Gastroparesis, adhesions & problems finding a doc in North Carolina. Had DS in 2010.
Hello everyone,
I hope someone can help me. I had my DS at Duke in 2010 and ended up being one of the lucky ones people point to when they want to show you what complications look like. Long story short, the surgeons at Duke were not very helpful and now in 2015 I am dealing with diagnosed gastroparesis with probable adhesions. I am seeing a gastro who suspects my problems may be entirely adhesion-related based on some non-DS issues (I can no longer expand my diaphragm fully to cough, blow my nose, etc., except for a handful of occasions when I mysteriously could [we are currently assuming these times I may have torn some of the adhesions holding the diaphragm in place]). My problem is I cannot find a doctor willing to go in and check for adhesions because I've had the DS and they aren't comfortable with that. Duke is out - I no longer trust them. I live near Greenville, NC, and have tried Dr. Naziri, who doesn't do the DS but is very, very familiar with the other weight loss surgeries, he won't even give me a consult because of the DS. I am pretty much being shuffled from one place to another and getting no where except more and more underweight. I have not been able to eat anywhere near normally since fall of 2014 and am desperate for help, as I am basically living on applesauce, Campbell's chicken soup broth and pickles (all I can keep down most days now.) The sad thing is, this may not even be a DS-specific problem if it's just adhesions, but even when I point that out to the doctors, I still can't get anyone to help.
Can anyone recommend someone in/around North Carolina I could speak to? I am absolutely willing to travel, though obviously something close-ish would be ideal. I had this surgery years ago and have struggled since, I want to stop being sick and tired and finally get to living a good post-DS life. Any help you all can give me is much appreciated.
I'm sorry you are having such a struggle, both with the adhesions and also with finding a surgeon willing to help you. I do think you will nee to travel, unfortunately, but you already are open to this so that's a plus. I would recommend Dr. Ara Keshishian in Glendale, CA. Far away, but he does a lot of revision surgery and also deals with complications from bariatric and other abdominal surgeries a lot. I will send you a pm with more info.
Larra
Thanks, Larra. I'm glad you mentioned Dr. Keshishian, because before I had my surgery I did lurk here (along with a friend who had the DS a week before me and had a FABULOUS recovery, go figure!) and I had mentioned to her the other day that I could remember a doctor being mentioned for being awesome with complications, but couldn't remember who it was. She thought it might be Dr. K, and I thought she was correct, but when I googled him, I couldn't find any of the posts I could have sworn I'd read all those years ago talking about him. Thank you for verifying that!
I am so sorry that you are going through this. I can understand why you wouldn't trust Duke to help you. They pretty much perform the weight loss surgery and send you on your way. I have heard a l to of good things about Dr. Keshishian helping out folks who had complications after surgery with other surgeons. He seems to genuinely care. You might also want to see a gastroenterologist that is a motility expert but I don't know one off hand. Good luck and I hope you are feeling better soon.
