who is your Gastro??

I'm from Mass- I go to Plymouth GI, Dr. Marcel. He's awesome. I live on Cape Cod, btw. I have seen a doctor up at Beth Israel for a consult, a surgeon at Lahey Clinic for a consult, & another surgeon also at Beth Israel- they were all good. If need be, I'll use the surgeon at Lahey CLinic- I liked him the best. My meds are in my signature, & Remicade is not working so well for me anymore, so we are submitting the insurance ppwk. this coming week to see if they will cover Humira. My GI will pretty much try anything with me- his recommendation has been surgery for the past 2+ years (as have other doctors I've consulted with), but I'm hesitant & he's willing to try all the meds out there. Where in Mass. are you? I've been seeing the same GI since he diagnosed me, no reason to change.

Too funny! We're neighbors!!! I lived in Plymouth for years- right in downtown, on Leyden Street. Fun times.... going to the bars & stumbling home! Anyway, my UC is bad, if you believe the scope results. Which I do, but.... they show chronic inflammation, & 100s of pseudo-polyps from past ulcers. This is showing up despite the 3 years of Remicade & Imuran! Sooo... any GI I've consulted with recommends surgery, but I still wait. Who do you see for a doctor? Have you ever heard of Plymouth GI? It's Dr. Marcel, Dr. Russo, & they just got another guy in their practice. It's in the Industrial Park, Resnick Road medical building. My PCP is in there too, Dr. Robke. I like ALL my doctors, which is why I still use them despite moving to the Cape. I get my infusions at Jordan, & have been hospitalized there in the past. I think I wait on surgery because currently, my day-to-day life is ok- I work, go out, eat pretty much anything, etc. The drawbacks are the occasional accident, having to use my DIY port-a-potty in my car(!!!!), the constant fatigue from meds, plus the worry about getting a serious illness due to the meds also. It's a lose-lose situation, the way I see it. I can get off the meds & feel better, but have a bag forever (I'm not a candidate for jpouch due to a fistula), or I can stay on the meds & do ok, but run the risk of getting really sick. I may consult with the surgeon at Lahey again though- he's a world class colo-rectal surgeon, especailly in repairing fistulas. SO I may get a different opinion from him re. jpouch vs. ileostomy. The surgeon I met with at Beth Israel was the one who said I wasn't a jpouch candidate. Where on the Cape do you work? I work in Hyannis.

I work at  a health clinic for homeless people, near CC Hospital. I hear you, about the ecnomoy- it stinks! My husband & myself are lucky to still have our jobs! We went out to a Christmas party last night, & I had 2 vodka tonics- felt tired & groggy & sort of hungover today- I know my liver has too much other stuff to process to deal with good old booze! I've never heard of Dr. Moore- do you like him? I'm surprise dhe's never mentioned Remicade, seeing as your on pred. Are you tapering the pred? Hopefully it'll go smoothly- I wasn't able to get off it without flaring, so that's when we went to Imuran & then Remicade. And now, I'm waiting to hear if my insurance will cover Humira. My PCP is really cool- he's young, around 40ish????, & I've had him for a doctor for the past 10 years now. He sees all ages, there are plenty of older people in the area. But he does see younger ones too, & he's pretty clued in with things. Funny, I first staretd to get UC symptoms right after my daughter was born, apparently pregnance really screws with your immune system. A fair amount of women on here flared for the first time either during pregnancy or right after childbirth. Love that....

I live in Phoenix, AZ and my doctor is Dr. Berggreen (yes two g's).

He is great and kind. His colonoscopies are completely pain free (he medicates well). He let's me have whatever I want. If I want Proctofoam..."ok." If I want something for anxiety..."ok." He pretty much lets me be my own doctor, and I like that.