How many visits will your surgeon allow? *ANGRY POST!*

Wow! It sure sounds like you've had a really bad experience. It is so weird, as I went through Dr Greenslade's office and Brenda was fantastic with me.  She even went to the trouble of ringing two other patients on my preferred date who she thought might be flexible and be able to move forward to a cancellation date that she originally offered me but I couldn't take as I was hoping to have my surgery on the first available day of the school holidays (as I'm a teacher) and needed to try and maximise my recovery time. She did it too :) However, I have also experienced her being pretty matter of fact just once when she rang me to confirm something and was fairly short and sharp - I assumed she was under the pump with a heavy work load or something as she wasn't actually rude, just a bit abrupt, however, I still found her helpful every time I had to deal with her.

I can't imagine why she would try to stop you having a second appointment... She has actually had the sleeve surgery herself so maybe she thought she would know the answers to your questions and was trying to save you money or maybe she didn't quite understand that you wanted to discuss a separate procedure or something - who knows? A shame for you to start your journey with such negativity though.

Best of luck with your surgery. Dr Greenslade is excellent. 

Cheers,

Anyone who read this at any point may be interested to know.... Today I called Dr.Greenslade's office to confirm my full payment has been received and was informed by the temp that BRENDA HAS LEFT.

Woop!

She was not at all surprised to hear what I had to say either. Confirmation I wasn't the only one she treated like that!

That's appalling! Me personally, I probably wouldn't send the email, but would mention it to him if you actually get an appointment to see him. 

I also think that if you feel you need another appointment with him prior to surgery then you should be able to get one. It is a big deal. This is a big operation and not one to be had lightly. 

Hope you get it sorted. She sounds awful.

Oh and PartyPie..! I definitely agree she's damaging his reputation. I only wonder if maybe he'll get defensive if I mention it. Last thing I want is for the man who will be wrist deep in my abdomen to be angry with me...
So you mention it and let me know how he takes it HAHA!!! Jk

I'll word it somehow. Have to get to see him first! I might be pushed away with a stick!

Thank you everybody. I had a big vent to my partner tonight (who has met her as well) and we've agreed I should just smile past her and take it up with Justin :)

Thanks for your support guys.. Man was I ropable when I got off the phone! You all rock :)

x

Nah, she's just a power hungry bitch who was probably having a bad day. Don't send the email, sleep on it and think about it. Don't let one gargoyle get in your way.

Best of luck!

Meatpie wrote:

Hey katesize8...
As you know we have same dr! 
Love him, can't stand her... She acts like she is the bloody gatekeeper to heaven. 
I have had problems with her also but as soon as I deal with Justin- it's all good. . He is a great doctor and I agree she is a bitch but perhaps persevere. 
I'm going to tell him at my 4 wk follow up appt that she is painful and possibly harming his reputation.. I suggest you do too..

:)

Hey katesize8...
As you know we have same dr! 
Love him, can't stand her... She acts like she is the bloody gatekeeper to heaven. 
I have had problems with her also but as soon as I deal with Justin- it's all good. . He is a great doctor and I agree she is a bitch but perhaps persevere. 
I'm going to tell him at my 4 wk follow up appt that she is painful and possibly harming his reputation.. I suggest you do too..

KateyOverWeighty wrote:

Okay.... grumpy Katey has had a few deep breaths and has decided to call again, make an appointment and then discuss this in person with Dr. Justin. I figure if I address the email to him, she'll read it first and probably not pass it on, and if I email her, she'll just ignore it.

Good on you KateyOverWeighty!  I think that you have made a good decision.

Print off what you wrote, take it to the appt. with you, and then if you need to read it out aloud (quite understandable if you are emotional and teary at the time), you will ensure that you will say what you need to and won't come out thinking "Oh damn!  I should have said x,y,z".
Also maybe just drop in to the conversation with him that there are well-read forums out there, and that a lot of folk choose their surgeon on word of mouth.

Hell no!  You aren't being unreasonable at all!!  YOU need to be 100% certain and confident that the decision that you make, whatever it is, is the best that you did at that point in time with the knowledge and resources that you had.

All the best!

Okay.... grumpy Katey has had a few deep breaths and has decided to call again, make an appointment and then discuss this in person with Dr. Justin. I figure if I address the email to him, she'll read it first and probably not pass it on, and if I email her, she'll just ignore it.

Glad to hear from you guys that I am not being unreasonable expecting to be able to see him twice before my surgery. I saw him in August so to not see him again until I am in my gown seems a little unsettling! So many reports on here about people's surgeons and their 'teams' being supportive and forthcoming.. then I cop this!

Why meeeeeee???

Ferk!  That receptionist is a complete knob!

I saw a Dr in the same practice as the Surgeon prior to seeing the surgeon, so that was my first appt, then had a separate consultation with the surgeon, so had two appts.  Did have to pay for both.

This is just my opinion:

If you still want to go with the surgeon - and it sounds as though you have done your research and that you have read favourable things about him (keep in mind the obnoxious receptionist isn't the one operating on you!), I would send the whole post as you have written below via email to him and address it:  "Attention Dr Greenslade".
But change the bit about asking for a refund, seeing as it's him you want to operate on you (and leave out the swear words!).

Geeze, some people go ahead with these highly invasive operations having done no research nor preparation (which just amazes me), and you obviously have researched and are preparing, so kudos to you.

All the best, and keep us updated x.

