Re: Re: Approved for surgery

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Good judgement. Any family Hx of HTN or low K?CE Grim MDOn Jul 8, 2012, at 4:57 PM, amberhudson@... wrote: I have heard very good things about UCLA. I live about 20 minutes from there so it would be a good option from me. I am 29 years old. They said it was a pretty clear tumor. The system at Kaiser even to get as far as getting approved for surgery has been a nightmare. I have been getting DX for almost a year now. So many appointments. I am so happy to be approved for surgery and just want to feel better but I am worried. It seemed really odd to me to not do AVS. The surgeon is supposed to call me Monday or Tues so once I find out what he has planned I will let you know. I looked up the doctor they said was going to do it at Kaiser and couldnt find much on him except that he does General Surgery. I will find out if he does a lot of Endocrine surgeries. Im thinking I may have to wait even until next year and change my insurance to a PPO and get it done then. My husband and I really wanted to start to have kids and I wanted this all to be done so I wouldnt have to endure a high risk pregnacy. > > > > I have a 2.6cm tumor on my right adrenal. My potassium was very low at around 3.4 for many years and my blood pressure over the last couple years kept going up and up. I live in Los Angeles area and have Kaiser Insurance. After doctor found tumor they started treating me with Inspra and blood pressure medication. My Potassium levels and blood pressure is in the normal range with medication. The doctor had not checked my renin/aldosterone levels before treating with me Inspra. I starting seeing an endocrinologist to advise about surgery. They said that AVS was very unsafe and that people die on the table all of the time with the procedure. So, they freaked me out into not wanting to consider that test. They ended up tapering me of Inspra for about a week and did the Renin/Aldosterone test. I was certain that was not enough time off Inspra to get an accurate reading but apparently it was. The doctor called me to advise my aldosterone was way higher than normal and that she was referring me to a surgeon. The surgeon is just a general surgeon and does not specialize in Adrenelcomy. So, I was wondering if this was ok to have a general surgeon do the surgery.... and also is it ok to remove one of the adrenal glands without testing the other one through AVS to make sure it is working properly? > > > > > > This is my first time posting to this group. I am new to all of this and have been really going at this alone. Thanks for any help. > > > > Amber Hudson > > >

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No family history that is known. My grandmother on my moms side said that she had highblood pressure in her twenties and some of my other symptoms but she was never tested for it. I actually made the appointment for the surgery consult for this coming Friday with a Dr. Phil Haigh at Kaiser in Los Angeles at the Sunset office. He is a general surgeon and is an Oncologist Specialist. Obviously I have a lot of questions for him to see if he is a good surgeon for me. I was going to ask these questions:Should we do AVS before the surgery?How many of these surgeries have you performed?What exactly does the surgery entail?What is normal recovery time?What is your

experience in dealing with tumors on the adrenal gland?I was wondering if you had any feedback on some good questions I should ask him to see if I should go ahead and have my surgery with him or try to find another surgeon outside of Kaiser. Thanks again for your help Amber Hudson29 years old with 2.6 c tumor on right adrenal From: Clarence Grim <lowerbp2@...> hyperaldosteronism Cc: Clarence Grim <lowerbp2@...> Sent: Monday, July 9, 2012 12:51 AM Subject: Re: Re: Approved for surgery

Good judgement. Any family Hx of HTN or low K?CE Grim MDOn Jul 8, 2012, at 4:57 PM, amberhudson@... wrote: I have heard very good things about UCLA. I live about 20 minutes from there so it would be a good option from me. I am 29 years old. They said it was a pretty clear tumor. The system at Kaiser even to get as far as getting approved for surgery has been a nightmare. I have been getting DX for almost a year now. So many appointments. I am so happy to be approved for surgery and just want to feel better but I am worried. It seemed really odd to me to not do AVS. The surgeon

is supposed to call me Monday or Tues so once I find out what he has planned I will let you know. I looked up the doctor they said was going to do it at Kaiser and couldnt find much on him except that he does General Surgery. I will find out if he does a lot of Endocrine surgeries. Im thinking I may have to wait even until next year and change my insurance to a PPO and get it done then. My husband and I really wanted to start to have kids and I wanted this all to be done so I wouldnt have to endure a high risk pregnacy. > > > > I have a 2.6cm tumor on my right adrenal. My potassium was very low at around 3.4 for many years and my blood pressure over the last couple years kept going up and up. I live in Los Angeles area and have Kaiser Insurance. After doctor found tumor they started treating me with Inspra and blood pressure medication. My Potassium

levels and blood pressure is in the normal range with medication. The doctor had not checked my renin/aldosterone levels before treating with me Inspra. I starting seeing an endocrinologist to advise about surgery. They said that AVS was very unsafe and that people die on the table all of the time with the procedure. So, they freaked me out into not wanting to consider that test. They ended up tapering me of Inspra for about a week and did the Renin/Aldosterone test. I was certain that was not enough time off Inspra to get an accurate reading but apparently it was. The doctor called me to advise my aldosterone was way higher than normal and that she was referring me to a surgeon. The surgeon is just a general surgeon and does not specialize in Adrenelcomy. So, I was wondering if this was ok to have a general surgeon do the surgery.... and also is it ok to remove one of the adrenal glands without testing the other one through AVS to make sure it is

working properly? > > > > > > This is my first time posting to this group. I am new to all of this and have been really going at this alone. Thanks for any help. > > > > Amber Hudson > > >

