Guest guest Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Hello all, Just had to write and tell you that I think I have had it with doctors! I know this is the pancreas board but I went to a doctor for my thyroid and he decided to become my nutritionist and pancreatic specialist all in one. He decided that my thyroid was good on the medication I am on. Despite TSH being 0.02 Low and 0.40-5.50 being normal. He would then NOT talk to me about my thyroid anymore. He decided to tell me just how grossly obese I was and that he could help me lose 10% of my body weight before gastric bypass surgery. WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT gastric bypass surgery??!!! He decided that because of my 7 pancreatic attacks that my life span has been severely compromised!!!! And my chance of pancreatic cancer is quite high! He decided that I should be on a diet forever of only 8 egg whites a day, 10 servings of fresh fruit and 6 servings of steamed veggies a day. No dairy, no pasta, no meat and no fat!!! 800 calories a day and absolutely NO FAT PERIOD!!! He guaranteed me to lose 13 pounds in the first week. He also decided to send me to another specialist for my pancreas and has picked out the doctor to do the pancreatic surgery I will need!!! I asked for none of this. Did I mention I ONLY went to him for a thyroid problem??? He decided that my aching joints, EXTREME exhaustion, fatigue and other symptoms were from my gross obesity. He told me that I should never weigh more than 170 pounds for my height (5'10) despite a large bone frame and wearing a size 14. That my extra 50 pounds was surely going to be the death of me...literally! So obviously that makes me 220 pounds. I have gained these last 20 pounds when my thyroid went bad, but according to him, this has nothing to do with the other. Perhaps 4-5 pounds weight gain when your thyroid goes bad but not 20! I over eat is what he said despite walking 5 miles a day and watching the fat grams. I do not watch the caloric intake and thats my problem he said. He told me how he was the head of the Bethesda Naval academy for nutrition and that he has put Presidents on his diet and they have all done extremely well on it. I am just beside myself in tears here. I went for a consult on my thyroid and suddenly I am thrown into a new diet and am seeing a new pancreatic specialist and surgeon. He wouldn't even let me talk. Just kept telling me how he walks 12,000 steps a day and wears these shoes that weigh 3 1/2 pounds each all day to help him keep physically fit. Even showed me his pedometer. He just kept staring at my stomach as if it were going to explode and something would jump out at him at any moment!!! He then took a " before " picture of me and measured my waist so he can track my weight loss on his very own diet he put together. I know alot of you are on low fat diets, but for those of you without a feeding tube that are still eating solid regular food, how many of you are actually on a no meat, no dairy, no pasta, no fat at all diet? I need to try to get a handle on this guy and would appreciate advice. He wants to see me back in 2 weeks at least 20 pounds lighter! That doesn't sound like safe weight loss to me. And yes, he would prescribe for me, Adapix (Half of the phen-phen drug) meridia, provigil, and other amphetamine based drugs to take along with this diet of his. What are your thoughts? Sandy in Ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Sandy, I think the doctor is an idiot! At 5'10 " and 220 lbs, I don't think there is any health insurance that would cover gastric bypass surgery for you. The normal requirements are that you are at least 100 lbs overweight with a BMI of 40 or greater. If your BMI is 35 or greater and you have several obesity related co-morbidities, you can sometimes get the insurance to cover the surgery. I am 5'9 " tall and I weighed 260 lbs and had a BMI of 38.5 when I had the gastric bypass. I would do it all over again in a minute. However, you are nowhere near overweight enough to consider something so drastic. At 5'10 " tall and 220 lbs, your BMI is about 31 or 32. That does put you in the obese category, but just barely. The Body Mass Index (BMI) scale is as follows: 18.5 to 24.9 normal 25.0 to 29.9 overweight 30.0 to 34.9 obese 35.0 to 39.9 severely obese 40.0 to 50.0 morbidly obese 50.1 or greater - super obese Personally, I think I'd run from this doctor! W Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Sandy, Everyone, no matter what their weight needs some fat in their diet. Good fats, yes, but to eliminate it entirely, no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Dear Sandy, I have only been dealing with acute pancreatitis attacks for less than a year, but I have been on thyroid meds over 35 years after having part of my thyroid removed for Grave's Disease (a form of hyperthyroidism). TSH (thyroid Stimulating Hormone) is the pituitary hormone that tells your thyroid to make & release the thyroid hormones. When it is low, that means you circulating thyroid hormone levels are high. In otherwords, you are taking too high of a dose of thyroid replacement. Thyroid hormones plus amphetamines were used in the late 60s & early 70s to promote weight loss. They did, but in a very unhealthy manner. Too high levels of thyroid hormones have a couple of serious side effects: significant osteoporosis and heart rhythm abnormalities. I would be VERY cautious with this doc. Get a second opinion! Caroline Burton Chairman of Science Department NorthWest Arkansas Communty College Bentonville, Arkansas > He decided that my thyroid was good on the medication I am on. Despite > TSH being 0.02 Low and 0.40-5.50 being normal. He would then NOT talk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 > Thyroid hormones plus amphetamines were used in the late 60s & early 70s to promote weight loss. They did, but in a very unhealthy manner. Too high levels of thyroid hormones have a couple of serious side effects: significant osteoporosis and heart rhythm abnormalities. > I would be tempted to send a copy of this to the doctor and stating that if you did in fact, go ahead with his advice, that you would be concerned that you would be putting your health and his " reputation " at risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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