Dr. Appointment

[JerryK]

Well I'm finally at the point where I'm going to see my HMO doctor (Kaiser) next week.

I gotta confess that I'm a little worried...worried on multiple levels. First, like most men, I loath

going to the doctor.

Plus, I wonder what they will do...will they ignore it, blow it off, which is the tendency of Kaiser.

Or, since I have an Enterolab result, which although not accepted by all of mainstream medicine...

might just be something they need to take seriously...will they hear me?

See in the "mind" of Kaiser, I'm just some sickafantic wacko that they've kept on an Anti-depressant for 5 years. I'm also a troublemaker because I was diagnosed with low testosterone a couple years ago, and I got really pissed when they wouldn't treat it. I appealed it to a couple different layers of Kaiser bureaucracy. In the end, I let it go, but they definately heard me.

But it all ties together...history of depression...low testosterone...gastro symptoms....diet confirmed gluten intolerance...severe dental enamel defects....positive test results from Enterolab.

However I still feel like going to Kaiser with this is a waste of my time. In the end, it's all about the money and I'm worried that they won't believe I'm even worth testing...after all, he's depressed right?

Couldn't have been something he was eating...right?

I'll give it a shot, but I'm not going to throw a lot of effort at Kaiser...

[JerryK]

To sum it up, I don't like doctors much and they don't like me. I'm not a "good" compliant patient.

I tell them when I think they are bull$hitting me. But like I said, I'll have a go with Kaiser, perhaps

I'll be surprised...

[msutherlin]

I wish you luck. I had my testing done last week. I had the upper endoscopy with biospy and a colonoscopy on the same day. If they let you get the testing done, the worst part is the prep. Make sure you drink lots of gatoraide. That really helps. After my prep, I slowed down on drinking enough fluid and was a tiny bit dehydrated when I went in for the test. But the test is a breeze. So easy. They gave me drugs and I don't ever remember feeling that relaxed. I know I got dressed and my husband took me out to eat but I only remember parts of it! But I felt really good!

I am now waiting on my results. They said it would take about two weeks. I don't know why but I think it will come out negative. I am already eating gluten free though. Like you, when I was eating gluten free for about two weeks I felt so much better. So I hope the same thing happens again. It's too early to tell yet and I think my system has had a hard time from the big clean out and then readjusting to food.

The diet is not so bad. The worst will be missing going out to eat. Tonight I made a really yummy gluten free almond chicken and the family loved it. So I think they will adjust too.

Good luck!

[Viola 1]

  JerryK said:

To sum it up, I don't like doctors much and they don't like me. I'm not a "good" compliant patient.

I tell them when I think they are bull$hitting me. But like I said, I'll have a go with Kaiser, perhaps

I'll be surprised...

Why don't you try and explain that if you are right, and the tests are positive, that having Celiac disease, treated by diet, will actually save them money in the long run by keeping you healthier?

It might be worth a shot

[tarnalberry]

Good luck! At least you don't need *anything* from a doc to treat this one.

Perhaps you can find different insurance (I hesitate to change jobs just because I have good insurance, but sometimes a job change can enable this sort of thing), if this is a repeating issue? Or a different Kaiser branch. There are *some* good doctors within Kaiser. (I hear of them now and again, and only remember them because they stick out like a sore thumb against the background, it seems. I know, I know... harsh. I grew up in an area where Kaiser was affiliated with teaching institutions and knew people with particularly bad experiences, so I feel your pain, but believe in the basic good in most people.)

[JerryK]

  tarnalberry said:

Good luck! At least you don't need *anything* from a doc to treat this one.

Perhaps you can find different insurance (I hesitate to change jobs just because I have good insurance, but sometimes a job change can enable this sort of thing), if this is a repeating issue? Or a different Kaiser branch. There are *some* good doctors within Kaiser. (I hear of them now and again, and only remember them because they stick out like a sore thumb against the background, it seems. I know, I know... harsh. I grew up in an area where Kaiser was affiliated with teaching institutions and knew people with particularly bad experiences, so I feel your pain, but believe in the basic good in most people.)

It's not so much that they are bad doctors.....it is that they are constrained by bean counters..