Crappy Gi Visit

[CruiseWriter]

Went to GI for follow-up after colonoscopy/upper endoscopy in March. Follow-up lasted all of 5 minutes,if that. He said colonoscopy was normal,endoscopy showed mild erosion,but that's common,so he wasn't too concerned. Said biopsies were all normal,no Celiac or gluten sensitivity. I'd told him I'd gone gluten-free and felt better and he said if I wanted to stay on diet I could,but I don't need to. I'll need acid reflux meds forever,he said. Follow-up in a year's time. The end.

[ravenwoodglass]

Don't be surprised if the 'acid reflux' clears up gluten free. I was told that also and was given a handful of meds to try and told to call and let him know what worked best and he would give me a script. I put the samples in a drawer and although I did need to use Pepto Bismal a few times within a short time gluten free the stomach issues were a thing of the past.

If the diet is working for you stick with it.

[Takala]

More like The Beginning.

[Roda]

I had horrible acid reflux before being diagnosed. I REFUSED medicine and my pcp at the time thought I was stupid. I didn't want a bandaid, I wanted to know why I suddenly had reflux. I did rely on tums for the next 2 years after when needed. When I went gluten free that was my first symptom that cleard up!! Go with your gut instinct.

[L Ceezy]

Went to GI for follow-up after colonoscopy/upper endoscopy in March. Follow-up lasted all of 5 minutes,if that. He said colonoscopy was normal,endoscopy showed mild erosion,but that's common,so he wasn't too concerned. Said biopsies were all normal,no Celiac or gluten sensitivity. I'd told him I'd gone gluten-free and felt better and he said if I wanted to stay on diet I could,but I don't need to. I'll need acid reflux meds forever,he said. Follow-up in a year's time. The end.

Grrr!! Perhaps we went to the same doc! Completely pisses me off. I'm having an attack right now so I can't type too much, but same thing happened to me and worse. Luckily I have a great GP who told me that ya that guy is a jerk, and he only took a few biopsies and it doesn't mean anything (my GI pushed a colonoscopy on me instead of the endoscopy I came in asking for, so he could make more money). I don't understand how they look at one or two things and then tell us we're not sick when we know we are sick! I was already gluten free for many months when I even went to my doctor to tell him this is what was going on, and there was no way I was going to start eating it again just to get tested.

Acid-reflux meds don't do anything. And mild erosion is common?? It's not meaningless, he's crazy. Like, it's common in people complaining of stomach issues I bet... cause they have a problem! Def don't listen to this guy, his ego is out of control. He thinks he knows everything and you can't possibly know anything about your own body because you did't go to school for it. Do what you know is right, regardless of what any tests say because those are updated and discovered all the time!

[Marilyn R]

Went to GI for follow-up after colonoscopy/upper endoscopy in March. Follow-up lasted all of 5 minutes,if that. He said colonoscopy was normal,endoscopy showed mild erosion,but that's common,so he wasn't too concerned. Said biopsies were all normal,no Celiac or gluten sensitivity. I'd told him I'd gone gluten-free and felt better and he said if I wanted to stay on diet I could,but I don't need to. I'll need acid reflux meds forever,he said. Follow-up in a year's time. The end.

This is going to sound like a fairy tale but I swear it is true. I chose a gastro in my smallish town after I went gluten-free. He spent a complete hour with me on my initial visit, and I was seen within five minutes of my appointment time.

It took me a few visits before I would agree to an endoscopy, and he scheduled it himself, and gave me the instructions for prep himself. (I was a hard sale, because I knew it would turn out negative because I'd been gluten-free too long.)

After the procedure, I received a call from his office that I needed to schedule an office visit. That kind of ticked me off, because I thought that the results should be reported with a phone call, and my crappy insurance has a $50 co-pay for specialists.

I showed up for my appointment with an attitude. Dr. Ngo reviewed each and every symptom I described on my initial office visit. (15 plus or minus, including GERD). I told him that every symptom was better. Each symptom was questioned one by one.

Then he said "Your biopsy was negative, even under the microscope. I cannot diagnose you with celiac disease, but I highly recommend that you continue what you are doing."

Then he told me there would be no charge for my visit because it could have been handled with a phone call. He wanted to make sure I understood, so he had me come in. I offered to at least give them my co-pay, and they refused.

I currently have no current gastro problems. I'll still see him once a year because he's so nice, and I'll always be indebted to him when I look at the faces of doctors who ask me if I've been diagnosed and then dismiss that I have a gluten intolerance or inconclusive results from testing. Dr. Ngo gets it. And he understands that those of us with inconclusive test results need to understand.