HELP! Your opinion of my symptoms, Please!!

[ducati1974]

Please give me your thoughts /experiences with my symptoms. For the short version skip to the bullets below.
Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor. After two months of Dr. visits and antibiotics, I continued to have irritants in my throat causing me to clear it continuously and causing coughing. All other "cold" symptoms gone.
I had chest Xrays, and CAT scans and lung Dr. visits along with allergy meds, more antibiotics, inhalers and prednisone. While some things helped a little, it always came back.
Finally, I persuaded my Dr. that my cough was not from my lungs, but due to the irritants in my throat, so he sent me to an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist.
The ENT diagnosed me with Acid Reflux and put me on Omeprazole (Prilosec). After 3 weeks the symptoms were almost gone, but then gradually came back about 60% and did not improve further.
The ENT told me to double the dose and come back in 4 months. The doubled dose did not help.
When my scrip ran out, after 2 months, my primary refused to refill it and wanted me to come in for a possible upper GI. I was so disgusted that he overruled the ENT that I balked and instead discontinued another medication I've been on for years (Citallopram) to see if that was the cause.
Now, a month later, with no improvement I'm reluctantly ready to go back to the primary to see if he can solve what seems to be an easy problem.

Current Symptoms:
>Continuous clearing of throat due to irritant (gunk) in throat
>Occasional coughing/ choking due to irritant
>Does not have that vomit acid taste
>Almost never a problem at night or early morning/ worst in evening
>Everyday occurrence
>No noticeable specific food causes
Thanks for your help

[Geewiz]

Check your insurance to see if you are covered for Mayo...they are the best (in the world) at sussing out the source of symptoms. Do not try to self-diagnose unless the problem is obvious...in which case your primary care doc would have figured it out.

[graciegirl]

Please give me your thoughts /experiences with my symptoms. For the short version skip to the bullets below.
Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor. After two months of Dr. visits and antibiotics, I continued to have irritants in my throat causing me to clear it continuously and causing coughing. All other "cold" symptoms gone.
I had chest Xrays, and CAT scans and lung Dr. visits along with allergy meds, more antibiotics, inhalers and prednisone. While some things helped a little, it always came back.
Finally, I persuaded my Dr. that my cough was not from my lungs, but due to the irritants in my throat, so he sent me to an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist.
The ENT diagnosed me with Acid Reflux and put me on Omeprazole (Prilosec). After 3 weeks the symptoms were almost gone, but then gradually came back about 60% and did not improve further.
The ENT told me to double the dose and come back in 4 months. The doubled dose did not help.
When my scrip ran out, after 2 months, my primary refused to refill it and wanted me to come in for a possible upper GI. I was so disgusted that he overruled the ENT that I balked and instead discontinued another medication I've been on for years (Citallopram) to see if that was the cause.
Now, a month later, with no improvement I'm reluctantly ready to go back to the primary to see if he can solve what seems to be an easy problem.

Current Symptoms:
>Continuous clearing of throat due to irritant (gunk) in throat
>Occasional coughing/ choking due to irritant
>Does not have that vomit acid taste
>Almost never a problem at night or early morning/ worst in evening
>Everyday occurrence
>No noticeable specific food causes
Thanks for your help

It sounds like a classic case of Gerd to me. The upper GI is a good idea. Almost always weight is a factor in this too in that some weight loss and diet change might help, but a diagnosis is needed here. Episodes can be brought on by excitement/ and or stress. Continuing to "burn" your esophogus is not good for you over long term.

Another thing to check is whether your coughing started at the same time you began a new blood pressure medication. Some of them, oddly enough, cause dry coughing...frequently. I had that happen to me and when I switched blood pressure medicine it stopped. This happened to a friend too.

Hoping you will resolve this soon and feel just great once again. Hugs.

Mayo and Shands are great teaching hospitals with the answers if you feel you aren't getting them here on campus.

I am not a medical person. I have Reflux.

[mickey100]

I understand your frustration with the continuing symptoms. My first thought was to check out the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Mayo Clinic Florida (http://www.mayoclinic.org/jacksonville/) or call 904-953-0853 for an appointment.

[Madelaine Amee]

Check your insurance to see if you are covered for Mayo...they are the best (in the world) at sussing out the source of symptoms. Do not try to self-diagnose unless the problem is obvious...in which case your primary care doc would have figured it out.

This is the best advice you are going to get from this board. Check with them on your insurance first .....................

[quirky3]

"Hold the Mayo" - Shands in Gainesville is also excellent, and closer to you

[kgentile1010]

I agree, you need to pursue your symptoms with your Drs. Don't give up. The right doctor can fix you. I do have two ideas you could discuss with them.

The first is to have them do a swab in your sinus to find out if you have a sinus infection and what bacteria it is. I had a sinus infection where the bacteria wasn't killed by the antibiotic they gave me. I had to do a different one. They took a swab and grew the stuff to see what it was. Then they gave me an antibiotic that killed that specific bacteria.

