Bean...and other Dr. Elariny patients...

KimberlyHeidi
on 5/1/11 12:43 pm - VA
Just because you dont have an issue with something doesnt mean that no one else will.

I have spoken with his staff and with Curtis who transfers me to Alex who tells me to email her since I have a hard time understanding her. 

Again the plan Dr E. gave me to follow up with him was at 6 months and at a year since I dont live close by and told him my PCP was willing to learn about the DS and I had a NUT who I liked where I lived. I am not 6 months out yet. Him and my PCP and NUT were supposed to be working together. My PCP and other specialists have faxed him copies of all my labs and all my reports of what has been going on. There has not been on comment from Dr E on any of this. 

He also has all my ER reports and he has never once asked me to come in after my ER visits. After he did surgery 2 weeks ago at his hospital on his discharge papers it says NO follow up with him is needed. They even double checked on this for me and confirmed that. So no I have not missed any follow ups with him. 

Also how would you know what he did for me and that he squeezed me in? This has my LIVID I might add. I was at my ER Friday, then Sat, and then finally at Fairfax on Sun. They released me on Sun and said I had a hernia and to follow up with Dr E in the AM and to make an appt Wed before surgery if he needed to see me before surgery. Then I finally talk to him for the first time and he tells me they were supposed to admit me and he was going to do emergency HERNIA surgery the next day and now most likely couldnt do it since they released me. I told him I would come right back to Fairfax and he said he had an appointment in 10 days and I told him I couldnt wait that long. He said he had to call the office to check his schedules and he would call right back. I waited hours before calling both Dr F and Curtis to let me know I was on my way. 

He did NOT do me any favors at all. He admitted me because his surgical resident said I had a hernia and that was causing my pain then after they released me and I had to go back once I figured out he wanted me admitted they couldnt find the hernia anymore. He didnt run any tests all the other Drs at all the other hospitals did. He also didnt squeeze me in as I was supposed to have surgery on Tues and then he never let anyone know until the last second that it wasnt going to be until Wed. 

What did he diagnose me with after surgery? He asked me to stay for over a week around the area so he could see me after. The only thing he diagnosed me with was NASH and we knew I had a fatty liver. He told me to see a liver specialist which I had been doing previously anyhow. There was nothing else he diagnosed me with. 

The issues I have been having all happened months ago and every Dr I have seen believes them to be caused by my DS surgery. I never had acid reflux issues/GERD until after surgery, I never had upper abdominal pain until after surgery. I have not complained at all about issues I had pre surgery which were things such as NAFLD, PCOS, IR, Pelvic Pain. 

As far as my anxiety yes I do have anxiety/panic disorder which I have had for many years and is being controlled by medicines and other relaxation techniques. Dr E. knew about this obviously. And when someone is in severe pain and they arent getting answers from anyone then yes it obviously would make someones anxiety level rise even if they didnt have anxiety issues to start with. 


newyorkbitch
on 5/1/11 12:48 pm
GERD is not uncommon in post-DS patients,  myself included.

How did somebody diagnose you with a hernia and then it disappeared?  Were you diagnosed by physical exam only or by some kind of scan?
KimberlyHeidi
on 5/1/11 1:13 pm - VA
How bad is your GERD? What do you take for it? When I had my Upper GI Series pre op they told me I had acid reflux which surprised me as I never had any issues with it. Occassionaly I got heartburn and indigestion but nothing like what I have now. I was released from my original surgery with a script for Prevacid which seemed to work for a while but then I had break through attacks. I tried a few others OTC and they did nothing so my PCP put me on Protonix 2x a day. He said after a month to try 1x a day but it didnt work so he kept me on it 2x a day. I still have pretty bad heartburn issues and also take pepcid and zantac (I alternate bwn them) and then things like Tums etc.  While the Protonix seems to be helping the most out of what I have taken I still have a lot of break through pain so I am wondering if its time to try a new PPI or just try and deal with it. My PCP wants to wait to see what the EGD shows before possibly trying another combo.

When I got to Fairfax I saw a surgical resident that said he worked with Dr E. He was very nice and felt my belly and had me almost do a sit up while he pressed on my belly. There was a little click noise and he said that was a hernia. Prior to that the day before I had a CT scan with contrast that didnt show anything at my local hospital and the day before that at my other local hospital (which is an urgent care/ER) they did X rays.

I came back to Fairfax the very next day and they no longer were able to find the hernia and said it could have been my muscles stretching. 

No one saw any image of a hernia it was just diagnosed by the physical exam he did. 
newyorkbitch
on 5/1/11 1:24 pm
Omeprazole.  Works better that Prevacid,  in my experience.  Take 20mg twice a day of omeprazole,  OTC.  Omeprazole is the generic name for Prilosec.  Don't "just deal with it"  - heartburn can lead to esophageal cancer if untreated. 

20mg of omeprazole twice a day should solve the issue.  Take it and stay on it and don't skip any doses.

Maybe you didn't have a hernia at all.


Larissa P.
on 5/1/11 11:33 am - Denton, TX
I appreciate Dr E's patients coming forward with a different perspective. In the end it will serve to get both sides of the story.

