Laparoscopic BPD/DS with Dr. Pomp on 6/25/01 - Down 50 lbs in 5wks!

> >email(no spaces): bunsofluff @ hotmail.com

> >

> > > Hi everyone,

> > > I just re-joined this group and plan on having a DS with Dr.

> >Elariny

> > > as soon as I finish the preliminary workup. I have relocated to

NE

> > > North Carolina and need a good internist or Family Practice MD

> > > preferably in Greenville NC, or Chesapeake, VA or nearby

> >communities.

> > > The following is the reason why I am asking for your help.

> > >

> > > Events of the Day, July 31, 2001

> > >

> > > Dr. Gaddy Lassiter stated he would not allow me to have a

duodenal

> > > switch. I asked him why he even saw me as a patient as I had

> >informed

> > > the staff well in advance that one of the reasons I was coming

was

> >to

> > > have someone care for me pre and post operatively. He replied

> >loudly,

> > > with a red face " are you nuts woman? Your problem is

> >hypothyroidism " ,

> > > and then he circled the TSH test result of 7.14 several times.

> > >

> > > He picked up some research I had given Terry, his nurse and

stated

> >he

> > > didn't know who was giving me this crap but that it wasn't true.

I

> > > explained that it was my research and that it was, indeed true.

> > >

> > > He told me that he had several patients who had hypothyroidism

and

> > > lost weight and that a person with hypothyroidism does not have

> >weight

> > > loss surgery. I told him that many of the patients who have

WLS

> >have

> > > hypothyroidism. He exclaimed " You're nuts, they do not!, how

many

> >do

> > > you know? " I replied 1128 from my internet support group. I

asked

> >him

> > > if he could show me statistics on his patients with

hypothyroidism.

> >

> > > His reply, " You're nuts! " I told him I had researched Obesity

for

> >10

> > > years and WLS in particular for a year and asked how much

research

> >he

> > > had done? He replied " Are you crazy!? " Seems he feels MD means

he

> > > can spout off falsehoods and not be held accountable.

> > >

> > > Next he told me my pituitary function was normal and that my

only

> > > problem was hypothyroidism. Apparently he forgot about the

glucose

> > > resuts in LA which showed impaired glucose tolerance and the

> >altered

> > > cortisol/aldosterone levels in Alabama. He further stated my

> >memory

> > > problems were related to hypothyroidism only, which indicates

that

> >he

> > > also forgot about my hemangioma resection (brain tumor removal).

> > >

> > > After that he jumped up and ran in the hallway loudly exclaiming

to

> > > all within hearing distance (other tx rooms, the waiting area,

the

> > > office staff room) that " she's nuts, she's a nurse and she's

still

> > > going to have this surgery " He said this over and over and

> >addressed

> > > me with " you're a nurse, you're an intelligent human being, why

do

> > > this? I explained that I had been on synthyroid for a year,

gone

> >to

> > > aerobics 7 days a week, had TSH, T3 and T4s done several times

> >during

> > > this period but only lost a pound. And that I had gone to weight

> > > watchers 5 times, Craig, etc. He stated " yes but you're

> > > hypothyroid, it won't work 'til you get euthyroid " . Apparently

he

> > > feels his prescribing synthyroid and his overseeing my diet and

> > > exercise regime will be magical.

> > > After he again told me I was nuts I turned to leave at which

point

> >Dr.

> > > Lassiter grabbed my hand, shook it and said " Well I guess I'm

not

> >the

> > > man to be your Doctor " . I acknowledged that and left. He

> >immediately

> > > ran to his staff and told them again that " I can't believe it,

> >she's

> > > crazy " . As I walked out the front door I mouthed to

who

> >was

> > > on the phone to " cancel Glynn " . She shook her head in

> > > acknowledgement. I had just made an appointment for Glynn prior

to

> > > this incident.

> > > Thanks,

> > > Kathy

> >

>

>---------------------------------------------------------------------

-

> >

August 4, 2001