I also have gastritis which can cause coughing, especially after I eat. There's no stomach acid involved. At first I thought it was my sinus', but come to find out it was gastritis. The did an Endoscopy to diagnose it. I did do the medicine, but treated it with diet (lost 25 lbs, eating healthy). No medicine now. I don't see you mention an Endoscopy. You could discuss that with them also.

Good luck!!! I will keep you in my prayers.

[kgentile1010]

Sorry, one more comment. See if your primary will refer you to a Gastroenterologist. Sounds funny an ENT treating Acid Reflux.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

Check your insurance to see if you are covered for Mayo...they are the best (in the world) at sussing out the source of symptoms. Do not try to self-diagnose unless the problem is obvious...in which case your primary care doc would have figured it out.
This is the best advice you are going to get from this board. Check with them on your insurance first .....................

:agree::agree::agree:

[courtyard]

I had a bad cough for several years and got rid of it permanently when I gave up all dairy. You will find dairy is in everything from cakes, cookies, ice cream, yogurt, butter, mashed potatoes. Carefully read the labels on all packaged foods when shopping. Good luck :-)

[jannd228]

First check your insurance and see what you can have covered…

Second…check the mold in your home and if you have an allergy to penicillin you could have Aspergillosis Penicillium. I was a dance teacher became exposed to mold in a condo I purchased. I transitioned to teaching in public education on Cape Cod, black mold capital of the world IMHO.

I went to many doctors, given many diagnoses, lived in pain for 22 years. A former student became a doctor, contacted her and was given the above diagnosis. I am still working on the “cure” which is to stay in a mold free zone.

Doctors will tell you it is GERD, it is sinus, it is lung infection, it is whatever their specialty is. As it clears I also learned it is a spinal fracture from a fall. Doctors are just people like us; they don’t always have all the answers.

Good luck!!!

[NotGolfer]

Could be allergies...we can get them at any time, any age! Could be environmental issues. For several years I had re-occurant sinus infections that would go away temporarily with antibiotics. My doctor sent me to the allergist then to the E.N.T., who prescribed Prilosec 2X daily. He told me when we sleep contents from our stomach can come up, much like gerd, and somehow affect our sinus's. This seemed to help that!

But now I too have a cough which probably comes from having "dry mouth"...which many folks get as they age. The cause of this can be from medications and/or autoimmune diseases (ie. rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren's Disease and others). I wouldn't give up! See another doctor and get 2nd and 3rd opinions.

[shcisamax]

You might think this is completely off base but have you considered allergies? Not necessarily food allergies.

[duffysmom]

Mayo is a teaching hospital and one of the very best in diagnosing. I've been there on a couple of occasions and walked away knowing that I've had the very best of the best taking care of me. When I was told that I needed surgery by physician in TV's area I went to Mayo and no surgery was necessary. The beauty of Mayo is that you have all the specialties in one place and they communicate immediately with each other regarding the patient. The ride is a pleasant one on mostly country roads and takes approimately 3 hours. We stay overnight in a motel on the property.

[jebartle]

Gargle with salt water, twice a day, afternoon and early evening, in three days you should see a difference...Had same problem

[Bogie Shooter]

Drink two bottles of Yuengling each afternoon between 4:30 & 5:15. If after one week, and no relief, increase the dosage by one bottle every day.........................

[Uptown Girl]

You might think this is completely off base but have you considered allergies? Not necessarily food allergies.

I agree.. taking note of your immediate environment when symptoms are at their worst may provide helpful feedback to share with your Doctors, giving everyone concerned an extra tool to work with.
Sometimes we can become hyper-sensitive or allergic to things that never bothered us before. Sometimes formulas for these things get changed, and sometimes you just become intolerant of synthetic chemicals they may contain.

Consider the simple, everyday things around your home....perfumes, room deodorizers, aerosol products, laundry products, hair sprays, flea collars, etc. Any one of these may be giving you a reaction, or making things more complicated. Even dry cleaning vapors can linger.
Is your routine in the evening pretty much the same? (example: I sit in my easy chair after dinner. There is a scented candle on the table next to me)

Worth considering, even though it may seem minor.
(from my own experience)
Keep us posted. Hope you feel better soon.

[shrink]

I know this may sound overly simplistic, but you have nothing to lose here. Buy some local, raw (unprocessed), wildflower honey. Take a tsp a day, in tea or just plain. Sounds like you could have allergies, which my allergist tells me can develop at any time in your life. It helped my dog, my husband, and me! Be sure it's local. Take care. Get better.

[goodgrief]

I would persue with a different hospital ie Mayo. But to me with the symptoms in the evening I would think some sort of allergy/drainage problem myself but it seems you've had that ruled out already. It was probably something that occured at the same time as the cold, not necessarily because of. Hope you do find out whats wrong.

