So i am just curious how long it has taken out of state people to see Dr Fargen recently. It seems i need stenting after bilateral ijv decompression. Which i have mentioned on another post, i have been waiting 1 year since last oct. My provider talked to them personally 3 months ago and still not a call! I am not anxious for stenting, but willing to go thru his exam to find out his thoughts. And i think he is the one to go to if you were going to consider a stent. Or if anybody has any other ideas? Thanks
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I can’t answer your question about waiting times, but otherwise it might be worth looking into other doctors… I don’t know if Dr Mehta in AZ who works with Dr Nakaji does stenting, there have been lots of mentions about what a good doctor he is, here’s a current discussion:
Learning about options - Welcome / New User Help - Living with Eagle
And @Bmmac mentions that he does in this post:
Calcified ligaments - General - Living with Eagle
There may well be other doctors who do the stenting, hopefully others can give you info!
Dr Mehta does do stenting. When I originally contacted his office about a year ago, his appointments were booked out about 3 months, but once I had an appointment I was booked for my procedure quickly (I was in the OR about 4 weeks after my appointment)
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What type of procedure did you have, actual stent? I had my venogram with dr Mehta prior to surgery with Nakaji and it was a good experience. I just didn’t know about his experience with stenting. How are you doing now, hope it helped?
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@birdie1 - If you can afford to travel even further, Dr. Hui in HI is also masterful at stenting. He & Dr. Hepworth work together for 2-3 weeks each year. I suspect that would pose a challenge for you finding care for your horses though.
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Agree! I have brought that up to my neuro, and she is discouraging with long flight. But no direct flight to fargen in NC also, and i understand he has a protocol of one week of prelim tests. So actually my turn around time in Hawaii might even be shorter.
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Did Dr. Nakaji try ballooning (venoplasty) your IJVs prior to suggesting stenting? Some of our members have had successful venoplasties where the IJVs stayed open after ballooning where they wouldn’t on their own after IJV decompression.
If you’re interested in seeing Dr. Hui, you should call his office soon as he’s also booked out for months.
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And if you contact Dr. Hui’s office, be prepared for that to take time too! We sent our info to Hawaii the beginning of December. It was just the beginning of this week that Dr. Hui’s office called to get my driver’s license and passport info, and SS number. Now it’s up to Dr. Hui to study my info, and either accept me as a patient, or decline me. Sounds like that’s fairly normal, from what we were told.
Often we want answers Right Now. I feel for the doctors and surgeons who feel like they’re pulled in every direction to try to keep their patients happy. If I had a choice between being a surgeon or being a patient, I’d probably…chose the second option.
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Good information @GeorgiaKay. Your wait for a response wasn’t as long as I expected. Now you’re in phase 2 of waiting i.e. will Dr. Hui take your case or not. Phase 3 is next - waiting for the appointment date to arrive. 
I agree that I’d rather be the patient than the doctor. Seems like there would be a lot less pressure in the patient position than the “treating” position.
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Ballooning was not an option because I was told my condition has been there for so long it would not work. Most recent drama: I did fly to AZ to get another CT performed that he wanted in addition to my local CT last month… 3 month post surgery. When I walked in to this imaging place they tried to get a vein a couple times then I asked if they would be doing flexion/extension exams. (which I know they wanted) And the Rad Tech said I dont know what you are talking about, she has never done that, and said she had been working there 3 days. The person that normally does Dr Nakaji imaging is on vacation. So I did not feel I was going to get the correct exams, so to save my body some radiation, I left! Crazy! I live paycheck to paycheck so flying for an imaging appt is a big deal. So honestly I feel lost on how to proceed. I have not heard anything back from Nakaji’s office, and like i have mentioned before, it is difficult to get past the front desk. I was hoping I would’ve heard from Fargen’s office by now, and I could just proceed with new work up and new evaluation. So I think I need to start the phone calling again, with present providers or move on. The IIH is terrible, pain, off balance, falls resulting in broken ribs again two weeks ago. Sorry I seemed to derail and vent in the middle of this post, but any feedback is appreciated. thank you
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I’m so sorry that you had that experience! It’s crazy that you had to fly for the scan & then they couldn’t do it properly, don’t blame you not going ahead with half a job! So frustrating you’ve been waiting for so long and not got anywhere, would it be any easier to see Dr Mehta directly as @RickAZ confirmed he does do stenting? Sending you a hug 
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@birdie1 - I’d be venting, too, if I’d had your experience. That was an expensive non-CT scan you had - both in $ & time spent getting to & from the facility from your home. I am so very sorry that happened. It’s hard to believe there wouldn’t have been someone else w/ more experience at the rad facility than someone who’d only been there 3 days. That’s seems irresponsible & unprofessional on their part. Marching into Dr. Nakaji’s office & letting them know face to face would have been appropriate as well!
Have you considered trying to consult with Dr. Mehta about the stent as has been suggested? I thoroughly doubt he’d make you wait anywhere close to what Dr. Fargen has. Getting back to calling Dr. Fargen’s office is also a good plan if that’s your first choice of the next doctor you’d like to see.
I’ll pray for you to make progress toward getting an appointment for the stent(s). I’m sorry venoplasty isn’t an option.
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Jules and Isaiah,
thank you for sympathizing with my crazy imaging story. So I dont know if my journey is over with Dr Nakaji, but I certainly will not attempt another imaging appointment in AZ. Previous to my appt he was using a different imaging center, so I would be leery of where imaging is being done. (I just dont feel they have found the right place for this type of imaging since forming the private practice). I think your advice going directly thru Dr Mehta may be an option, I will try to contact his office tomorrow. And maybe Dr Mehta has a different view on the ballooning procedure and possibly may be an option.
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Let us know how you get on
I did make the call to dr Mehta and they want images. Unfortunately need to mail to his office, sending pre and post surgery CT’s. So starting the process again, i will keep you posted
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That’s a pain, but hopefully you’ll get an answer quicker than through Dr Fargen’s office!
I’m glad you made contact w/ Dr. Mehta’s office, as @Jules said, it’s a nuisance, but I expect you’ll hear something back much sooner than w/ Dr. Fargen’s office.