Yahoo! my PCP is great!

Heady · Post by **Heady** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:06 pm

Saw my PCP today to go over general lab results everything is good to go. He browsed thru Tex's book. He made notes and is gonna order book. He is impressed with my diet & progress & will consult with me again to go over Enterolab results next month. He says he will consider this course of treatment for future patients.
Now to order Enterolab tests. I will order tests A&C($ ouch).
Should I be ordering genetic test?

MarthaE · Post by **MarthaE** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:29 pm

So nice to hear that you had a good experience with your dr today

kd025 · Post by **kd025** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 5:49 pm

Wow! That is great news!

Sheila · Post by **Sheila** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 6:42 pm

You are so fortunate to have a doctor willing to listen to his patient. My GI doc listens, but still doesn't really get the diet connection.

When I had the Enterolab tests done I also had the genetic test. My blood test for celiac was negative but I had a pretty good idea I did have it. My mother was diagnosed with MC many years ago and had Enterolab tests. She was told to stop eating gluten and decided she couldn't do it. She was in her 80's and pretty stubborn. Her celiac blood test was negative and she chose to believe those results. My Mom took budesinide and it worked for a while but she never stopped gluten. She had several episodes of a severe, extremely itchy rash covering about 1/2 of her body. Up until she died at age 93, she suffered with WD almost daily. I did not want to end up like that.

So, long story short, I would have the genetic test. It isn't that much more money and it will give you knowledge you need.

Sheila W

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:22 pm

Woo Hoo!!!

great news when you have a supportive pro-active practitioner....

Post by **tex** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:25 pm

Heady,

Kudos to your doctor. Having such an open-minded doctor may not be quite as good as winning the lottery, but it has to rank pretty close, for someone who has MC.

I'm another fan of the gene test. It's certainly not an essential test, but it provides some unique information that can be very useful in some cases. Of course, for many of us the gene test results are sort of humdrum, so whether or not the gene test results are useful depends on what they turn out to be.

Unfortunately, I can't see any way to get that test at a discounted rate. It's discounted in the A2 Panel, but then the C1 panel would be full price. It appears that the cheapest option is to order the A1+C1 panels and then add the gene test at full price.

Even so, it's worth noting that the EnteroLab gene test is priced at slightly over a third of the cost of a similar test at Prometheus Labs, for example, and Prometheus only reports celiac genes. Enterolab reports any celiac genes plus all other gluten sensitive genes, so it offers a lot more bang for a lot fewer bucks.

Tex

Heady · Post by **Heady** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:31 pm

Have had same doc over 20 yrs. . His wife just had surgery for bowel disease so he is a keener! The genetic testing baffles me. I just don't get it!!! What is it that the test tells you that is gonna change what you already have? I get that it may shed a light on the likelihood that my siblings or kids may be at risk of MC and or gluten sens.

Post by **tex** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:55 pm

The gene test results certainly won't change what you already have. But they can tell you, for example, whether it's even possible for you to have celiac disease. If you have double DQ genes, that feature can tell you that you are more likely to have a higher than normal number of food sensitivities, and/or more intense sensitivities than average. In some cases the results can tell you whether you may have an increased risk of developing certain specific other autoimmune-type diseases. But as I mentioned, in most cases, the results won't cause any epiphanies.

Tex

JLH · Post by **JLH** » Wed Apr 30, 2014 9:18 pm

CONGRATS on having such a great doctor! JEALOUS.

MaggieRedwings · Post by **MaggieRedwings** » Thu May 01, 2014 4:57 am

I am in total awe of your doctor and can you clone him and lend the new one to me. My PCP is totally unaware of anything.

Love, Maggie

CathyMe. · Post by **CathyMe.** » Thu May 01, 2014 5:05 am

You definitely have a keeper! Great news that he is so willing and open to information.

Heady · Post by **Heady** » Thu May 01, 2014 9:21 am

He is a keeper but also 62 yrs. old and planning retirement at 65. I told him to pick an MD for himself and I will follow.
I have a GI appt next week. It will be interesting to see if he is as open as my PCP. My GI is in early 30's so may be open for discussion more so than a veteran. Will let y'all know how it goes.

jgivens · Post by **jgivens** » Thu May 01, 2014 9:33 am

I am also a fan of the gene testing, not so much for myself, but as a predictor of what my children and grandchildren might inherit. I am one of four children and it seems that three of us (all women) have one form of autoimmune or another .

You are SO lucky to have a good GP. I am seriously thinking about switching my internist because he would not order the Enterolab tests for me (my GI doctor did) nor would he even put the copy I made of the results in my file. He acts like it is the worst kind of quackery. He thinks MC is really a nuisance disease and time-limited. I think it makes all the difference in the world if they or a family member has experienced this misery and they have had to experience it firsthand.

I don't think you will be sorry for any of the panels you choose. IMHO, it is worth the expense.

Post by **tex** » Thu May 01, 2014 10:03 am

Jane wrote:He acts like it is the worst kind of quackery. He thinks MC is really a nuisance disease and time-limited.

Hmmmm. With that kind of attitude, I'm wondering if he, himself, might kind of waddle from side to side when he walks.

Tex

Heady · Post by **Heady** » Thu May 01, 2014 10:13 am

I would love to anonymously send some of these close minded docs a duck mask in mail.