<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

More from members who are concerned about medicines that cause reactions -
and the doctors who prescribe them.

>Hear, Hear.  I was to undergo rotator cuff surgery when then anesth.
>gave me an overdose of Versad which got my blood pressure up to 220/110
>and my blood sugars up to 450.  It brought on full blow celiac.  He must
>have known he did something wrong because I never got a bill.
>
>I have trained ALL my drs to check if something is gf.  Basically, I use
>my wonderful pharmacist as a resource.  He is willing to check.  I ply
>him with killer brownies (definitely not gf)
>
>Ann Sokolowski

****
> Oh, I agree with you wholeheatedly.  You have an hour or two?
>Want to hear about all the incompetent doctors, nurse practitioners,
>nutritionists, pharmacists, etc., that I've come into contact with?  If I
>hadn't gone to the health food store and spyed a copy of Hagman's first
>book and my brother hadn't have found this list, I'd probably be dead.  My
>family doctor finally diagnosed me with a blood test, told me I'd never be
>able to eat bread, desserts, gravy, etc, and told me to go home and eat
>cornbread and Rice Krispies.  I was finally sent to a gastroenterologist
>when I didn't improve on the diet, and diagnosed as IBS due to stress,
>divorce war going on for over 2 1/2 years now.  They didn't even have a
>single handout to give me there concerning diet or anything.  The nurse
>pract. recommended Citrucel.  Called, rep. said it contained gluten.  When
>I told the nurse, she said, "Take less then."  She also told me to get my
>family doctor to give me some nasal spray, can't remember the name, for
>calcium.  He said that's for osteoporosis.  Went to 2 nutritionists.  The
>first one had been the head dietitian at a local hospital.  Knew nothing
>about the diet.  The second laughed and said I knew more than she did.
>Pharmacists, forget it. "What's gluten? Why do you want to know? Don't know
>how to find out."  and don't give an s...either!  The pharmacist up the
>street from me looked like I had two heads when I told him I had CD.  Never
>heard of it!  At least my opthomologist has heard of it.  People act like
>you're a hypochrondriac when you tell them about it.  Everytime I call my
>family doctor, and I don't bother to any more unless I close my hand in the
>window, yep, did that last fall, he prescribes an antidepressant, even
>though he knows that I can't tolerate them.  The last one, Serzone,
>literally almost killed me.  Then the nurse tells  you to keep taking it,
>the side affects may go away, or tells  you to take half of one.  I also
>have hypothyroidism, due to taking radioactive iodine for hyperthyroidism.
>Now that I'm in an HMO, try to get a blood test!  My levels fluctuate. I
>ended up in the ER a few years ago as my pulse was about 180 and I thought
>that I was having a heart attack.  That was a fun experience too.  Had to
>wait 2 1/2 hours to get in a bed.  The nurse said that they were full and
>unless I was having a heart attack, tough luck!  Well, you started this,
>now you had to listen to me.  It really is unbelieveable isn't it?  My
>mother has retina problems and she went to a local eye doctor who
>misdiagnosed her and told her she was going blind many years ago.  Luckily,
>we are only about an hour away from Cooperstown, as I remember, you're in
>Ithaca, and she went to a great specialist there who assurred her she
>wasn't going blind.  I have many other stories, but I'm sure you'll hear
>plenty and probably nothing would surprise you anyway.  Take care, and
>Happy Holidays. Karen from Whitesboro, Ny, near Utica

****
>No need to "get off the soap box", Gayle.  You're right and something does
>need to be done about it.  There's a young boy in my church (5 years old) who
>is probably going to die now because the doctors (knowing he was allergic to
>latex) taped a tube in his body with latex tape.  He breathed in whatever he's
>allergic to and his lungs won't work anymore.
>
>I have nothing as drastic, but I must say that even the couple of times I did
>go to the doctor for abdominal pain and swelling and other problems I felt
>like a hypochondriac or a stress-case (*we* know our bodies; the doctors
>don't).  Finally I decided I would do the research myself and did and I thank
>God that I found something on the web which led me to eliminating gluten (when
>symptoms got bad enough to be willing to change my diet that drastically).
>
>Because they have the training, they sometimes think they don't have to listen
>to us, who live in and daily care for the bodies they're treating.
>
>I thank you for your message, and hope it encourages some people to be willing
>to demand reponsibility from their health care providers.
>
>-Christie in Phoenix

****

That's it, so far.  I'm beginning to think that Rebecca Markle is on to
something when she suggests we contact our State government health offices
and make a fuss.  It would be an avenue that has not been tried before.
I'm sure at least half of the Americans on this list have similar stories.
Sorry to disillusion those of you who live in other countries, but even
with all our touted medical expertise, there are vast areas of ignorance in
many of our medical professionals in the USA.  Please understand that there
are also many very helpful doctors who knock themselves out trying to make
us well. For those who do not know, it is  not their fault, really, they
just haven't been trained to look for celiac disease.  We need to speak up.
Gayle K