Anyone Else With Positive Doctor Experiences?

[princesskill]

i thought id start a thread for people to share their positive doctor experiences. it seems like a lot of people on here are frusterated with their doctors, god knows ive had some bad ones, but there are good ones out there! my doctor is awsome. he likes that i do research about things and have ideas, he likes that im proactive, if i ask for a test he'll give it to me no matter how unlikley it is that i have it. hes also really easy going. he wants his patients to have a chest xray every year and i refuse because i dont like to have unnecessary radiation and hes totally cool with it. i just feel really fortune to have a doctor that listens to me, and is understanding, easy going and dosent think that hes god.

if you live in ottawa, ontario, canada send me a PM. he's taking patients!

[MaryJones2]

I certainly went through my share of bad doctors but I can say I have the best doctors now. Not only do they listen and respect me but they are all celiac literate (two on a personal level). I don't think I would be where I am today without their support.

[sbj]

I never even would have known I have celiac disease if not for my doctor and the pathology group! So without them I could quite literally be killing myself. For their vigilance I will be ever grateful.

Very happy with my current medical care but I will work to keep them on their toes. My health is my responsibility and I consider my relationship with my doctors a partnership and not a contest.

[ravenwoodglass]

I am currently looking for a doctor and didn't have much luck in the celiac regard. I have however had many very caring and knowledgeable doctors. Two that stick out the most were the orthopedic doctor who operated on my feet, he donated his time and expertise as well as diagnosing the problem in a school exam. Another was my OB/GYN who always went beyond the call, at least by today's standards. He returned calls to his office even for non 'female' related stuff and was always one to take the time to explain everything someone had questions about. I have had other good doctors over the years, just too bad they were clueless about the celiac thing.

I think there has been alot of progress in the celiac front as far as the knowledge that doctors currently have compared to even 5 years ago. Folks seem to be getting diagnosed more quickly and hopefully the increase in awareness about the disease in general will lead to more positive experiences amoung us.

[mattathayde]

well when i was still a minor and going the pediatric guy, i just got "o you probably have IBS", and this was from a doc that i knew from birth and trusted and thought was smart.

my family uses an applied kinesiologist (chiropractor and eastern/holistic medicine) who figured out i had celiac disease. i went gluten free and celiac disease symptoms went away. when i went to my new doc to get a physical i asked him about it and about getting tested and he said "well we can make you eat gluten for a month, take you blood, and maybe get a result but all that will do is tell you when you know pretty well already and raise insurance rates because it 'could' cause 'issues'. if gluten-free is working for you go with it" he basically agreed i had celiac disease after i listed my symptoms and how they went away after gluten-free. great guy

-matt

[mushroom]

I had an excellent orthopedic surgeon who did my partial knee replacement. She had been a full professor of orthopedics at McGill University, but came down to work in California because her American physician husband could not get licensing in Canada. She was undoubtedly the absolute nicest doctor who has ever treated me, and the most thoroughly competent. She performed only joint replacements and kept the hospital hopping with the kinds of x-rays and equipment she demanded. Did I mention she was sweet and kind as well?? I loved her.

[Leper Messiah]

haha, if I had the cash I'd probably fly out for an appointment - I'm from the UK!! Such is the demand for a caring doc who meets you half way in your quest for diagnosis.

I can't deny there are many caring docs but they all seem pre-conditioned against celicac disease diagnosis. Your posts give me hope I can find one in the UK! Unless I win the lottery, then I'll be out to ontario I guess!

[Mrs. Smith]

Ya my Dr. is awesome. He told me forever that I had to stop eating wheat. I finally listened when I got really sick. He tested me for everything under the sun and all clean bill of health. He said hes convinced Im celiac. Thanks to him I will never eat gluten again. He stays up on all the new health breakthroughs, hes organic and he and his wife dont eat wheat simply b/c they have O blood types like me. He is now routinely running celiac panels on patients with unexplained symptoms! (thanks to me lol!) I Love it! Its a small town too and to have an MD like that is a blessing!

[Roda]

After I started to think I had celiac I asked my endocrinologist about it and if she could order a test. She did not hesitate since I have hashimoto's. She called me about a week later to tell me the blood test was positive and I needed to see a GI doc. I told her that there was one at the hospital I work at and so I was set up within a week for an appt. When I went to the GI he took a good history and physical and reviewed my blood work. He said there was not much to do now but an EGD and biopsy. I got in for the biopsy within a week also. Since the EGD I have also had a colonoscopy and one follow up appointment. He likes to take a more natural approach if possible. I am due to follow up for my 6 month appointment for blood work. I'm really curious to see what my ttg is. I see my endocrinologist every 4 months and just went for my check up. She asked me how the gluten free diet was going. I told her I thought pretty well as she can tell I'm not starving (about 20 lb overweight). Anyway, she proceded to tell me about her mom who lives in Australia who was going in for a scope to check for celiac who also has hashimoto's. I told her that I was appreciative for my early diagnosis and that it seems in Europe and Australia celiac is more recognized and glad she listened to me.