Duodenal Switch hybrid due to complications.
 
Click! > DS Documents ~ VitaLady.com ~ DSFacts.com ~ OH DS FB
KimberlyHeidi
on 5/1/11 11:37 am - VA
Well I just got back from the hospital for the 2nd day in a row and well this is more than upsetting. 

I am honestly SHOCKED at the responses I have gotten here especially by someone I considered a friend. I cant even begin to explain my frustration with my pain and how my words and posts have been taken out of context. I thought if anywhere I could go to talk about my issues it would be here, but I guess I was mistaken. 

I am thrilled for those who LOVE Dr E and his staff and that is just wonderful. I am glad that some people had great expirences with him post op, but I know many including a few of Dr E's big supporters told me not expect very good after care. I also did not mention his name for a long time and dont feel like I slammed him at all. However what him and his staff is doing is wrong.

From the time that I met Dr E. he knew that I lived a good distance away. He said it was fine for my PCP and my nutritionist here to do my aftercare and said he wanted to stay in touch when them with my labs and any issues. He asked if I could come to see him at 6 months post op and a year post op. After that he said if I wasnt have any issues I could come yearly if I wanted. I have followed all his instructions to the T. My PCP has faxed his office many times copy of my labs and also called Dr E directly regarding a few questions about my labs and has never once gotten a return phone call, fax, or email back. My PCP and other specialists have also done the same and had the same issues with no phone call or follow up to their questions. 

EVERY time that I have ever had an issue or went to the ER I have let them know so they would know what is going on with my care. After that I would fax over my reports as well. Again no feedback was ever given.

As far as any previous problems I had I think I either wrote it wrong or the people read it wrong. I have had on and off pelvic pain for many years and been to many GYN's specialists etc for this. They suspected endometriosis and we knew I had cysts as I have PCOS. I did have a lap done where they did not find any endometriosis only polyps in my uterus which were removed and a D and C was done. I see my GYN and have followed up as usual regarding this. I was told my pelvic pain was just something I had and was going to live with due to PCOS. This part has nothing to do with Dr E.

About a month ago I started expirencing pain in my upper abdomen. It felt like contractions and I was double overed in pain. I thought it was gas and tried gas meds and other remedies and suggestions I was given here. I started not being able to keep anything down and that is when I went to the ER on a Fri night. They did X rays, labs etc and couldnt find anything. Their final diagnosis was abdominal pain unexplained. The next day I went to the other ER and asked for a CT with contrast as recc and they did not see anything, they did more blood work up and gave me fluids etc. On Sunday I ended up going to Fairfax Hospital ( where Dr E is) and saw a resident surgeon who worked with Dr E. he diagnosed me with a hernia. They gave me morphine and said Dr E said he was going to operate on Thur and to go home. I went home and ended up in even more pain when I woke up so I called again and finally talked to Dr E myself (prior to this I was just talking to his staff and the surgeon on call) and he said he told them to admit me and he was going to do surgery the next day as an emergency basis but since I left the hospital he most likely couldnt do that anymore. He offered me an appointment in 10 days and I said there was no way I could wait that long. He said he had to call his office to check his schedule and he would call me back. After waiting hours in pure agony and getting advice from people on OH and the FB group I grabbed the bag I had and called his partner and told them I was coming in and not leaving until someone figured out what was going on. I went back to Fairfax on Monday and was finally admitted Mon night.

I was then told my hernia has disapeared and they didnt know what was wrong with me and that an EGD was needed and possibly surgery. I was told everything was scheduled for Tues. Tues came and went no one seemed to know what was going on. Finally they told me surgery was scheduled for Wed. Wed came and I was finally told I was going to be having exploratory lap to try and see if there was a hernia or what was causing my pain as well as an EGD. When I woke up from surgery I asked if the hernia was out and they told me there wasnt a hernia but some endo was burned off and a cyst was drained. I told them that I wanted to see Dr E. to talk about what he found and if that could have been causing the pain I was having. I then asked about the EGD where I was told that someone said they forgot to do it. I said that I would be fine staying and having that done as I wanted to make sure it got done. They said they were going to page Dr E. and have him come and see me and talk about everything.

A few hours later they started unhooking me and told me I was being discharged. I obviously didnt feel well enough to be discharged and wanted to make sure I spoke with Dr E. before leaving the hospital. I also let them know that I needed my original surgery report as well as the surgery report from earlier that day. They told me my PCP needed to request it. I also had my husbands FMLA paperwork during this hospital stay and asked them to please give it to Dr E or Dr F to fax back to my husbands work and they said they gave it to him to fill out. Before leaving they told me they were told that was completed and they did not have my surgery report and my PCP needed to request it. On my discharge papers it said to follow up with my PCP, GYN and that Dr E did not need to see me. I asked about this to make sure this was correct as I had planned on seeing him in May for my 6 month appointment. She called his office to confirm this and said he did not need me to follow up with him. She said even though she paged him he was not returning the pages and she was going to release me. 

