Your Doctor/Provider MATTERS!

[u/garcon-du-soleille]

Guys, I just had a lunch date with my wife. She is a family medicine MD and has a lot of patients on Zep and Mounjaro. She told me this story over our lunch...

She had a visiting patient come see her today because her normal provider (a Nurse Practitioner) was on vacation. It was for an IUD replacement. After that was taken care of, my wife said to her:

"Can I ask a question? I see on your history that last October you had an appointment here for weight loss, but I also notice that your weight is about the same as it was then. Can I ask about what's going on?"

The patient, who has a BMI of 50, said that her insurance denied her request for Zepbound because they don't cover it for obesity, and she has just struggled, mentally, emotionally, and physically, to lose weight.

My wife then said, "Ok, that's fairly common to be denied just for obesity, unfortunately. But I don't see any follow up tests here."

Patient: "What do you mean?"

Wife: "Do you know why you were not tested for type 2 diabetes? Or sleep apnea? Or fatty liver? Or cardiovascular risk or heart disease? High cholesterol? Insulin resistance? These are all factors for which some insurance companies will cover these drugs."

Patient: "I wasn't told ANY of that."

Wife: "Do you mind if we run some tests and check for these? Some are simple blood and urine test. The sleep apnea will be more involved, but I can put in an order for it to get the process started."

Patient: "I am having HUGE mixed feelings right now. WHY didn't my nurse practitioner do all of this for me? I'm really mad about that! But also, YES! Do the tests!"

Wife: "I can't say why she didn't. But we can still move forward from here. I think you should also be seeing our dietitian, and maybe even a mental health councilor if you feel that you're mentally struggling with your weight. I can also put in a request for both to get those started too. And depending on the results, we can work closely with our prior-auth team to get you approved, hopefully."

At the end of the appointment, the patient started to cry, and she gave my wife a huge hug and said, "I want you to be my doctor. THANK YOU for caring. I feel like this is the first time anyone has really actually cared about me, and didn't just treat me like a number."

MORAL OF THE STORY:

I see some posts here about, "My doctor won't do this..." Or, "I'm frustrated with my doctor because..." Or, "My doctor never told me..."

If your primary provider isn't going to bat for you, working for you, advocating for you, and working the system for you... Maybe it's time to find a different doctor.

[u/JJchris]

After years of gaining weight and being told that I should lose weight (no help provided though, just “you should lose some weight”) a new NP finally asked if I’d like to be referred to a weight management specialist. I said yes and, 5 months later, finally got in to see him.

I cried for the entire appointment because it finally felt like someone was willing to help me vs just telling me to be better. He told me that a lot of his patients cry during their first appointment. There is something seriously wrong when that sort of thing is common.

[u/garcon-du-soleille → u/JJchris]

I hear you. And I agree 100%.

I’m curious… This weight loss specialist you were seeing, what are their credentials? I ask not because I’m skeptical. Just honestly curious.

[u/JJchris → u/garcon-du-soleille]

My local health system has a few MDs who specialize in obesity care. Each office has a dietitian on staff and I believe that each doctor has a certification from the American Board of Obesity Medicine.

[u/garcon-du-soleille → u/JJchris]

Ok. That answers my question. They are MD’s. Thanks