[mattathayde]

ya roda it does seem like other countries are a head of us in diagnosing it. i have seen a bit though that the younger docs and alternative medicine people are much quicker here to pick it up

-matt

[Roda]

ya roda it does seem like other countries are a head of us in diagnosing it. i have seen a bit though that the younger docs and alternative medicine people are much quicker here to pick it up

-matt

Maybe the reason that my endocrinologist is willing to listen and order reasonable tests is because, I think, she is Austrailian herself and thinks more outside the box. I am lucky I found her. I started seeing her in 2007 to manage my thyroid. This is the first endocrinologist that I have seen in 9 years that schedules appointments every 4 months with blood work instead of the gp who thinks you only need your thyroid levels checked once a year or some of the other endocrinologists I have seen, who only schedule an appointment once a year.

[Rebecca's mom]

Our youngest daughter, Rebecca, was diagnosed 1 year ago with Celiac Disease. Her tTG number was >100, as was her anti-gliadin number. She had Borderline Stage IV damage to her intestines. She had NO symptoms - none. The only reason that her celiac disease was "caught" is that she has the most awesome pediatrician.

Rebecca has Down syndrome. Her pediatrician has a step-daughter who also has Down syndrome, and her mother had recently been diagnosed with celiac disease. After their daughter started to have the same symptoms, they had her tested, and she also had celiac disease. Since her dad wanted to know if he needed to do anything different for a child with DS who has celiac disease, he started researching it, and discovered that people with DS have a 1-in-8 chance of developing celiac disease in their lifetime.

Because this pediatrician has a special place in his heart for kids with Down syndrome, he has about 30-40 kids with DS in his practice. He took it upon himself to screen each of them when they came in for their well-child checkup. That is how we found out that Rebecca has Celiac Disease.

"Dr. Frank" is a pretty special guy. Thanks to his decision to test his DS patients, not only have we been able to educate a lot of families in our local Down syndrome group, we have been able to "catch" a lot of children in our area who aren't in this doctor's practice who might not have been tested otherwise. We have also had several parents (mostly moms) who have read about the symptoms, gone in for testing, and discovered that THEY have Celiac Disease!

I keep telling everyone who will listen that "A kid with Down syndrome saved my life", because as a direct result of Rebecca's diagnosis, I started on a GFD. I tested negative for celiac disease, but I had a rash that had been hanging on for 3 years - it cleared up almost immediately. It turns out that I had DH all this time - it didn't ever itch, so my dermatologist never thought to test it! I recently found out that I am the parent who passed along the Celiac gene to our daughter.....

If it hadn't been for our daughter coming into our lives 8 years ago, none of this would have happened. We have been so incredibly blessed, both with our daughter and with our daughter's doctor.

[Mtndog]

I've had some BAD doctor experiences but my current GI is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!! She listens, won't stop until she has an answer for you (and I call her Dr Hip because she dresses so cool). She has gone above and beyond the call of duty with me.

By the time I got to her, I had been through so much. She didn't ask me to do a gluten challenge- felt it was ridiculous given how sick gluten makes me. She did the gene test, it came back with one of the celiac alleles and that was that. I actually look forward to seeing her!

[mattathayde]

Our youngest daughter, Rebecca, was diagnosed 1 year ago with Celiac Disease. Her tTG number was >100, as was her anti-gliadin number. She had Borderline Stage IV damage to her intestines. She had NO symptoms - none. The only reason that her celiac disease was "caught" is that she has the most awesome pediatrician.

Rebecca has Down syndrome. Her pediatrician has a step-daughter who also has Down syndrome, and her mother had recently been diagnosed with celiac disease. After their daughter started to have the same symptoms, they had her tested, and she also had celiac disease. Since her dad wanted to know if he needed to do anything different for a child with DS who has celiac disease, he started researching it, and discovered that people with DS have a 1-in-8 chance of developing celiac disease in their lifetime.

Because this pediatrician has a special place in his heart for kids with Down syndrome, he has about 30-40 kids with DS in his practice. He took it upon himself to screen each of them when they came in for their well-child checkup. That is how we found out that Rebecca has Celiac Disease.

