Re: Need a sane MD LONG!!!

[Guest guest]

your former doctor was as unprofessional as hell. he was insulting you to your

face and embarassing you in front of his staff, etc.. i would have not been able

to contain my anger if he had repeatedly told me i was nuts and that i was

crazy. you are right about the md next to his name making him think he has all

the answers to everything. if you are hypothyroid you might lose weight a little

slower post-op but you will still lose weight. i have never heard of a doctor

being that unprofessional, and i'm sure his staff might have been even thinking

his behavior was not professional. i would report him if he was as bad as he

sounds. well just my 2 cents. rob

> 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

[Guest guest]

your former doctor was as unprofessional as hell. he was insulting you to your

face and embarassing you in front of his staff, etc.. i would have not been able

to contain my anger if he had repeatedly told me i was nuts and that i was

crazy. you are right about the md next to his name making him think he has all

the answers to everything. if you are hypothyroid you might lose weight a little

slower post-op but you will still lose weight. i have never heard of a doctor

being that unprofessional, and i'm sure his staff might have been even thinking

his behavior was not professional. i would report him if he was as bad as he

sounds. well just my 2 cents. rob

> 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

[Guest guest]

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

HI Kathy,

I am so sorry to here about your ordeal. Some doctors just don't want

to listen!!! I too am having the Lap-DS with Dr. Elariny on Sept. 5th.

Have they scheduled a surgery date for you yet? I am in the middle of

getting my pre-op testing done as well. I'm sorry I don't know of a

good PCP in your general area. I'm sure someone on this list does so

keep the faith! Good luck and hope to meet you.

Lynn Fahey

Laparoscopic BPD/DS, Dr. Elariny, Arlington, VA

September 5, 2001

BC/BS Federal approved!!!!

[Guest guest]

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

HI Kathy,

I am so sorry to here about your ordeal. Some doctors just don't want

to listen!!! I too am having the Lap-DS with Dr. Elariny on Sept. 5th.

Have they scheduled a surgery date for you yet? I am in the middle of

getting my pre-op testing done as well. I'm sorry I don't know of a

good PCP in your general area. I'm sure someone on this list does so

keep the faith! Good luck and hope to meet you.

Lynn Fahey

Laparoscopic BPD/DS, Dr. Elariny, Arlington, VA

September 5, 2001

BC/BS Federal approved!!!!

[Guest guest]

He replied loudly, with a red face " are you nuts woman? Your problem

is hypothyroidism " ,

Apparently he feels his prescribing synthyroid and his overseeing my

diet and exercise regime will be magical.

Unbelievably unprofessional. For him to issue a proclamation that it

is only your thyroid imbalance that is causing your problems, is

unfortunately typical of many " old school " doctors, who look for the

easiest route,(prescribe a pill), rather than really listening to you

and trying to look at all possiblilties.

I had the DS and I am losing weight, despite having hypothyroidism

for years. I could not lose weight prior to the surgery. Plus, I am

still working with my PCP to get to " normal " , whatever that is. There

are some newish theories about what are optimal balances for women,

particularly those in menopause. My guess is that he isn't very up on

that, either, and would then attribute your lack of weight loss as

your fault! You are definitely better off with someone else, who

really has your best interests at heart.

I would report him for his unprofessional behavior.

Best of luck to you.

Ellen

DS 2/14/01 310

Dr. Anthone

8/01/01 236

-74 lbs.

[Guest guest]

First of your Dr Lassiter is a horses behind. Second of all you can

and shoudl report him to the medical board for his abusive and

extremely unporfessional behavior.

I had a PCP who behaved in a similar manner. While I did not need PCP

support because my insurance is PPO I felt that having a supportive

PCP was important to my recovery process. I posted my doctors comments

and behavior on the Q & A section of the Obesity Support webiste.

Several people e-mailed me privately with the names and numbers of

supportive PCP's in my area. I now have a wonderful, supportive and

kind PCP. So you might want to try this too. Here is the link:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/recent.phtml

> 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

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the support Ellen. I will probably go after him when I am

post op. My focus now is getting healthy. He's about 30 years old,

just a jerk.

Kathy

> I would report him for his unprofessional behavior.

> Best of luck to you.

>

> Ellen

> DS 2/14/01 310

> Dr. Anthone

> 8/01/01 236

> -74 lbs.

[Guest guest]

Thanks for the support Ellen. I will probably go after him when I am

post op. My focus now is getting healthy. He's about 30 years old,

just a jerk.

Kathy

> I would report him for his unprofessional behavior.

> Best of luck to you.

>

> Ellen

> DS 2/14/01 310

> Dr. Anthone

> 8/01/01 236

> -74 lbs.

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

I'm so sorry to hear about your ordeal!!! I live in Wilmington,

NC about an hour and fourty five minutes from G-ville. I went to ECU

so I know the drive well, it's not that bad. Anyway I have an

excellent doctor who has an incredible nurse!! When I had my first

consultation related to my WLS neither of them had heard about DS but

I did the same thing that you did and took along a bunch of info

etc. My doctor was very open minded from the start and read

everything that I had printed up. His nurse who is also obese is

even considering the surgery for herself! He totally supported me in

this decision and told me that he would do whatever necessary to get

my ins. to cover DS. Unfortunately I was denied but I'm going to

self-pay and use Dr. Baltasar in Spain. I know beyond a shadow of a

doubt that he will be there for me through my whole recovery. Please

email me if you're interested in using him, or if you have any other

questions. Take care, Amy in NC

> 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

[Guest guest]

I think I would initiate a suit against a doc who called me " nuts "

or " crazy " in front of other people. I have been warned many times

by advisors who handle malpractice insurance for healthcare providers

NEVER to speak in that way to any patient.

What a total jerk he is. Does he have an e-mail address? Sounds

like he needs to hear more about the DS. LOL

in Seattle

> 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

[Guest guest]

I think I would initiate a suit against a doc who called me " nuts "

or " crazy " in front of other people. I have been warned many times

by advisors who handle malpractice insurance for healthcare providers

NEVER to speak in that way to any patient.

What a total jerk he is. Does he have an e-mail address? Sounds

like he needs to hear more about the DS. LOL

in Seattle

> 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

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

What a complete jerk. I'd file a malpractice suit against him. Well, maybe

I wouldn't *really* file suit, but I'd want to anyway. He deserves it. No

doctor would ever talk to a patient like that.

I also wanted to mention that I also have impaired glucose tolerance,

cortisol level, and hypothryoidism... notice a pattern here? Perhaps it is

true that someone with *only* Hypothyroidism, if there is such a thing as

having *only* one disease, could loose weight without surgery, but once you

get two or three co-morbidites thrown in the pot, you have a real difficult

situation. I'd be willing to bet this doctor was a normal sized person who

has not had to battle his weight.

Find another doctor and file a complaint against this one to someone. Don't

stand for that sort of treatment!

[Guest guest]

Kathy,

What a complete jerk. I'd file a malpractice suit against him. Well, maybe

I wouldn't *really* file suit, but I'd want to anyway. He deserves it. No

doctor would ever talk to a patient like that.

I also wanted to mention that I also have impaired glucose tolerance,

cortisol level, and hypothryoidism... notice a pattern here? Perhaps it is

true that someone with *only* Hypothyroidism, if there is such a thing as

having *only* one disease, could loose weight without surgery, but once you

get two or three co-morbidites thrown in the pot, you have a real difficult

situation. I'd be willing to bet this doctor was a normal sized person who

has not had to battle his weight.

Find another doctor and file a complaint against this one to someone. Don't

stand for that sort of treatment!