For about a week or so I felt sore but was taking pain meds and my pain wasnt too severe. I finally got in to see my PCP and he had been requesting my surgery and pathology report but had not gotten it. During the time in Fairfax my Potassium was low and they gave me a few bags so my PCP did a few blood draws to make sure everything was returning to normal following surgery. When the front desk tried to make an appointment with GYN and explained the situation my GYN's office said they needed the paperwork to see what was done and removed. I then signed another release for my GYN's office. Prior to that I had already signed a release for my PCP to get those records.

Also during this time I found out from my husbands work that they did not recieve the FMLA paperwork and he was getting into trouble. I again called his office, faxed his office and emailed his office and explained the situation. As I have mentioned I am EXTREMELY hard of hearing and cannot use the phone with my hearing aids in. After they recieved my fax they called me and I once again asked them to please speak very loud and clear as I dont hear well. They said it was going to cost money for them to fax it to my husbands work. I explained that I had given it to Fairfax Hospital to give to Dr E and before leaving they said it was done. They wanted me to pay over the phone and I said all it was, was confirmation that I was in the hospital and having surgery and it needed to be faxed to my husbands work ASAP. I told them they could bill me if needed and that I also had been requesting my original surgery report for 5 months now as well as my recent surgery report. I told them I needed that right away and couldnt wait any longer for it. They said my PCP could request it free of charge and I told them he has been requesting it and so have other Drs and no one has gotten it. They said they would fax it to him that day along with my husbands FMLA leave paperwork (which they didnt).

This past Friday my pain started to feel like it was returning full force and because of the pain meds making me sometimes feel better and sometimes feel woozy I didnt want to take them unless I had to. I first had a Digestive Health appointment where they also told me they requested my records and had not yet gotten them. I met with the NP who worked for the colo rectal surgeon and she did diagnose me as having fissures and gave me meds for them and wants to see me back in 4 weeks to see if they have healed. 

I then saw my PCP who that morning had once again faxed in a request with my consent form and a letter stating how urgent it was that he got that paperwork as my GYN wouldnt see me without it. He also left a message to Dr. E's direct line as well. He has again never gotten a call back from him or his staff. He set me up with an urgent EGD and they were able to fit me in for this coming Wed. He told me if my pain didnt get better to go to the ER and that he did not feel a hernia.

Yesterday I was having the same labor pains and pain meds werent helping. I decided to go to the ER and saw a Dr I had previously seen. He did X rays to rule out an obstruction and did blood work and said my Potassium levels were low and ended up giving me a bag of potassium. He also said it came back that I had a slight UTI and wrote me a script for an antibiotic and also for liquid Potassium. He gave me a list of symptoms and signs to watch out for and go back to the ER for if I had.

Today I was still having the pain which again was intense. Then it started to be the same again where I couldnt keep food, drink or meds down. At that point I decided to go to the other ER where my PCP works even though its mostly residents there and takes longer. I was having a lot of the problems that were on the list that the Dr gave me last night. My muscles were sore and aching and I had slight chest pains but I didnt know if that was from not being able to keep my anxiety meds down and having an anxiety attack. They did an EKG, blood work and urine culture. They said I did not have a UTI but did have low Potassium which was strange since I just had a bag and my levels were rechecked in the middle of the night last night. They gave me liquid potassium but I could not get it down and began vomitting so decided to try a different anti nausea medicine and gave me Potassium pills instead. They told me to go home and try and rest and call my PCP, Surgeon and Digestive Health tomorrow to see if there was anyway they could move the EGD up which most likely they wont be able to but it was worth a shot. Due to getting so many fluids last night they did not give me fluids however said if I couldnt keep anything down I would need to come back tomorrow or Tues if I was getting dehydrated. 

I am sure I missed a lot of things and yes I have anxiety and yes it makes me worry but my anxiety has nothing to do with an office not releasing MY records to me or my Drs who have requested them many many many times with my consent in writing. It also does not have anything to do with the pain I am having in my stomach. And again I repeat that I have NEVER had this kind of pain in my upper abdomen in my life until about a month ago AFTER having this surgery. This was not something that I have ever expirenced in my life. Pelvic pain yes I have had that on and off for many years but that is not my complaint my complaint is pain in my upper abdomen above my belly button. 


Renee2007
on 5/1/11 11:46 am - Central, FL
 I have read so many of your posts and it's quite possible that I misunderstood. It may have been a post I read on FB. I just thought I saw where you stated that you had been living with abdominal pains for years. If I misunderstood, then I stand corrected. 

Renee
 My DS   
SW/263  CW/136 GW/150



KimberlyHeidi
on 5/1/11 12:03 pm - VA
 I have been living with pelvic pain for years but that is lower and where my ovaries are, not upper abdominal pain. I have never had the pain I have been having for a little over a month now before this. 
Renee2007
on 5/1/11 12:06 pm - Central, FL
 Well I hope you can some how some way get this all resolved. Hopefully the EGD will reveal something that has been overlooked or just not discovered yet. I wish you the best, Kim.

Renee
 My DS   
SW/263  CW/136 GW/150



KimberlyHeidi
on 5/1/11 12:11 pm - VA
 Thanks Renee that is what I am hoping too =)
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