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Is There A Chicago Dr. Who Deals With Pregnancy?


kprince

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kprince Apprentice

After going for a walk, I thought I would throw this out to you ( the experts) is anyone knows of a good doctor who deals with people who have celiacs and pregnancy ( I am 5 weeks along). Also, if anyone knows of a great nutritionist.

Thanks again!!!


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Lillian Newbie
After going for a walk, I thought I would throw this out to you ( the experts) is anyone knows of a good doctor who deals with people who have celiacs and pregnancy ( I am 5 weeks along). Also, if anyone knows of a great nutritionist.

Thanks again!!!

Hi!

I have a top specialist in the field from Rush. His name is Dr. Keshavarzian and he is totally dedicated to the research and latest findings of celiac sprue. His nutritionist is Sue Mikolitis. They are both excellent and you'll love them. About an oby/gyne in the field- I'm sure they can recommend. Good Luck! Lillian

  • 2 weeks later...
hlm34 Apprentice

I am 8 months pregnant and celiac. I go to Dr. Anita Levin OB/GYN at Northwestern Hospital. A friend of mine who is pregnant and celiac also goes to her. She is really great. She doesnt "specialize" in celiac or anything, but she is certainly aware of the condition and will help you with medications/birth control, etc that are gluten-free. She listens so well and makes you feel really comfortable. love her.

As for Celiac doctor, I go to University of Chicago hospitals and see Carol Semrad. she is pretty good. the nutritionist there (can't remember her name) is a little harsh, in my opinion.

hlm34 Apprentice

PS. Congrats and Good Luck! Its very exciting!

Meleficent Rookie

There are several groups here in the Chicago area that have lots of information for you. We were diagnosed on the same day (6/26) and I also received little to no information from my doctor and dietician.

Rush has an adult celiac research program and the University of Chicago has a Celiac Disease Center. (Open Original Shared Link) Ronnie is on the phones and she is really good with advice. Also, if you were diagnosed with a endoscopy and are within the first 3 months of your diagnosis, they send out a "welcome" pack with samples and resources and whatnot (I am waiting excitedly for mine).

The Celiac Sprue Association of Greater Chicago is having a Gluten Free Picnic on Saturday. Their website is Open Original Shared Link They are another great resource for doctors.

I got the most support by going into matchup.com and finding the group Windy City Celiacs. I was so frustrated last week after receiving NO support from my GP, my GI AND my dietician and they responded with a TON of information, support and help.

Rush and the University of Chicago would be the two places I would start. Be careful, cuz I discovered that due to my HMO and my PCP home network, I cannot go to either place as they do not have a contract with my PCP's network...so insurance can catch you up.

Hope this helps from another new Windy City Celiac!

ps -- congrats and good luck!

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    • marion wheaton
      Thanks for responding. I researched further and Lindt Lindor chocolate balls do contain barely malt powder which contains gluten. I was surprised at all of the conflicting information I found when I checked online.
    • trents
      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      @Jmartes71, I understand your frustration and anger.  I've been in a similar situation where no doctor took me seriously, accused me of making things up, and eventually sent me home to suffer alone.   My doctors did not recognize nutritional deficiencies.  Doctors are trained in medical learning institutions that are funded by pharmaceutical companies.  They are taught which medications cover up which symptoms.  Doctors are required to take twenty  hours of nutritional education in seven years of medical training.  (They can earn nine hours in Nutrition by taking a three day weekend seminar.)  They are taught nutritional deficiencies are passe' and don't happen in our well fed Western society any more.  In Celiac Disease, the autoimmune response and inflammation affects the absorption of ALL the essential vitamins and minerals.  Correcting nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption is essential!  I begged my doctor to check my Vitamin D level, which he did only after making sure my insurance would cover it.  When my Vitamin D came back extremely low, my doctor was very surprised, but refused to test for further nutritional deficiencies because he "couldn't make money prescribing vitamins.". I believe it was beyond his knowledge, so he blamed me for making stuff up, and stormed out of the exam room.  I had studied Nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology.  I switched because I was curious what vitamins from our food were doing in our bodies.  Vitamins are substances that our bodies cannot manufacture, so we must ingest them every day.  Without them, our bodies cannot manufacture life sustaining enzymes and we sicken and die.   At home alone, I could feel myself dying.  It's an unnerving feeling, to say the least, and, so, with nothing left to lose, I relied in my education in nutrition.  My symptoms of Thiamine deficiency were the worst, so I began taking high dose Thiamine.  I had health improvement within an hour.  It was magical.  I continued taking high dose thiamine with a B Complex, magnesium. and other essential nutrients.  The health improvements continued for months.  High doses of thiamine are required to correct a thiamine deficiency because thiamine affects every cell and mitochondria in our bodies.    A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function.  The cerebellum of the brain is most affected.  The cerebellum controls things we don't have to consciously have to think about, like digestion, balance, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone regulation, and many more.  Thiamine is absorbed from the digestive tract and sent to the most important organs like the brain and the heart.  This leaves the digestive tract depleted of Thiamine and symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency localized in the digestive system, begin to appear.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, headaches, Gerd, acid reflux, gas, slow stomach emptying, gastroparesis, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation, incontinence, abdominal pain, IBS,  SIBO, POTS, high blood pressure, heart rate changes like tachycardia, difficulty swallowing, Barrett's Esophagus, peripheral neuropathy, and more. Doctors are only taught about thiamine deficiency in alcoholism and look for the classic triad of symptoms (changes in gait, mental function, and nystagmus) but fail to realize that gastrointestinal symptoms can precede these symptoms by months.  All three classic triad of symptoms only appear in fifteen percent of patients, with most patients being diagnosed with thiamine deficiency post mortem.  I had all three but swore I didn't drink, so I was dismissed as "crazy" and sent home to die basically.   Yes, I understand how frustrating no answers from doctors can be.  I took OTC Thiamine Hydrochloride, and later thiamine in the forms TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) and Benfotiamine to correct my thiamine deficiency.  I also took magnesium, needed by thiamine to make those life sustaining enzymes.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins, so the other B vitamins must be supplemented as well.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   A doctor can administer high dose thiamine by IV along with the other B vitamins.  Again, Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine should be given if only to rule Gastrointestinal Beriberi out as a cause of your symptoms.  If no improvement, no harm is done. Share the following link with your doctors.  Section Three is especially informative.  They need to be expand their knowledge about Thiamine and nutrition in Celiac Disease.  Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for thiamine deficiency.  This test is more reliable than a blood test. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Best wishes!
    • Jmartes71
      I have been diagnosed with celiac in 1994, in remission not eating wheat and other foods not to consume  my household eats wheat.I have diagnosed sibo, hernia ibs, high blood pressure, menopause, chronic fatigue just to name a few oh yes and Barrett's esophagus which i forgot, I currently have bumps in back of my throat, one Dr stated we all have bumps in the back of our throat.Im in pain.Standford specialist really dismissed me and now im really in limbo and trying to get properly cared for.I found a new gi and new pcp but its still a mess and medical is making it look like im a disability chaser when Im actively not well I look and feel horrible and its adding anxiety and depression more so.Im angery my condition is affecting me and its being down played 
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