Need advice from those that had a DS surgery from Dr. Husted

I'm looking for some other patients who had a DS surgery with Dr. John Husted.

I'm needing to know what kind of follow-up care they are doing. I had my surgery back in 2009. He never required me to do any follow-up with him other than a week post-op. He told me to follow up with PCP and to have him check my ADEK & iron.

Does any of his former patients have his lab form on what needs to be checked? I can not find a DR. willing to take on my care for this. I am near Charlotte NC., and would like to know if there are any doctors near me who can do this. My PCP does not feel comfortable as he is not knowledable about this procedure. I have not had any follow up labs related to this surgery since. I recently found out I have sever Iron deficient anemia that I am being treated with blood and iron infusions. The hematologist who is treating me does not want/or is not aware of the other things I need to be tested for. From what I'm gathering most surgeons require follow-up care and yearly labs and they check for a lot more than what I have mentioned. I have tried to contact a few bariactric surgeons near me but none are willing to take on my after care. I'm really worried that since I am so iron deficient that I may be deficient in other things too. Any advice on what I should do?

Almost everyone ends up having their pcp do the follow-up and order labs. In practice, since very few pcp's know anything about any kind of bariatric surgery, let alone the DS, that means we must be proactive and know for ourselves what labs need to be ordered, keep track of the results ourselves and the trends in the results to know when something is headed towards deficiency before it tanks, and purchase the right supplements to keep ourselves healthy. If your pcp is unwilling to even order labs for you, you need a new and improved pcp.

It sounds like you never got the info you needed to manage your post-op nutritional needs. I will send a pm with more info for you.

Larra

Wow! What an awful position to be in. Keep in mind you also have a case of medical negligence on your hands. I bet if you pursued legal action, you'd win by a landslide. The ds requires long term care and your doctor simply did not provide that. Good luck!

Hi Dana,

Thank you for the friend request. Take a look in my profile for a list of labs and vitamins, etc. They may help. I can also send you a copy of the labs list my surgeon does; maybe a PCP would be willing to follow the recommendations of another doctor or even reach out and ask questions.

--gina

Honestly surgeons are good for one thing - cutting. Not just Husted - most of them are the same way.

Hopefully with Gina's help you can get back on track. Her and I share the same surgeon and she has a complete list of labs. I follow the same set of labs. Hopefully you can find a PCP who is willing to learn but you also have to educate yourself. You have to learn what the markers are (what you need to test for and what the ranges should be). Glad you are getting the anemia taken care of. Been there, done that. Calcium and D will probably be issues too (just an assumption).

You can try finding an endocrinologist or a gastroenterologist willing to work with you. I spent years trying to find a PCP but finally found one willing to work with me but it did take educating him. I printed a bunch of background info on the DS and brought it to my first appointment.

Good luck.

most surgeons don't follow up after surgery, long term follow up is usually with your pcp. I have gone through 4 PCPs since my DS. First really didn't want to have anything, not comfortable, etc. the next after a while said a DS patient is too much work, the 3rd retired. I finally found a PCP that at first was very Leary to take me, she had an awful experience with severe malnutrition with her one and only DS patient, who never took supplements or had blood work???? really what did you think would happen?? you have half your GI system rerouted. But she knew on our first apt I was different, my children are now her patients also. She tells them "your mom is intense" LOL, I'll take that as a compliment

Keep looking till you find someone to listen to you, but you have to first understand what was done to you and how to stay healthy. You can expect a PCP to know about the DS as it is performed less than 1 percent of all bariatric surgeries. educate yourself on what you need to stay healthy, supplements and the required blood work

It's time to fire your PCP. Seek out a young and curious doctor that doesn't have a god complex (the young ones aren't there yet). Bring them documentation including a diagram about the DS and a list of labs you need (PM me if nobody's sent you anything yet). I've always had good luck with young PCP's, and we partner together to find what works for me vitamin-wise.