My surgeon is a horrible person

[lsereno 2,525]

Legal reasons an opposing attorney could subpoena (sp?) me for social media passwords, etc. In fact I have to go through and delete EVERYTHING with his name. Anyone interested, however, can email me : lizv123@gmail.com and I can share more information. But I can say I'm located in southern Indiana to help narrow it down

its still showing in one of your posts on this thread. (Dec 11 at 8:20 am). I'm so sorry your experience has been so crappy. I hope all your issues are resolved soon. Lynda

Edited December 13, 2013 by lsereno

[lizv123 389]

Thank you all for your support. I really wasn't sure about pursuing this but I think I should. Worst case scenario the attorney says there's no case.

[Hidden from view 159]

I think you have an addiction problem. I'm not saying that to be cruel, but honestly, I recognise your story. That was my story too, after I had both of my knees replaced. The pain was unbearable and getting worse. One year out, I was still on narcotics and arguing with my doctor, who said I had an addiction problem. I did not believe him. I was in PAIN. (I decided i had Fibro too...)

Anyway, one morning I woke up and needed my medication. And I realised I wasn't in pain. Just needed the narcotics. I realised I WAS an addict and went cold turkey right there and then. It was the hardest thing i have ever done. Excruciatingly painful.

Turns out, the pain I was feeling was actually the sensation of "coming down" off the meds. Felt like pain to me, but was actually being CAUSED by the narcotics (Oxynorm). I had to take them more and more frequently to keep on top of the "pain". A self perpetuating issue leading who knows where.

Don't fight with your doctor. He may be a jerk, but your priority is you, and getting off the meds and getting your life back. Get help. Good luck.

[lizv123 389]

I think you have an addiction problem. I'm not saying that to be cruel, but honestly, I recognise your story. That was my story too, after I had both of my knees replaced. The pain was unbearable and getting worse. One year out, I was still on narcotics and arguing with my doctor, who said I had an addiction problem. I did not believe him. I was in PAIN. (I decided i had Fibro too...) Anyway, one morning I woke up and needed my medication. And I realised I wasn't in pain. Just needed the narcotics. I realised I WAS an addict and went cold turkey right there and then. It was the hardest thing i have ever done. Excruciatingly painful. Turns out, the pain I was feeling was actually the sensation of "coming down" off the meds. Felt like pain to me, but was actually being CAUSED by the narcotics (Oxynorm). I had to take them more and more frequently to keep on top of the "pain". A self perpetuating issue leading who knows where. Don't fight with your doctor. He may be a jerk, but your priority is you, and getting off the meds and getting your life back. Get help. Good luck.

I am absolutely not an addict and if my doctor had even taken a moment to listen to my explanation of why I am not an addict he would have retracted his statement.

I'm glad YOU "decided" you had fibro. However I have been DIAGNOSED by 3 different physicians who had no knowledge of my previous diagnoses because I was in denial about accepting the truth.

So you most certainly do not recognize my story. You don't know all the medications, various treatments, and everything else under the sun I tried to AVOID the use narcotic medication.

Your pain was withdrawal symptoms but mine absolutely is not. My butrans patch is an opiate agonist so without my pain meds I do not have any withdrawal symptoms. I take my medication when I'm in pain. Not daily and not out of habit.

My life is fibromyalgia. Not addiction. I know the difference very well. Not once have taken my meds to get high. The doctor that handles my pain management for now is also an addiction specialist. I do believe she knows more than a Bariatric surgeon and a person who thinks they know me and my story.

I haven't lost my life to addiction and being judgmental like you did, not to be mean. Get help. Good luck.

[blessings2 15]

I'm shocked at what u have been through . My 1st consultation was very bad . The surgeon was disrespectful . I immediately left n never returned . That's a sure sign that he wasn't the doc for anyone . I found the best doc who was the best in my city . Do what your heart tells you Liv. Sorry for all you've been through.

