Re: Kathy/Idea to find a sane MD

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

> >

>

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> >

August 4, 2001