Checked In With My GI

gluten · Post by **gluten** » Tue Nov 13, 2012 1:45 pm

Hi Deb, I take two probiotics one is by Garden of Life, Primal Defense Ultra and one capsule a day of VSL-No3. With my large meals Q- Emyzme. I know what it feels like to have urgency, it would wake me up during the night. Through diet and other supplements I have the MC under control and average one BM per day and sometimes every three days with a 5 on the BSC. I try to eat five meals a day and take a beef protein supplement daily. Check the Garden of Life website and read about the owner. He describes his battle against Crohn's disease. Call the local pharmacy's for VSL pricing, the prices vary by thirty dollars. I do not take any meds. Jon

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:17 pm

Susie wrote:I have an appointment to see Dr. Elizabeth Boham in April (have to fly out to Massachusetts), and I am hoping she will be one to really listen. She is a functional medicine doc who specializes in food. I know the functional medicine docs recognize the role food plays in disease, so I am hoping for a little help and understanding! Unfortunately I will have to pay up front and be reimbursed!

Feeling frustrated too! Susie

Deb I feel your pain and have been at the point of not wanting to eat anything as well. I wouldn't recommend it either, and had a similar experience as Tex. I didn't make a choice to not eat but given my flare up in Sept., I was afraid to eat just about everything except for GF toast. I lost about 15 lbs. of pure muscle and felt like crap!

I don't want to hijack your thread but Susie, I see this doctor is in Mass., which is within driving distance of me. I looked at their website and holy cow...they're not cheap, HUH? I wonder if my insurance would cover this. Did you need a referral from your physician?

Fish2575 · Post by **Fish2575** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 1:44 pm

Cathy, no referral needed, but they are scheduling out into April! Once you fill out the paperwork that will put you on a waiting list. Since you are close, you may be able to take an appointment much earlier. It is expensive, but I checked with my insurance and they will cover at 60% so it ends up not being too bad. I would love to know if you schedule with her. You might be able to get in before me!

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Fri Nov 16, 2012 2:49 pm

Cathy
the outlay may seem alot, IMO it is a worthwhile investment for your long term wellness.

maybe ask your family to chip in and make it your xmas present!

you are a similar age to me, we have another 30 years or so of living to do. Getting the right information and being able to optimise our wellness is very important.

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 6:45 am

Gabes-Apg wrote:Cathy
the outlay may seem alot, IMO it is a worthwhile investment for your long term wellness.

maybe ask your family to chip in and make it your xmas present!

you are a similar age to me, we have another 30 years or so of living to do. Getting the right information and being able to optimise our wellness is very important.

Oh absolutely. I can definitely pay this amount of $ and my insurance has reimbursed me for everything so far so I'm not too worried about that. They even paid for the MRT testing! I am going to email them and get on a list! Thanks for the encouragement. Even though I'm doing better, I'm definitely not 100% and I want to be!

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 6:47 am

Fish2575 wrote:Cathy, no referral needed, but they are scheduling out into April! Once you fill out the paperwork that will put you on a waiting list. Since you are close, you may be able to take an appointment much earlier. It is expensive, but I checked with my insurance and they will cover at 60% so it ends up not being too bad. I would love to know if you schedule with her. You might be able to get in before me!

I sent you a PM. Lets keep in touch. How did you hear about them? Sorry for the hijack of your thread Deb. I will start another one!

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 8:07 am

No problems related to the "high-jacking," I find myself doing the same thing.... it's just so nice to be able to talk with informed people.

Thanks Susie and Jon- I never heard of VSL, I'll have to check it out. It is possible to get it covered under insurance? I can't even get my flex plan to reimburse me for the OTC antihistamines.

Post by **tex** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 11:56 am

DebE wrote:I can't even get my flex plan to reimburse me for the OTC antihistamines.

There's a prescription version of VSL#3 that's more potent than the OTC versions. It might be necessary to use that version in order to get insurance coverage (of course, that requires your doctor being willing to write the prescription.

Tex

Fish2575 · Post by **Fish2575** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 12:02 pm

Deb, VSL #3 is covered by some insurances as the DS (double strength) It comes in 900 CFU packets. My insurance wouldn't cover, but my sister's would!

Cathy, My nurse midwife who works with the perinatal doctors in town suggested I look into seeing Dr. Hyman, the functional medicine guru with whom she has been to functional medicine workshops. Dr. Boham works at his clinic and Dr. Hyman isn't taking anymore patients. I have actually read one of Dr. Hyman's books, and agree with his philosophies (which seem very in line with people on this board) so I am hopeful that Dr. Boham can be of help. She specializes in the food aspect of things, I believe she has a specialty in nutritional biochemistry and a registered dietitian degree, so I am hoping for help with the food intolerances (I seem to be intolerant to almost everything and this is the key link I cannot close). I corresponded with the nutritionists at their office at one point and was given helpful tips! It is so hard to find this kind of doctor who comes referred, so we will see!

JFR · Post by **JFR** » Sat Nov 17, 2012 1:49 pm

I only live about 1.5 hrs from this doctor. I have considered going there in the past but am not sure if my insurance will cover. I probably should call and ask. If I could know beforehand that it would be worth it, I would probably go regardless of insurance coverage and pay it off over time if need be. For me the problem is that I feel as if I have thrown so much money at this problem, including functional md's and naturopaths along with conventional doctors, that I simply got tired a while back of spending money without much of anything to show for it. I have been dealing with "ibs" for 40 years so I have had a lot of time to fill the coffers of many people. I will be interested in hearing how your appointments turn out. The best advice I have gotten has come from this forum and it's free The Enterolab testing is one expenditure that has been worth every penny. Wish I could have started here 40 years ago.

Jean

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 7:38 am

Thanks- I'll have to look into that. Have you been able to get your insurance to cover your visits with the functional medicine doc? I stopped seeing mine over a year ago because it became too expensive. It was a hard choice since obviously they know the correlation between food and health but I felt with the support here I could deal with the food issues on my own. My insurance wouldn't cover any of labs or anything he recommended unless it was for chiropractic treatment. Considering he has more education than my family doc it made me shake my head.

Fish2575 · Post by **Fish2575** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 11:48 am

I called my insurance, and they said it would be covered out of network. Not sure about the labs, but I haven't had trouble with any labs yet. They covered some of the Enterolab tests. I have Cigna. Crazy some of the things they won't cover though!

DebE13 · Post by **DebE13** » Sun Nov 18, 2012 6:54 pm

That's great that they cover some of the costs. I have Security Health which has excellent coverage under my policy but they dont recognize functional medicine.