"Dr. Frank" is a pretty special guy. Thanks to his decision to test his DS patients, not only have we been able to educate a lot of families in our local Down syndrome group, we have been able to "catch" a lot of children in our area who aren't in this doctor's practice who might not have been tested otherwise. We have also had several parents (mostly moms) who have read about the symptoms, gone in for testing, and discovered that THEY have Celiac Disease!

I keep telling everyone who will listen that "A kid with Down syndrome saved my life", because as a direct result of Rebecca's diagnosis, I started on a GFD. I tested negative for celiac disease, but I had a rash that had been hanging on for 3 years - it cleared up almost immediately. It turns out that I had DH all this time - it didn't ever itch, so my dermatologist never thought to test it! I recently found out that I am the parent who passed along the Celiac gene to our daughter.....

If it hadn't been for our daughter coming into our lives 8 years ago, none of this would have happened. We have been so incredibly blessed, both with our daughter and with our daughter's doctor.

ya a neighbor's kid supposedly was autistic IIRC (he didnt seem like it to me but supposedly he was) and they went to some study thing that was a few month residence thing and they put him on a lot of diet stuff (i think it was Gluten-free Casein-free at the minimum) and he got a lot better right away.

-matt

[HouseKat]

well when i was still a minor and going the pediatric guy, i just got "o you probably have IBS", and this was from a doc that i knew from birth and trusted and thought was smart.

my family uses an applied kinesiologist (chiropractor and eastern/holistic medicine) who figured out i had celiac disease. i went gluten free and celiac disease symptoms went away. when i went to my new doc to get a physical i asked him about it and about getting tested and he said "well we can make you eat gluten for a month, take you blood, and maybe get a result but all that will do is tell you when you know pretty well already and raise insurance rates because it 'could' cause 'issues'. if gluten-free is working for you go with it" he basically agreed i had celiac disease after i listed my symptoms and how they went away after gluten-free. great guy

-matt

Matt,

Make sure that your doctor is putting something on the record about your need to be gluten-free. Whether he writes in there that you have Celiac or calls you "gluten intolerant" or "gluten sensitive", just make sure that it's in there so you have backup if you ever need it. My big fear is that I will be hospitalized and be given gluten containing medicines or supplements because of the general ignorance re Celiac disease here. (I don't have the "gold standard" diagnosis of Celiac, but my primary care doctor put it in my records that I must eat a gluten-free diet.)

Kate

[mattathayde]

Matt,

Make sure that your doctor is putting something on the record about your need to be gluten-free. Whether he writes in there that you have Celiac or calls you "gluten intolerant" or "gluten sensitive", just make sure that it's in there so you have backup if you ever need it. My big fear is that I will be hospitalized and be given gluten containing medicines or supplements because of the general ignorance re Celiac disease here. (I don't have the "gold standard" diagnosis of Celiac, but my primary care doctor put it in my records that I must eat a gluten-free diet.)

Kate

thanks for the suggestion, i will have to have him do that next year when i get a physical

-matt

[sbj]

It's a great idea to let your pharmacist know, too. My pharmacy has a special form that people with allergies and other intolerances complete and it becomes a part of your record. It is then up to the pharmacy to make sure that any medication they give you is gluten-free.

[Lauren7402]

I started having problems in the year after I graduated college and finally decided to visit my primary care physician...thinking it was probably IBS. Never did it even dawn on me that I'd have Celiac, despite having a cousin on each side of the family with the disase. My doctor started asking me random questions like were my ancestors of Northern European descent, etc. and then by my responses, he ordered the blood test for me. He still thought it was IBS but wanted to test for the disease just in case. Sure enough, the test came back flagged "abnormal" and "high."

I just figured this was a positive experience because I've seen so many people where it takes years and years to discover, but my one trip to my doctor uncovered the answer! He wasn't the most knowledgeable on the disease (saying it was optional if I wanted to start a gluten-free diet) but just to have an answer was a relief. Luckily, I live in Maryland and then got an appointment with the well known Celiac doc, Dr. Fasano!

[Natsku]

I had a very good and easy experience getting diagnosed. I was staying with my parents when I got ill so I wasn't registered with a doctor there but I went to the health centre and asked if I could see a doctor as a vistor and they said yes. I then said my mum has coeliac disease, can I get tested for it and they said sure, did the blood test and it was positive. But then I was moving to Finland so they told me to get the biopsy done there which I thought would be difficult to arrange but it was no problem, just went to the student health centre and asked the doctor if I could get the gastroscopy done because I had positive blood test results and he said said fine, next week. Nice, easy diagnosis

Oh yeah, and the whole thing cost me a whopping 8 euros hah