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Need A Better Doctor In Memphis Tn

hillaryohillary

By hillaryohillary
in Doctors

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hillaryohillary Newbie
hillaryohillary
Posted

ok so, the general practioner im seeing now is a total moron. she won't listen to me, in fact she tried to send me on my merry way with acid reflux medication rather than refer me to the g.i. anyways fast forward a few months and i find out im allergic to many things, gluten, soy and a variety of veggies. but i dont know what to do now because its been about five months and im so drained and worn out all the time but im feeling better than i was. when i went in for a follow up with my allergist he said he was pleased i was feeling better even though it wasnt 100% and he wouldnt need to see me again even though i expressed my concern about my new life style. last week i went back to this idiot gp and she would only test me for vitamin D and iron. both came back low and she wrote me a prescription for vitamin d and told me to pick up a multi vitamin for the iron... i asked the nurse if it was soy free vitamin D and of course it wasnt. after i told her it has to be soy free, the nurse said she would get with the dr and make sure to get me something soy free... i have yet to hear from them and when i call im sent to voice mail. clearly they are not concerned for my well being and honestly i wonder if just taking a supplement will help me much. shouldnt i have been set up with a nutritionist somewhere along the line? could there be something more serious causing me to have such low iron and vitamin D? i feel like no one is looking and just feels im a hypochondriac. im 25 years old and im going straight to bed when i get home from my full time job, and i wake up so tired and drained. so does anyone know a dr in memphis that will listen to me and help me?

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kimy Rookie
kimy
Posted

I just moved from Memphis and if you are willing to go to Collierville there is a nurse practioner that is great named Robert Fortune, FNP. I know he is in Collierville, but don't know his number. If you do not want a nurse practioner and want a doctor try Monika Natarajan in Germantown. She only works, I think, 3 days a week, but she will take time with you and listen. There may be a wait to see her, but that is because she does listen to her patients whole heartdely. Try those two and see what you think. If you need a GYN that would listen try Donald Hamby in Germantown. He is wonderful!! He helped me with my low vitamin D levels.

  • 3 weeks later...
Celtic Queen Explorer
Celtic Queen
Posted

Dr. Mary Margaret Hurley in Germantown is awesome. She really takes the time to listen. She will also order just about any test I request without giving me a hard time. She'll also test you for a lot more than just iron and Vitamin D. You do have to wait for her a bit sometimes because she does take the time with you. The other doctor in her group, Dr. Dempsey, is also pretty good. I really like her nurse practitioner also.

As for the G.I., I can't give you a recommendation but I can tell you who to stay away from. Dr. Wooten at Gastro One was horrible. At our first appointment I mentioned that I was eating gluten-free. He still ordered an endo, biopsy, and colonoscopy. At the time I didn't realize not eating gluten would skew my results. When they came back negative, he refused twice to do a follow up appointment with me. By his actions he made it very clear that he just wanted to see me for the money he could bill my insurance and take from my pocket. When I told Dr. Hurley (her office did the referral) she was furious.

hexon Rookie
hexon
Posted

Dr. Mary Margaret Hurley in Germantown is awesome. She really takes the time to listen. She will also order just about any test I request without giving me a hard time. She'll also test you for a lot more than just iron and Vitamin D. You do have to wait for her a bit sometimes because she does take the time with you. The other doctor in her group, Dr. Dempsey, is also pretty good. I really like her nurse practitioner also.

As for the G.I., I can't give you a recommendation but I can tell you who to stay away from. Dr. Wooten at Gastro One was horrible. At our first appointment I mentioned that I was eating gluten-free. He still ordered an endo, biopsy, and colonoscopy. At the time I didn't realize not eating gluten would skew my results. When they came back negative, he refused twice to do a follow up appointment with me. By his actions he made it very clear that he just wanted to see me for the money he could bill my insurance and take from my pocket. When I told Dr. Hurley (her office did the referral) she was furious.

I went to Dr. Wooten too and I agree!! Terrible! He was very short with me and I walked away with an IBS diagnosis and pamphlets explaining it.

Celtic Queen Explorer
Celtic Queen
Posted

hexon - sorry you had to deal with him too. I'm searching for a good gi with Celiac experience to "have in my back pocket", so to speak. If you know of any good ones, please let me know. Didn't mean to hijack the thread :)

Lisa Mentor
Lisa
Posted

Dr Ann Brown, who also has Celiac.

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hexon Rookie
hexon
Posted

I wish I would have checked this forum prior. I ended up going gluten-free on the advice of a cousin who is also gluten intolerant, after getting my IBS dx. Good luck with whichever doctor you choose!

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Celtic Queen Explorer
Celtic Queen
Posted

Thanks Lisa. I appreciate the help.

  • 2 weeks later...
hillaryohillary Newbie
hillaryohillary
Posted
  • Author

I just moved from Memphis and if you are willing to go to Collierville there is a nurse practioner that is great named Robert Fortune, FNP. I know he is in Collierville, but don't know his number. If you do not want a nurse practioner and want a doctor try Monika Natarajan in Germantown. She only works, I think, 3 days a week, but she will take time with you and listen. There may be a wait to see her, but that is because she does listen to her patients whole heartdely. Try those two and see what you think. If you need a GYN that would listen try Donald Hamby in Germantown. He is wonderful!! He helped me with my low vitamin D levels.

sorry i completely forgot i posted this!, i actually work in collierville so im out here nearly everyday, i will look into dr. natarajan because im a talker and i ask a ton of questions, im dying to find a dr that wants to listen to me!

  • 1 year later...
kjenn81 Newbie
kjenn81
Posted

hexon - sorry you had to deal with him too. I'm searching for a good gi with Celiac experience to "have in my back pocket", so to speak. If you know of any good ones, please let me know. Didn't mean to hijack the thread smile.gif

I just saw Dr. Alex Baum at the Gastroenterology Group in Germantown, and he was AWESOME! He has family members with celiac disease, so he really understands and listens. For the first time, I heard a doctor say "Don't get me wrong, I think modern medicine is wonderful, but if there could be a dietary cause lets find that before we just give you a pill." I wanted to cry right there in the office!

frieze Community Regular
frieze
Posted

oy, can we put him up for sainthood?

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    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
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