The missus a second upper gi bleed in a little over a month. Been well over a year of low iron for her, three iron infusions.

Our local so called hospital ain't got a gi doc so they keep sending us to hospitals an hour away, Lagrange and Kennesaw to get her stable. But ain't one of these quacks been able to give an answer yet other than a bleeding ulcer that seems to appear and disappear at will. That and tests and more tests.

Prayers for your Wife

It sounds like it's time to research someone that the top of the field and travel to where they are if at all possible.

Prayers sent. Growing older is not always fun.

Past president Obama really screwed up the medical system! If you used the system pre him you would really know the difference!

Truth

hang in there I spent Wednesday night in the ER

thankfully we got answers , my oldest daughter has gal stones.

the family jokes I had to go punch my ER frequent visitor card , I pack a bag cause this isn't my first visit

we weren't there 10 minutes and I heard , I am cold

yup I brought a sweat shirt

as Providence said you might need to travel to a real specialist

Yup

Prayer for you wife. Get in contact with a top G I specialist. after initial appointment there are other ways to be under his care. Find the root cause and treat that the iron infusions is a treatment that works only for a short time.

Hope they find the problem and when they do please let me know. Going through same exact thing with my wife.

Today's medical profession is not about helping people feel better . Their number one goal is to keep you coming back The so called experts over charge your insurance company knowing full well that they will only receive a percentage of the initial charge The insurance companies ar e always pushing for more tests which will be paid for through Medicare I call it the Medicare cash cow The more they can keep you coming back ,getting more test done the every increasing number of pills they can get you to take all add up to them making more money . The patients are just a way for them to keep milking the system. And once you become part of the system it is nearly impossible to get out of it I hope you and your wife can bet some answers to help with her condition

Come to Boston…they will fix her up

There may be some truth to that, but not if you have a good relationship with a good, family doctor. My family has used the same one for many years. She knows all of us by name, has even delivered one of my kids. If she says I need some tests, I believe her.

My SIL has one of those ulcers. They have no idea what causes it. When it happens her doc prescribes her some medicine, and it disappears for about 6-8 months. Sometimes it's worse than others. They range from just a little patch, to a big quarter sized patch. Sadly most ER docs are trained to assess, diagnose, treat in the instant, and get them to a specialist. They aren't "designed" to treat for the long term. That is up to your PCP. If your PCP hasn't sent her to a specialist yet, it may be time to look for a new one.


I have esophageal varices that require banding every couple years. My doc told me if one bursts I'll bleed out by the time I even realize it's happened. They band them just like you do a calf's nuts. After about a week the band falls off and the vein is blocked off.

trapdog 1 Yes you are 100% right about some good doctors still left and if you have a good family doctor you are well ahead of the game of getting the treatment you need . I have a progressive disease that requires me to see a specialist on and ongoing basis . I see him twice a year His patient load is such that he really does not have time to schedule them for three times per year .Even then he is always running late I have been there when i was his second patient of the day and waited more than 30 minutes past my appointment time .And I have waited more than 2 hours past my appointment time to see him .About a year ago he recommended that I should see an Ear Nose &Throat specialist SO I made an appointment They did an exam and said I should schedule some tests So I did that and returned in a few days for the tests and at the time another appointment was made to go over the results a few days later Returned to have the test done and when I returned to get the results he was looking at his paperwork and said well why did you decide to not get the tests done ? I replied that I had indeed been there on such and such day .His claim was since he did not have the results I must have been a no show .After about 15 minutes he realized they had not transferred the results into my file .After another 30 minutes he able to give what they had found out . Of course it does not mean much to me I ask them to pass the results on to my specialist .When I next spoke to him he says well he does not put much stock in the test they did and he does not have any thing else to add based on the results of a test he has very little faith in I get passed back and forth among any number of experts and but I generally don't get much help without making a pest of myself by trying to find out what they are planning to do Recently one of my doctors recommended I see a specialist about another issue And he said I should not put off making an appointment It was early Dec and he said I should try to get in asap I call several different doctors he recommended But it was during the Covid peak None of the places I called where taking appointments The best option I was given was I could call back in Feb because at the time they would consider making an appointment So it was early Dec and someone might be able to make an appointment with me sometime if Feb .My advice is don't get sick and if you do don't count on any doctor to go out of their way to help you

Yikes! With that story I can certainly see your point of view, w side. Hope things get better for you.

If you'd lived in the ER for a number of years you'd know it's not always what it appears from an outsider. If you think you were feeling nuts consider the people on the other side that are there day in and day out. It's not as easy as it appears. I don't think I could ever leave it completely though.

I will say my Family Doctor Iis a good one He has been in the same area for about 30 years He could go elsewhere and make more money but he told me he likes the small town life style And agree it surely must been some trying times spending your days dealing with people that are struggling though bad health problems Ther are many dedicated professional health care workers that show up and do their best every day

We travel 7 hours each way to my wife’s GI doctor. She would be dead if we didn’t. No disrespect to rural doctors or hospitals but the specialist are where the money and experience is.

Best of luck and be sure she is tested for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease