Going back to strict protein shake diet

I had a VSG in October of 2012 My surgeon was Dr. Charles Bellows Tulane medical center in New Orleans. I have had several problems since my surgery including weight gain,low vitamin levels, high chloresterol levels,ect... I went to a gastrologist and he did a upper GI on me and found that my stomach wasn't really altered like I was told it would be. I can eat large amounts of food and never really feel full. This has been going on since I was 1 month out of surgery. I didnt go back for my last postop  because I didn't get along with his nurse. She was costantly harping on me about going to church and praying to lose weight. I feel like I was shammed. And now being told that my stomach is of normal size and wasn't altered much at all makes me think the only way for me to actually lose weight is to do just the shakes and vitamins. I tried to get back in touch with Dr. Bellows but he doesn't do the surgery anymore, he does breast augmentations now.

This really sucks

UHMMMM... I am also a patient of Dr. Charles Bellows. I have had many issues including low B12 levels, low potassium levels,
feeling weak and tired, the list goes on.
As far as the surgey, you should get in touch with Tulane and request your surgical notes. It will take a while for them to send them to you as it took over a year to receive mine. I found out I was given a whole different surgery and was never told about it. My diet is a little different than that of a VSG. this might be your problem too.
I understand the problems with his nurse. Her name is Vanessa Landry. She no longer works at Tulane and has went on to be a Deacon at some church.
Try doing 2 shakes a day and eating one small high protein meal. That's what i did and it worked wonderfully.

Please consider contacting a malpractice lawyer. If your insurance paid for a VSG and he did not perform then he committed fraud. He needs to be held accountable. You already have one patient of his saying they also had issues. Don't let him do it to others. You said you have medical proof now he did not perform the surgery.

I second that.  Contact your health insurance if they paid for it because they might want to hire their own lawyer and then maybe you won't have to.  That is just awful.  I can't imagine how violated you must feel.

1) get a copy of ALL the hospital records relate to your surgery (it should only take a couple of weeks to get it, NOT anything even close to a year!!)

2) get copies of everything in your chart from the surgeon's office. Tell them you want copies for the purposes of "continuity of care"... so you have something you can provide to another surgeon if necessary. Even if he no longer does bariatric surgery, he is required by law to retain his former patient records or to provide clients with the contact information of the new records custodian.

3) if you cannot tell from the records what was done to you (e.g., does it indicate you were given a sleeve and that the remnant stomach was removed), I would take them to the GI doctor you saw (or to another bariatric surgeon... But then get a copy of the GI doctor's records as well) and find out if what was done was what was supposed to be done.

4) if the surgery was obviously NOT what you expected, contact the medical board and ask what the procedure is for filing a complaint.  You can also contact a medical malpractice attorney.  The question of damages is very much up in the air at such an early stage, but if you are going to have to have anotehr surgery to get a proper sleeve, HE should be the one to cover the cost.

Lora

Yes Report report report!!!!!!!!

So sorry to hear about your experience. I was operated on by Dr. Bellows also in 2012 and I have gained back about 25 pounds. I also feel like I am never full and can eat way more than I should be able to.

His nurse used to constantly harp on me because I wasn't losing weight fast enough before and after surgery. I went for two follow up visits but I live in Lafayette and I just could not afford the gas to keep going back and forth. I hope you get your medical records from Tulane. It took me about 2 months before they sent me my hospital records of my surgery.

 I know what you mean by being able to eat alot. I eat and eat. I can eat a whole sandwich and a  bowl of soup and still be hungry afterwards. I was told that i would lose weight and not be able to eat alot so what is alot? I can't stand that nurse what a B@tch. Do you think i had the wrong surgery like that wench lady did? what do i do if i did have the wrong surgery? what type of problems have you had since the surgery? My dad said he would sue the doctor if he was that wench lady. 

 

The best thing to do is get your records from the hospital where you had surgery. Read them and see what was done and if it is any different from what they told you then maybe contact a lawyer. I can eat a sandwich sometimes but lately my stomach has been giving me hell. I have a lot of acid reflux which they told me would probably go away after the surgery. If anything I think it has gotten worse.

So I keep fighting and trying every day to do the best I can, really that's all I can do now.