Well, I will have been in Florida exactly two weeks when I leave tomorrow. This has been my longest and most inconclusive trip here to date. I suppose there are always some winners and some losers and this seems to be one of the losers. To be fair, the doctor has not yet completed all of my testing. There are two things yet outstanding that could change his report. But, I really think he did not do much ‘out of the box’ or ‘differential diagnosis’ which is what I came here for. He was not at all impressive. In fact, he was confrontational and and condescending and rude. I could have stayed in Texas for that.
He did not order my testing in a timely fashion and he did not follow up on the progress of my case. In essence, he was any other jerk GI doctor. I was expecting more from a Mayo doctor, that is why I came here. I have learned a few things; I have gastroparesis. I also have some swallowing issues. In addition, my pancreas seems to be atrophied. None of these things seem to alarm the doctor at all. He even mentioned on several occasions that they could be age related… give me a break.. I am 47!
So, all ’round, this has been a loser.
How do I keep from going crazy when I think about the time, effort and money spent here? I don’t know. I just can’t. I have to get home and get on with my life the best I can. If I need another GI doctor, I will look somewhere else in Texas. I will not be making any more trips to Mayo in the future. It is not worth the time, effort and money.
So much for the magic of the Mayo. Next stop for me is going to be major dietary changes. I am going to try an elimination diet or go totally paleo, I don’t know which. I have to do more research. I have had good results from going gluten free two years ago, so I think it is worth a try to see if dietary changes can help me with this problem as well. In addition, I have to fight like hell to get off of pain medications. They are evil. You need them because you are sick and they make you sick so you need them. I don’t want to be in that cycle anymore. It leads nowhere but down the toilet.
So, I have to do some work on myself. That is all I know to do at this point. So, heigh ho and away I go… Home!