Should I go to a gastroenterologist or back to the general surgeon?

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jns1022

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As you all probably know by now, I had my gallbladder removed in Dec. and am still having problems. Went back to the general surgeon who took it out and he thinks I have a hiatal hernia and acid reflux based solely on my symptoms. He told me to take Prilosec but it wasn't working so he prescribed Nexium. He said if I wasn't seeing improvement to come back and he'd schedule an upper endoscopy otherwise, take the Nexium for the month he prescribed it for and he didn't need to see me again. So my question is, should I continue going to him even though he is a general surgeon or should I really be going to a gastroenterologist? If it is a hiatal hernia causing reflux how is just taking the medicine for one month going to fix the problems I'm having? Any input would be greatly appreciated.
 
How much do you like the surgeon? If you really like him you could probably just continue to see him for now and see how the medication works for you. A GI doc is probably going to prescribe the same treatment anyway (as treatment for reflux is pretty standard). Also, if your reflux is being caused by a hiatal hernia, there's very little you can do about it and the treatment is unlikely to change. It's my understanding that surgery is almost never done for hiatal hernias unless they're strangulated. Hiatal hernias are very common in the population and are also commonly a factor in reflux.

By the way, why did the surgeon remove your gallbladder?
 
Well, I don't think he's quite as thorough as I'd like him to be. I know doctors are pressed for time but my last visit he may have been in the room for 5 minutes. I told him the problems I was having and he just told me to take the medication and if it worked then I didn't need to follow up with him. I was just thinking if it is an issue with reflux is it just going to completely go away after a month of taking Nexium? That's all the prescription is for. If the hiatal hernia is causing the reflux isn't it going to be something I'm going to have to continue to deal with? He didn't tell me much about what it would mean or anything. For some reason I get nervous and fail to ask the questions that I should.

I had my gallbladder removed in Deceraber due to a gallstone. Still having some of the same problems I had before which I thought were due to the gallbladder, plus a few more problems. All of these problems started when, I guess you would say drastically, changed my diet. Went from eating fast food 5 or more times a week to not all. Gave up greasy/fatty fooRAB, sweets, and sodas as well. Have lost 48 lbs, from 212 down to 164, since June of last year and my stomach hasn't been the same since.
 
Well, there's your answer! You need to start eating all of that crappy food again! LOL Seriously tho', congrats on the weight loss. That's a big accomplishment, but it really stinks that your body has reacted so negatively to the sea change. Given that you've drastically changed your diet and your body has reacted this way, maybe it WOULD be good to see a gastroenterologist. The surgeon is unlikely to think any deep thoughts about this. Of course, in general I think most doctors are unlikely to devote any more than the required minimum amount of time to patient problems and a GI doc may be no exception. I assume my GI doc sees hundreRAB of patients every week for reflux. He seems pretty bored with the topic and not inclined to spend much time thinking about it in an otherwise busy morning of appointments. If I need any more LPR treatment that my family doctor cannot provide, I intend to return to my ENT because he seems knowledgeable about and interested in LPR and seems interested in helping me corabat it. It's so hit-and-miss with doctors.
 
I guess that's what I need to do, start eating junk again. Haha! Thanks! People keep assuming that since I've lost weight that I must feel better...wrong! I did decide to make an appointment with a gastroenterologist but it's a month away. That could be good though because I will have been on Nexium for a month and maybe will start to see improvement. Before all of this started I'd never been to a doctor for anything other than like strep throat or a sinus infection which doesn't happen very often at all. This whole thing of trying to decide what doctor to go and how to deal with all this is completely new to me. Stessful as well. I don't even really have a primary care physician. The only doctor I've been to is at an office where no appointments are necessary so I feel like you're kind of rushed through. It's good that you have a doctor that you feel comfortable going to and trust. Hope I find that as well. Thank you so much for taking time to respond! Take care!
 
If it's straight-up GERD (no throat involvement), then the primary care MD or a GI is most likely the doctor that would handle it. When the throat and vocal area becomes involved, an ENT might be the best doctor to see. I, too, was quite confused in the beginning and just ended up seeing BOTH an ENT and a GI doc. The ENT first scoped down to about mid-chest and diagnosed my LPR, but I was feeling so much chest pain that I wanted someone to look the rest of the way down the esophagus (hence the visit to the GI doc for an endoscopy). I'm glad I saw both; now I know what state both my throat and esophagus are in and can proceed accordingly. I agree that it is good that your GI appt. is a month off. It will definitely give the Nexium time to work and it's possible you might be feeling quite a bit better in a month. I hope so!
 
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