[LindafromFlorida 1,542]

Did he put you on Prilosec to prevent an abscess or ulcer? A leak test is mandatory in my opinion. Thank God I had one and if you had a leak you would not go home like you did. Did the leak cause the abscess? Hmmm. Every State has a website where you can make complaints about doctors, but I would seek legal advice before doing anything. Not one lawyer, but THREE consults and do not tell any of them about the other lawyers. Make sure you do not pick a lawyer from the phone book or Internet. Ever!

We had 10 meetings with our doctor's group of nutritionist, office, support staff, schedulers, that included 20-30 other sleevers congregated each time. I probably live in a larger city than you though.

Best wishes, and I am so sorry.

[lizv123 389]

Did he put you on Prilosec to prevent an abscess or ulcer? A leak test is mandatory in my opinion. Thank God I had one and if you had a leak you would not go home like you did. Did the leak cause the abscess? Hmmm. Every State has a website where you can make complaints about doctors, but I would seek legal advice before doing anything. Not one lawyer, but THREE consults and do not tell any of them about the other lawyers. Make sure you do not pick a lawyer from the phone book or Internet. Ever! We had 10 meetings with our doctor's group of nutritionist, office, support staff, schedulers, that included 20-30 other sleevers congregated each time. I probably live in a larger city than you though. Best wishes, and I am so sorry.

Yes he put me on Prilosec immediately after surgery. He was amazing pre-op. Kind, understanding, very reasonable and answered any and all questions clearly and well mannered. I was thinking of seeing more than one attorney to make sure if they say yes, it's a solid yes.

The fact that you can call your city large is a big indication that it's bigger than mine lol. The population if my town is somewhere between 15-20 thousand. Southern Indiana (my area in particular) is veeeeery rural

[LindafromFlorida 1,542]

Document every detail. Get your family to document what they remember. Get it together. Warning, if you sue someone and a jury finds him not guilty of malpractice, you could be liable for his lawuer fees and court costs. You mist make sure you get excellent legal advice from an experienced lawyer, not some hotshot young lawyer who gushes words to make you happy.

[SueRN 50]

It's terrible that you've had these complications, and such a difficult recovery, however leaks are a risk, infection is a risk that we are informed of prior to giving consent for surgery. It sucks that it happened to you but it sounds like you had appropriate treatment and the complications are resolved?

It also sounds like your surgeon is as frustrated with you as you are with him. He was nice and kind post op and now he is rude. Maybe a new physician is a good step to take? Yes, he's a professional, but also human and some people just don't work well together. It might help you take a step back and hear what your doctor is saying to you. Long term use of narcotics is bad for your physical and mental health. They are addicting and people do develop a tolerance, needing more and more to get the same effect. They are hard on your now altered GI system. That isn't a judgement just a fact. Getting off them ASAP is always advisable and most people on long term narcotics need help to do it. Also, it is common for those of us with food issues to develop other not so healthy coping methods. Your doctor knows you, and he says you have a problem. You owe it to yourself to at least explore the possibility and get help.

[Threetimesacharm 1,400]

I do agree with what SueRN has posted. Sounds like the doctor at this point is using a little bit of tough love. You did mention that you are only 26, too young to be on pain meds the rest of your life. How much weight have you lost? Maybe he feels that you have not done well based on how much you have lost. I don't think suing will get you anywhere but a long drawn out process and well for what? Poor bedside manner and how can you prove he really did not send you for the correct procedure to make you better; sounds like he did.

Move on and put this in the past and focus on making you better! You have the rest of your fantastic life to live not dwell on what happened or didn't. As they say life is too short for this to be eating at you. Good Luck.

[LindafromFlorida 1,542]

Good posts Sue and Amazon. Lawyering up is not something to do lightly. But a good lawyer will tell you if there is malpractice in their opinion. There is too much unknown here by us about your situation Liz. Best wishes, as you do step back and think about your role in this situation. Hugs and happiness,

[VSGAnn2014 12,992]

Going beyond the OP's specific situation, I've been doing my research very, very hard (like everyone here) regarding the selection of a surgeon so as to maximize my chances of success with VSG surgery.

It seems to me that the only ways patients can try to control our outcomes are to (1) find the MOST experienced surgeons possible (who have the most experience with OUR type of surgery) at the hospital where THE MOST numbers of our surgeries have been done and 2) be 100% compliant with our doctors' pre- and post-op instructions.

What I think I'm seeing are fewer complications in larger medical markets (big cities) and more complications in smaller markets. This seems to align with (1) above.

And yes, complications CAN occur anywhere and are caused by other factors.

I appreciate all the stories about complications that members post here. They really are helpful to me. Thanks to the OP.

[lizv123 389]

It's terrible that you've had these complications, and such a difficult recovery, however leaks are a risk, infection is a risk that we are informed of prior to giving consent for surgery. It sucks that it happened to you but it sounds like you had appropriate treatment and the complications are resolved? It also sounds like your surgeon is as frustrated with you as you are with him. He was nice and kind post op and now he is rude. Maybe a new physician is a good step to take? Yes, he's a professional, but also human and some people just don't work well together. It might help you take a step back and hear what your doctor is saying to you. Long term use of narcotics is bad for your physical and mental health. They are addicting and people do develop a tolerance, needing more and more to get the same effect. They are hard on your now altered GI system. That isn't a judgement just a fact. Getting off them ASAP is always advisable and most people on long term narcotics need help to do it. Also, it is common for those of us with food issues to develop other not so healthy coping methods. Your doctor knows you, and he says you have a problem. You owe it to yourself to at least explore the possibility and get help.

I do agree with most of this post entirely. He was only kind PRE-op. As soon as he preformed the surgery he turned into a jerk. The entire time I was in the hospital with my leak he made an ass of himself, annoyed by his own mistakes and the fact he had to own up to a leak and tarnish his reputation.

As for the narcotic situation, again, I'm well aware of all the comes with taking them. I live in a town where prescription abuse is overwhelming. I know what taking them entails and am doing everything in my power to get away from them and seek alternate treatments like seeing a specialist for trigger point shots.

And again, the physician treating my pain is an addiction specialist. She's also handled my mental health for 11 years.

I'm fully aware of my circumstances. Thank you though, for your input.

[SueRN 50]

Apart from the surgeon I am happy for you that you have a team of doctors that you can trust to get you through this. I've witnessed the impact of the complications you had in practice and can't imagine the pain and fear you went through. I know it's a risk we take but we all think it won't happen to us.

You may be on to something when you say he is having difficulty accepting responsibility for a mistake and taking it out on you. Whatever is going on it is a toxic relationship. Whatever you decide to do legally, I hope you find a surgeon for follow up that can be supportive instead of causing you this pain. We all have our issues, if we didn't there would be no need for bariatric surgeons. I do think it would be irresponsible of any physician to not point out how the issues we have impact our health but nothing is gained by being cruel.

[lizv123 389]

Apart from the surgeon I am happy for you that you have a team of doctors that you can trust to get you through this. I've witnessed the impact of the complications you had in practice and can't imagine the pain and fear you went through. I know it's a risk we take but we all think it won't happen to us. You may be on to something when you say he is having difficulty accepting responsibility for a mistake and taking it out on you. Whatever is going on it is a toxic relationship. Whatever you decide to do legally, I hope you find a surgeon for follow up that can be supportive instead of causing you this pain. We all have our issues, if we didn't there would be no need for bariatric surgeons. I do think it would be irresponsible of any physician to not point out how the issues we have impact our health but nothing is gained by being cruel.

I was his first sleeve leak. I think that has a lot to do with it. He flat out told us in the hospital he didn't know what to do. What he didn't tell us was following that statement he consulted with other surgeons. He let us keep thinking for several days that he was clueless.

You're in the field, you know how some surgeons are arrogant anyway, or experienced it with various surgeries in my life first hand and the people around me, but this guy takes the cake lol