Dr. Duncan Patient... I need help...

I have been given a surgery date of Sept. 15th and pre-op date of the 10th. I have been trying to get an endoscopy appt. before then and also a h-pylori test appt. I can't get an appointment before the 10th anywhere! My PCP wants more information and an order for bloodwork and all the gastroentologist want a office visit before they will schedule a endo. All the ones I have talked to have told me it will be at least 4-5 weeks before I can get in for an endo. I am at my wits end and have been on the phone with Dr. offices all day..... what should I do?

Rhonda I'm sorry you are having trouble. Have you called Dr. Duncan's office to see if they can offer suggestions? I am using that group too. I don't have a date yet cause I'm still waiting for approval. Does everyone have to do a h-pylori & endoscopy before surgery? I hope you get something worked out soon. Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Debbie

Yes, I talked to Shante and she said I need to call back to talk to Joyce on Tuesday (closed Monday) That leaves me wed., and Thur. to get a endo.test... not likely to happen due to timing. I also left a message for Yakima to get info on the h-pylori. and have not got a call back yet. I am so worried I won't get the tests done in time. I have already had a "stress cry" and now I want to vomit! Can you tell I take things too seriously!

Rhonda the stress cry was probably a good thing - get it out of your system. I probably would be doing the same thing if it was happening to me but, if it doesn't work out then try to see the positive. Maybe the higher ups wanted you have surgery on another day. I believe things work out for a reason we just don't always understand the reason or like it. I know the holiday weekend is not working in your favor too. Just try to chill and find the silver lining........ Hope this helped some - Debbie

Rhonda, I didn't get the h-plori bloodwork taken till the day of my pre-op appt at the Atlanta Medical Center. Do call Joyce on Tuesday. She is who I called when I found out there was a mix up with my test and she will let you know exactly what to do. Remeber everything happens for a reason and try to enjoy this weekend, it will all work out. Hugs and prayers, Theresa

Hi. I went to my pcp for my h-pylori test. When the results came back positive, they faxed them to Dr. Duncan's office. I then had to have the upper endoscopy done, but only because the results were positive. They started me on the antibiotics. The purpose of the endoscopy was to look for anything out of the normal, like ulcers, before the surgery. Dr. Duncan's office faxed over a referral to my GI dr. I saw my GI dr. on Tues. for appt. then the upper endoscopy was sch. the next day at Gwinnett Med. Ctr. They had told me that I wouldn't have had to get an endoscopy performed if the h-pylori test had not been positive. Hope this helps.

Rhonda - I would highly recommend you have the h-pylori test before your surgery. If h-pylori is present in your system, you stand a very good chance of getting an ulcer afterwards. If the tests are positive and your doctor puts you on an antibiotic regiment, the antibiotic regiments are 14-21 days and you must be on the antibiotics the whole time. I am speaking from experience here. It is a pain in the butt beforehand, but it could save you a lot of problems down the road and may even save your life. I realize you may have to postpone your surgery, but please be smart about it and do it the right way.

Thanks for all the info guys! I feel much better. I got an appointment for the H-Pylori test for Tue. AM and my PCP is going to give me a medical clearance test on Wed. AM. Those two down, now just worried about the endo. I was told to talk to Joyce on Tue. AM to find out about the endo. The whole thing is out of my hands at this point so I just have to pray that things work out for the best and I know they will. Thanks again to everyone for your input! It helped to calm me down! You all enjoy this long weekend!