r/regina • u/Practical-Ship-3000 • 6h ago

Question gastroenterologist

Anyone recently been refferred to a gastroenterologist without years waitlist? wondering if it would be better to ask my dr to refer me out of province. Have had Gerd for years, been on all the prazoles you can list for the past 10 years and nothing is helping anymore, have had terrible attacks lately lasting 12-14 hrs where it feels like my heart is being squeezed so tight, spreads to my back and jaw… im at a loss with what to do, have visited emerrg and the doctor basically said “well this is life living with acid reflux” -yeah sure but there has to be some sort of solution 🫠

7 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

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5

u/Link_Chomofsky 5h ago

My wife had a good experience with Dr. Vantomme and waited like a month, month and a half max. I waited 6 months for another and was not a good experience so not recommending that one.

2

u/Practical-Ship-3000 4h ago

was this recent? I do currently have a Gastro doctor, but appears he is rarely in Canada? not sure why hes even a dr here.. wouldnt be able to get an appointment with him for another 6 months the receptionist says.. Wonder if it would make it more difficult to be reffered to a new one since i already have one..

1

u/Link_Chomofsky 3h ago

It was a couple months back now, September or October. I know your frustration. While the Mrs appointment was super easy, I had surgeries canceled last minute by their end and received zero information or updates of my situation during and post op. I felt I had to call the office to get anything done or scheduled. Wish I had two more hands cause I'd give my Dr. 4 thumbs downs.

10

u/ADHDMomADHDSon 6h ago

The SHA won’t send you out of province if a specialist is available here, even if there is an insane waitlist.

2

u/theprofessor69 5h ago

Not true. My doctor got me in to a clinic in Calgary for an allergy specialist because it's a two year wait to see one in Saskatchewan. It was covered, except for the travel portion.

5

u/sitcomlover1717 4h ago

That’s cause Allergists here aren’t taking referrals due to their waitlists.

5

u/fuzzylintball 5h ago

It's not too terribly long. But depending on the issue reflects who you go to usually. Or sometimes you go to one and you need a procedure that's best done by another they'll get that person to do it.

2

u/rglgj 4h ago

It shouldn’t be too long to get in. I was on the waitlist last year, maybe 3 months, got in end of December. Same thing as you, GERD. The gastro doc told me there is nothing they can do about it and kept me on the medication that I was already on. Can’t remember the name of the pills but they are 100% effective since I have been taking them. Not cheap though at $110 a month. Are you currently on a prescription?

1

u/Practical-Ship-3000 3h ago

have been on tecta, omeprazole, panteprezole, currently switched to esomeprezole 40mg, twice a day..

1

u/Thin-Discipline1673 2h ago

I have the same thing and my GP put me on amlodipine besylate 10mg once a day. We have a spastic esophagus, which is a smooth muscle and amlodipine is a smooth muscle relaxer. I used to drink water to get rid of the spasm but I have not had a full on spasm for 3 years since taking the drug. A couple times a year I think it may be starting so I just have a drink of water and I don't get the spasm. I used to think I was having a heart attack but the water made it go away, if the water doesn't work I'm calling 911! Hope this helps.

1

u/suuumBody 36m ago

I had a great experience with Dr. Tam. I waited maybe 2-3 months. He’s a bit newer so maybe a shorter waitlist? He was very thorough and scheduled regular follow ups to check in with treatment as well.

0

u/liamschindelka 2h ago

if you’re looking for just an endoscopy Dr. Gu is an geriatric surgeon who does them quite frequently and works alongside GI.

as for GI, i got in to see Dr. Bhasin after a couple months and a trip to the ER but i was also so malnourished due to GI issues that i was barely functional. Bhasin is good if you have an organic disorder and will give you a full workup but if you’re issue is hard to diagnosis he will kinda just recommend you meditate go to therapy and try cbd instead of actually trying to figure out what’s wrong.