treatcheri

I had rny in 2004 in MN and lost 167 pounds. In 2009 I started having pain and went back to my bariatric dr who did no tests but said I probably had ulcers and put me on meds. Several months passed with no relief but dr said keep taking meds, no tests. I went to my primary dr who sent me for an upper endoscopy. They found no ulcers and said I was fine but I was still in pain. He gave me pain meds but no followup tests or suggestions for correcting the issue. Long story short 3 years go by in constant pain and 3 doctors later I decided if I didn't leave MN I would die. I moved it CA and started the whole process again only to be told nothing showed on any tests so they sent me to a general surgeon for exploratory surgery. At this point I had zero quality of life, I lived in extreme pain and no medication helped. I knew my days were numbers. The surgeon asked me when I wanted to do the surgery and I said TODAY. He laughed and said he had a cancellation that day or he could do it in 2 weeks. I said I won't live 2 more weeks. He did the surgery that day and afterward he told me I wouldn't have lived 2 more weeks. I had strictures that had closed off the release of acid from my disconnected stomach and it was ready to burst and I also had a strangulated hernia. 2 years later I was back in surgery for the same issues. My primary Dr with Kaiser refused to refer me to a bariatric doctor. He said Kaiser doesn't do that. The Pain is now back with a vengeance. I requested a new primary and asked him to refer me to a bariatric doctor. Now I'm getting the run around and am wondering if anyone else has had issues with Kaiser in SoCal no allowing rny patients to be seen my a bariatric doctor. I'm 99% sure I will need surgery again and I would rather have this handled by a bariatric doctor. Why do I have to see a PA to get a referral to bariatrics when I've proven the need with my past history? Is there anyone I can contact to get help?

Just wanted to update this post. I've been to the preventative medicine intake meeting. The guy I talked to there was very proactive and started making calls while I was sitting there to get things rolling. They've already requested all my medical history records, ordered and completed all my labs and I'm waiting to hear back from the surgeon to find out what tests I need to have done prior to meeting with him. In the meantime I'm on a liquid/pureed diet (which I actually put myself on prior to them telling me to since it is all I can tolerate without being in agony). At this point I am feeling positive that this will not be too horrible. Hoping it's not just wishful thinking.

I had my rny in MN and not with Kaiser. Kaiser wants my records and MN is giving me the run around...but of course!

No I didn't have any issues other than my weight prior to surgery. Don't be afraid, just ask at your appointment about anything you're worried about. I don't regret my surgery, just my choices in doctors.

I consider going after my first surgeon every single time I'm in agony but he's got a 5 star rating and to be honest I liked the guy. I just think I had rny before there was much long term issues documented but at the same time I think they blew me off when it first started hurting as to not document any kind of failure.

I've had surgery twice to correct strictures/hernia and have had issues with ulcers. I'm now on my third bout of extreme pain with another possibility of surgery in the near future. These are NOT rare complications, the doctors only say they are. In 2012 I almost died because every doctor I saw said I was just wanting drugs because scar tissue (strictures) don't always show up on any imaging tests. The surgeon I saw humored me with same day surgery because he happened to have a cancellation and afterward he told me I wouldn't have lived the 2 weeks to his next open appt. At my last surgery the dr told me that I would most likely need the same surgery every couple years because every time you have abdominal surgery your chances for strictures increase exponentially. I'm hoping for revision surgery for candy cane syndrome which is supposed to fix the issues I have once and for all...hopefully it's not just wishful thinking. I have the worst luck with doctors taking me seriously.