do I have a lawsuit?

I was referred in Jan. by my OBGYN office to a surgeon for a colonoscopy for bloody diareah and mucos in stool, stomach pain. The surgeon checked for hemorroids and found a few vveerrryyyy small ones, that he knew could not cause so much blood and agreed I needed a colonoscopy. Did the whole thing and he diagnosed me with a "non-specific form of colitis" gave me stereroids and anitbiotics to see which helped it. Stereroids did the trick to so he put me on Asacol 400 mg 2 pills twice daily. After a month I was much better but still had some symptoms in BMs. He told me I would always have a little bit and to wean myself off the medicine. Before i could, it got bad again. I called him and he said to start back same dose. After a few weeks it wasnt getting any better so he gave 40mg prednisone to take till it did and 2 pills asacol 3 times daily. I stopped the prednisone and the asacol held symptoms steady but didnt make them better untill I started taking 3 pills 3 times daily. Being dissatisfied with his "non-specifiic" diagnoses and willingess to let my colon bleed "a little" for ever, I went to see a GI specialist. And now, 5 months later I have had to quit all my medicine and allow the flare that never has ceased to get bad again so that he can do ANOTHER colonoscopy and get a definitive diagnosis. My question is, do I have a case against the original surgeon that had no business trying to diagnose something that should've been sent straight to a GI in the first place. I have the medical bills owed to him, the place that I had the colonoscopy and their anesthiaologist and the money I have spent on medication all to have to start all over now. Not to mention I have a new baby who I haven't been as good a mom to as I could've been without the exhaustion and pain and so much time in the bathroom. I'm not looking for tons of money. Just to not have to pay for the treatment and proceedure and attorney fees. And also for him to learn his lesson about trying to treat longterm conditions that need a specialist's care. If there is anything to be had for pain and suffering, I would be happy, but it is not necessary. Anyone know anything about this?

I'm not sure I see anything wrong with what the surgeon did for you. Treating this, and diagnosing it, is not an exact science and there is always some trial and error with these medications. Some colitis does bleed daily, more or less, mine did for more than 20 years. When you say you stopped the prednisone, why? and did you taper it down? He is right that you have to wean yourself off prednisone.

I have more problem with the GI, if he is telling you stop asacol just to do another colonscopy, are you sure that is what he wants you to do?

I'm sorry you are sufferieng, but you have no grounds for legal action against anyone, in my view.
I hope you can learn more about this disease from this message board, so you can understand what is happening.

I guess I don't understand. What kind of surgeon did your first colonoscopy? Did he want to wean you off the Asacol or just the prednisone? Yeah, I don't see a case here. And most UC patients end up taking some kind of maintenance medication for the rest of their lives. You have to remember you are in charge and if you don't want to go to a particular surgeon you need to step up and say so. I can tell you are frustrated and many of us can relate to flaring while caring for small children. I don't understand why a doctor would want you to go off meds just so he can do a colonoscopy, that doesn't make sense to me. Before you were bleeding a little and now he wants you to bleed a lot?

I think the OP is mad about having medical bills for poor service.
I had very bad doctoring dealing with a oby/gyn and I sent her a letter that told her WHY I was not going to pay her bill for a horrible office procedure. I never had to pay it, no debt collector ever called. So maybe my letter worked.

That will probably not work with a colonoscopy, it's billing for the room/equipment, the doctors fee is just a small part.
But it never hurts to write the letter of complaint explaining WHY you will not pay, because you did not get value or it harmed you.

I myself would not threaten a lawsuit or ever contemplate hiring a lawyer. Life is too short unless you or a loved one was killed or almost killed and it's the only way you would ever find peace. This disease brings enough problems without involving lawyers.

nope, you absolutely do not have a lawsuit. If the referral to a surgeon gave you pause, it's up to you to say something to your Ob/Gyn, and/or the surgeon. I mean, if you're having intestinal/bowel issues, wouldn't a GI be the first thing that comes to your mind? Non-specific colitis is a pretty common diagnosis, I'm not even sure if I myself have anything better than non-specific in my 3" thick GI file!

Sue? The surgeon did nothing wrong. In fact, he did everything that a typical GI would do. He did a colonscopy, made a diagnosis, and prescribed mesalamines and steroids. Plus, he tried to wean you off the prednisone when your symptoms started getting better. Be thankful that he was willing to help you. I was told that I would have to wait months to see a GI when I was very anemic, severely dehydrated, and bleeding profusely.

There aren't any medicines that will cure UC or that will definitely stop your colon from bleeding. There are more potent medicines you can try, but they are more potent.

Don't get bent over the diagnosis of "non-specific" colitis. The medical community has no idea why people get UC to begin with, and the treatment is pretty much the same. If there is doubt whether or not the inflammation is due to something such as C-diff, then antibiotics are prescribed. But as you said yourself, the antibiotics didn't do anything.

I noticed that you stated you "stopped the prednisone." I hope you tapered off of it. It is very dangerous to stop steroids cold turkey.

I agree with the others about the new GI. Why does he need you to bleed more to make a diagnosis? He will only need to prescribe prednisone, which is a medicine that is not to be taken lightly. Plus, the more inflamed the colon is, the more risky a colonoscopy is.

There are rectal medicines, which are good for treating flares that are near the rectum. I'd ask about those and about where the flare is located. Perhaps the surgeon can tell you without your having to go through increased bleeding and another colonoscopy.

just out of curiosity, what type of health insurance do you have? Are you talking about owing co-pays, or ...???? I've never heard of a procedure like a colonoscopy where you get billed for anesthesia separately- I've never had an anesthiologist for a scope, just my GI & the endoscopy unit nurses. I'd guess they'd figure out the dose of the meds on my weight. If it's just co-pays you owe, I can't imagine any judge/jury ruling in your favor. Well, hope you get some good info from the GI!

Eva-when I get scopes I get billed seperately for the anaesthesia.

yes, it's flaring to me....I don't get why you'd think you could sue the doctor for treating you. You have UC...welcome to the extreme treatment philosophies.

You have a responsibility to be proactive in your care...learn about the different meds and work with your doctor as to what could work for you.

q

You have no case.

You really need to do a lot of research about UC. It's unpredictable and can be extremely difficult to diagnose. Even when a diagnosis is made sometimes patients don't have UC but have Crohn's. Both diseases have many of the same characteristics. Like any other chronic life-long disease, you will be spending money on UC so get used to that. I feel sorry for you but I think you need to shake off the naivety and learn more about what your future may, or may not, hold.

Sue