Re: GOT INSURANCE, SAW A DOC...SCARED!!!!!...WILL

[Guest guest]

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First of all, Will, you are such a breath of fresh air! You make me

laugh and make me ponder things in a light I have never quite viewed

them before! Thanks for being you!!

Secondly, maybe I presented things wrong in my post....the scope I'm

having is for my esophegus and stomach....checking for GERD, ulcers

and erosions. The doc seems to think I may have GERD in addition to

the GB problems. So that's the scoop on the scope.

As far as everything else, I'm definitely going to weight my

options, pros and cons etc before I make any decisions. My family

doc was even brutally honest in telling my alot of people still have

attacks after the GB is removed from duct stones and have problems

with diahrhea and weight gain. I was surprised he was so honest!

It feels funny to be treated so well and like a human being now that

I have insurance!

Thanks for your input and support....I really appreciate it!

Edie

In gallstones , " Will Winter " <holistic@v...> wrote:

> Well, Edie, you are a braver cat than I am if you are submitting

to an elective

> ERCP gastroscopic exam. They tried to do this to me twice during

my

> hospitalization (first I was heavily drugged so that I would be

more compliant)

> but, to their chagrin, I asked too many questions. When I found

out that there

> was a significant (1:5) chance of perforation of the common bile

duct (in

> people like me with an inflammed duct) and a 1:20 chance of other

> complications, not to mention anesthetic risk, I realized I liked

my odds much

> better without the procedure, thank you.

>

> The gastroenterologist was furious with me, argued, cajoled, even

sent in the

> hospital shrink to work me over to convince me I was a fool to be

avoiding this

> common sense procedure. Note: Asscroft had at least one ERCP.

In

> any case, my gastorenterologist DUMPED ME to one of his lesser

partners

> because I was an " uncooperative patient " . Bye-bye, amigo! I liked

the new

> guy much better anyway and he admitted it was not really a good

idea since

> my blood enzymes (I read them daily) showed my stone had already

passed

> days ago.

>

> There is certainly a case for the procedure and a stuck stone

could be one

> instance (If the patient had never heard of epsom salts).

Otherwise, I think it

> is primarily designed to protect THE DOCTOR'S BUTT. Overuse of

diagnostic

> testing is super common in this litigenous society. The ERCP has

purchased

> many a yacht, Lexus, and condo as well. For them it is win-win-

win. Far safer,

> far richer and you never have to think or diagnose. Bugger all.

>

> I'm a veterinarian and I'd estimate 80-90% of the X-rays, blood

tests and

> other tests I perform (at the client's cost and the patient's

pain!) are strictly

> CYA, i.e. totally unnecessary for diagnostic purposes, but to

protect ME

> against the rare one-in-a-million freak abnormality and subsequent

lawsuit.

> Most vets around me are far worse, doing spinal taps, scans, and

willy-nilly

> biopsies of everything that moves. The bottom line is that if your

patient dies

> and you haven't protected yourself with an armload of tests, you

are a dead

> duck, whereas, if the patient dies and you have done the full

spectrum of

> tests, well, then it was God's will that he died and you are a

hero. The

> non-medical public has no clue.

>

> I can't imagine what good could come from your ERCP (ask the doc

> specifically what they hope to find out with the scope).

Meanwhile, if you

> aggressively pursue a course of being nice to your liver and gall

bladder,

> starting your cleansing, and starting your detox, you will be that

much further

> ahead of the game and you won't be rolling nearly as many dice.

>

> Best wishes,

>

> Will in Minneapolis