Need To Find A Doc In Georgia

[Georgia-guy]

I am in Rome, GA (northwest part of the state) and I need to find a doctor who is knowledgable about celiac. I am undiagnosed, so the ability to order testing is important. I prefer a GP, Internist, or Family Practitioner (much cheaper copays). I got quite frustrated last night at the ER (removed gluten from diet for a week as a test to see if medical issues changed, then had to reintroduce to get tested) but the ER doc told me "you don't have to eat gluten to be tested for celiac, it's a food allergy"...funny thing, the hospital's website has info on celiac that states "celiac is not a food allergy, it is an autoimmune disorder". Even the med student that was shadowing her seemed to disagree by the look she gave. But anywho, does anybody know a good doc in the Rome, GA area?

[notme]

my g.i. moved to georgia (i loved her, very thorough and knowledgeable) i don't know what part but you should be able to googly her - ruth montalvo or she might be using her (married?) name i think is simmons.  how far are you from the choo-choo - that's a fairly large city, you should be able to find somebody there.  your e.r. doc is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong.  not an allergy.  an allergy would cause an allergic reaction.  like, for instance, getting hair dye on your skin and then getting a rash.  celiac is a systemic (meaning it affects your whole body) auto-immune disease that "attacks" gluten when you ingest it.  in doing so, it attacks your intestines and wrecks your villi <causes for malabsorbtion issues and lactose intolerance) you need to continue to eat gluten for your blood test to be correct.  it will measure the antibodies that are or are not attacking you.  no gluten = no antibodies, therefore the test will come up negative whether you have celiac or not.  

[kareng]

I don't know if this is close to you or not, but this poster liked the GI in Georgia

https://www.celiac.com/forums/topic/107508-good-gi-doc-experience/#entry915200

[Georgia-guy]

Not me-I will look and see if I can find her listed in Georgia.

Karen-Unfortunately Augusta is about 3 hours from me without traffic. :-/

[notme]

whoops - she is an albany, ga - that's south ga  

[cyclinglady]

Whoever you find, be sure to print off all the testing and symptom information from the University of Chicago's celiac website and discuss it with your new GP. Mention your recent ER visit and that the doc was not able to test for celiac disease and suggested follow-up with a GP or Gastro. Go in with a notepad and a list of questions. Do plenty of research on reputable websites (like U of C), library books etc. Try to find a younger doc.

If you feel that you can not do that due to all the effects from being ill, ask a family member or friend. When I had gallbladder issues and no stones and the doc would try to pin it on "it is all in your head", my husband could pipe up and say that I was not crazy and that my symptoms were real.

You are your best advocate for your health. Do not give up!

[Georgia-guy]

I'm still looking for a good doc to see about testing for celiac, but after today I'm gonna have to go see the doc the ER listed because my sugar levels were all over the place (felt like crap, tested at 44mg/dl; ate regular bag of m&m amd 2 McDoubles; 45 min later sugar was at 113; 3 1/2 hours later felt horrible again, sugar was at 209; 20 minutes later was at 152; 30 minutes later was at 74). I've seen that diabetes can be a "piggy-back" of celiac, is that true? And would these crazy glucose levels be a sign of that? I've had glucose at 40mg/dl before, downed a 20oz mtn dew, and it only be at 72 after an hour (recommended is 4oz of regular soda to get up 40 pts according to old PCP)

[cyclinglady]

40 is way too low and dangerous. Anything over 140 cause cause diabetic complications (vision, neuropathies, circulation, etc.). Read up about diabetes here:

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This was written by a type 2 but it will help you get started. You should cut carbs now! Didn't the ER doc recommend cutting back sugar significantly? You need to buy a cheap meter at Walmart and start testing.

Here is more about adult type 1:

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I hope this helps!