Wow, Katey - that is beyond appalling !!! My SIL saw our surgeon, & he wanted to band her, but she said she wasn't keen, so HE said he'd like her to do such & such for 2 weeks and HE would like to see her again !!! How is a receptionist qualified to give you ANY advice on which medical procedure best suits your situation ??? You're not asking her what outfit you should wear to the hospital, you're trying to get a consultation with your chosen professional to get a medical opinion on a medical procedure. Maybe once she's completed her medical degree and the her specialty surgeon's qualification and a little surgical experience thrown in you might be happy to throw a few MEDICAL questions her way !!!!

As Bumbles said, I'm not sure you should ask for the refund (unless you really feel that you want to walk away from that particular surgeon) but i think the receptionist needs to know that the way she handled the phone call was totally inappropriate and insensitive. You absolutely need to see the surgeon to discuss the best operation for you, but, hey, you could tell her that if you need to brush up on your interpersonal skills you'll give her a call to work out exactly how not to treat others.

Good luck !!! xxx

Being unable to discuss any concerns you have over a fairly risky invasive procedure seems bizarre!

My surgeon saw me twice before the operation (and I could call, email or visit again if I needed to) and has seen me every 3 months post surgery with an open door policy if I need it. And its all bulk billed. 

I dont think youre out of line at all, however would think twice about sending the email with the last line included if youre only bluffing about going to a second surgeon. I wouldnt want to be on the bad side of the guy who youre putting your life in the hands of, and this whole thing may just be a receptionist who is too big for her boots and not representative of the actual surgeon ;)

Hi guys
 
Please excuse any outbursts that may occur in this post. I am so pissed off!

As a couple of you may be aware, I am considering gastric bypass as an alternative to the sleeve (which is currently booked and paid for with Dr.Greenslade at Greenslopes for 05/04/2016). I had decided to take my research to my surgeon to discuss his criteria and whether he would consider me for the other procedure.
I get paid monthly, so budgeting is difficult. Any medical appointments need to be arranged and booked for after the 15^th of the month as towards the end of the month can get a bit tight! I tend to book things far in advance as a result. Up until payment a couple of weeks ago, I was able to email Brenda (practice manager at Dr. Greenslade’s office) regarding paperwork and payment etc.


However! Now I have paid my $4500 the attitude seems to have changed. Trust me when I say I am not a pain in the ass with emails. Since payment I have sent her one email, 6 days ago, asking for an appointment to see Dr. Greenslade sometime after November 15^th. No response.
Fair enough I thought, and this morning grabbed a quiet moment to call the office to make the appointment (my second ever with Dr. Greenslade) by phone.

The response I got shocked me and actually embarrassed me.

Ring-ring.
Brenda asked me if I had seen the surgeon before. I said yes, I am having surgery with him in April.
She puts me on hold for 3 minutes.
When she returned she confirmed my surgery date and name, then Brenda tells me the surgeon has not asked to see me again prior to the surgery.
She then asked me if there was ‘any reason’ I would need to see Dr. Greenslade again prior to my surgery? (Would I be bloody calling if there wasn’t?!!!!)
After my stunned silence, I said yes, I wanted to discuss something. She then said ‘well after your initial consult it is very unusual to see the surgeon again before the surgery. It’s very out of the norm.’
Silence. (Was I supposed to say ‘oh… okay then…sorry. bye.’)
She says ‘hello…?’
I say ‘hi, I’m here. I’d like to see Dr. Greenslade please.’
After making a frustrated noise, she says ‘… is there anything I can help you with?’
I say ‘no. I’d like to talk to the surgeon.’
She says ‘If you have any questions I can probably answer them for you…?’

Again, as some of you may know, I am not a secret sleever, but that doesn’t mean I want everyone in my office hearing me having deeply personal conversations regarding my obesity with some fucking receptionist! (Sorry)

She eventually said she could fit me in on Nov 16^th (he only consults between 8:30am and 11:30am – which irritated me more lol)
I said I’d think about it and call back. By that stage, my entire office could hear from the tone in my voice that I was trying to have a private uncomfortable discussion so naturally, they had all gone silent to listen. I hung up, red faced and fuming.
 
I have an email typed and ready to send to ‘Brenda’ requesting refund of my $4500…

Email:


Hello once again,
 
I sent the below email 6 days ago and did not get a response so was forced to call this morning to make this appointment.
 
I did not appreciate being questioned as to why I would want to see him more than once prior to my operation.
I do not think this is something I should be made to feel uncomfortable about, seeing as this operation (I have already paid for, I might add) is a HUGE decision for a patient.
Not that I believe it is anyone’s business but my own, but I wanted to discuss WITH THE SURGEON his criteria for this operation over another bariatric procedure.
Once I made it clear I didn’t want to discuss this with you, you did not need to explain to me twice more that you may be able to help.
 
I am in a busy office, calling to simply make an appointment, and do not wish to discuss my confidential business a: with anyone other than my surgeon and b: within earshot of my colleagues.
 
Dr. Greenslade received glowing reviews amongst my support group but this morning’s phonecall has just thrown me completely off using him as my surgeon. I was made to feel like my making a 2^nd appointment (and paying for it) would be wasting his precious time.. like a 2^nd appointment with the man I have to entrust my life to is an annoyance.
 
Please respond as to how quickly I can get a refund of my $4500 if I find a surgeon who is open to meeting my needs with plenty of notice.


-------------------------

Should I send it or calm the hell down?????