[Guest guest]

Ask will it be done using a minimally invasive method? If he is the Kaiser expert he should have done over 100 I would hope. Ask if he has published any articles in his results that we and u can rView. You need an Endocrine Surgeon rather than an oncologic surgeon. But maybe Kaiser is not thAt specialized. You want someone who knows his way around the adrenals very well. They were put in a very hard place to get to. Perhaps for a good reason. May your pressure be low!CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Jul 9, 2012, at 18:41, Amber Hudson <amberhudson@...> wrote:

No family history that is known. My grandmother on my moms side said that she had highblood pressure in her twenties and some of my other symptoms but she was never tested for it. I actually made the appointment for the surgery consult for this coming Friday with a Dr. Phil Haigh at Kaiser in Los Angeles at the Sunset office. He is a general surgeon and is an Oncologist Specialist. Obviously I have a lot of questions for him to see if he is a good surgeon for me. I was going to ask these questions:Should we do AVS before the surgery?How many of these surgeries have you performed?What exactly does the surgery entail?What is normal recovery time?What is your

experience in dealing with tumors on the adrenal gland?I was wondering if you had any feedback on some good questions I should ask him to see if I should go ahead and have my surgery with him or try to find another surgeon outside of Kaiser. Thanks again for your help Amber Hudson29 years old with 2.6 c tumor on right adrenal From: Clarence Grim <lowerbp2@...> hyperaldosteronism Cc: Clarence Grim <lowerbp2@...> Sent: Monday, July 9, 2012 12:51 AM Subject: Re: Re: Approved for surgery

Good judgement. Any family Hx of HTN or low K?CE Grim MDOn Jul 8, 2012, at 4:57 PM, amberhudson@... wrote: I have heard very good things about UCLA. I live about 20 minutes from there so it would be a good option from me. I am 29 years old. They said it was a pretty clear tumor. The system at Kaiser even to get as far as getting approved for surgery has been a nightmare. I have been getting DX for almost a year now. So many appointments. I am so happy to be approved for surgery and just want to feel better but I am worried. It seemed really odd to me to not do AVS. The surgeon

is supposed to call me Monday or Tues so once I find out what he has planned I will let you know. I looked up the doctor they said was going to do it at Kaiser and couldnt find much on him except that he does General Surgery. I will find out if he does a lot of Endocrine surgeries. Im thinking I may have to wait even until next year and change my insurance to a PPO and get it done then. My husband and I really wanted to start to have kids and I wanted this all to be done so I wouldnt have to endure a high risk pregnacy. > > > > I have a 2.6cm tumor on my right adrenal. My potassium was very low at around 3.4 for many years and my blood pressure over the last couple years kept going up and up. I live in Los Angeles area and have Kaiser Insurance. After doctor found tumor they started treating me with Inspra and blood pressure medication. My Potassium

levels and blood pressure is in the normal range with medication. The doctor had not checked my renin/aldosterone levels before treating with me Inspra. I starting seeing an endocrinologist to advise about surgery. They said that AVS was very unsafe and that people die on the table all of the time with the procedure. So, they freaked me out into not wanting to consider that test. They ended up tapering me of Inspra for about a week and did the Renin/Aldosterone test. I was certain that was not enough time off Inspra to get an accurate reading but apparently it was. The doctor called me to advise my aldosterone was way higher than normal and that she was referring me to a surgeon. The surgeon is just a general surgeon and does not specialize in Adrenelcomy. So, I was wondering if this was ok to have a general surgeon do the surgery.... and also is it ok to remove one of the adrenal glands without testing the other one through AVS to make sure it is

working properly? > > > > > > This is my first time posting to this group. I am new to all of this and have been really going at this alone. Thanks for any help. > > > > Amber Hudson > > >

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Amber, add to your list:  What is your success rate? Val From: hyperaldosteronism [mailto:hyperaldosteronism ] On Behalf Of Clarence Grim Ask will it be done using a minimally invasive method? If he is the Kaiser expert he should have done over 100 I would hope. Ask if he has published any articles in his results that we and u can rView. You need an Endocrine Surgeon rather than an oncologic surgeon. But maybe Kaiser is not thAt specialized. You want someone who knows his way around the adrenals very well. They were put in a very hard place to get to. Perhaps for a good reason. May your pressure be low! CE Grim MS, MDSpecializing in DifficultHypertensionOn Jul 9, 2012, at 18:41, Amber Hudson <amberhudson@...> wrote:Should we do AVS before the surgery?How many of these surgeries have you performed?What exactly does the surgery entail?What is normal recovery time?What is your experience in dealing with tumors on the adrenal gland? I was wondering if you had any feedback on some good questions I should ask him to see if I should go ahead and have my surgery with him or try to find another surgeon outside of Kaiser.