[Bill Tasker]

Your symptoms sound very familiar to me and mine is from alergies. Can't clear my throat, dry cough etc. For me it starts in the early spring eases up late summer and returns now until the weather gets colder. I too went the same route, ENT etc. I get some releif from over the counter 24 hr. alergy meds such as zyrtec. Good luck.

[Cantwaittoarrive]

Ask your doctor to join The Largest Online Community, Exclusive to Physicians - Sermo (http://www.sermo.com/) and ask him to post your case so that the doctor's peers can consult on the differential diagnosis.This is a social network just for doctors. Doctors from all over the USA use this tool and there have been some remarkable results

[lightworker888]

I just checked to see if there was a homeopath in The Villages and was pleased to see that there is an MD who also specializes in Homeopathy. His name is Dr. Coy and he is on 441 in The Villages. Historically, homeopathy has been better able to "cure" chronic diseases and if it were me, I would check that approach out for your symptoms. A good homeopath will look at all your symptoms and be able to find the remedy that will be able to kick start you body to heal. JMHO and what have you got to lose?


LW888

[Figuringitout]

How about allergies, I had a really bad cough and would almost gag before I could stop coughing when I was younger. They thought I had asthma, among many other things it ended up being allergies to what was growing at that time. FL is full of things floating in the air. Good luck, I hope you find out what it is.

[mommieswamie]

Two comments:

If indeed it is acid reflex, try a different medication before submitting to tests. I have had severe acid reflux for 35 years. I take Dexilant and am followed by a local gastroenterologist.

I have had quite a lot of experience with Mayo in Jacksonville as my husband and I have made maybe 35+ trips to Mayo in the last 3 years. For all of them we ended up staying for several days, a week or more and once for a month. The most important tip I can give you is try very hard to get an appointment on a Monday. You probably will be scheduled for additional tests and blood work. The schedulers, and each dept has their own schedulers, try hard to schedule additional appointments during the time that you plan to be there, but that is not always possible. If they hand you a schedule with maybe 2 tests the few days that you are there, then additional tests the following week, and the rest spread out over several weeks, don't despair and think that you have to make multiple trips. There is a procedure called "stand by". You go to the department where your test is scheduled and inquire about this procedure. It worked for us many times. You do have to be there and wait, but it saves additional trips back to Jacksonville. Definitely worth a try.

[shcisamax]

Yes, check out the allergies. In fact, my daughter at one time had a horrible gagging cough and that is what it turned out to be.
As for Mayo, you won't be getting an appointment quickly so call now and book. You can always cancel if you figure it out ahead.

[Villages PL]

Please give me your thoughts /experiences with my symptoms. For the short version skip to the bullets below.
Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor. After two months of Dr. visits and antibiotics, I continued to have irritants in my throat causing me to clear it continuously and causing coughing. All other "cold" symptoms gone.
I had chest Xrays, and CAT scans and lung Dr. visits along with allergy meds, more antibiotics, inhalers and prednisone. While some things helped a little, it always came back.
Finally, I persuaded my Dr. that my cough was not from my lungs, but due to the irritants in my throat, so he sent me to an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist.
The ENT diagnosed me with Acid Reflux and put me on Omeprazole (Prilosec). After 3 weeks the symptoms were almost gone, but then gradually came back about 60% and did not improve further.
The ENT told me to double the dose and come back in 4 months. The doubled dose did not help.
When my scrip ran out, after 2 months, my primary refused to refill it and wanted me to come in for a possible upper GI. I was so disgusted that he overruled the ENT that I balked and instead discontinued another medication I've been on for years (Citallopram) to see if that was the cause.
Now, a month later, with no improvement I'm reluctantly ready to go back to the primary to see if he can solve what seems to be an easy problem.

Current Symptoms:
>Continuous clearing of throat due to irritant (gunk) in throat
>Occasional coughing/ choking due to irritant
>Does not have that vomit acid taste
>Almost never a problem at night or early morning/ worst in evening
>Everyday occurrence
>No noticeable specific food causes
Thanks for your help

You didn't say what medications you were taking, if any, before this all began with a "bad cold". And no one knows what your lifestyle is. Medications can have the effect of lowering your immune system and lifestyle can lower your immune system too.

With a healthy lifestyle and no medications, a cold, if you ever get one in the frirst place, shouldn't be something to see a doctor about. So I believe none of this would ever have been much of a problem if proper precautions were taken in the first place. And that means eating a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, getting moderate exercise (except when you're sick), avoiding stress and getting plenty of rest (especially when you're not feeling well.

No one should interpret my post as meaning you should stop taking medications. Although, it might not be a bad idea to review them and possibly stop any that are not absolutely needed. I was simply pointing out (above) that medications often have the effect of lowering your immune system. And I believe the problem above can be solved by concentrating on boosting your immune system.

[keithgerri]

I had these same symtoms ,coughing,clearing throat,felt like something stuck in my throat,difficulty swallowing, slight ear ache sometimes.slightly swollen glands sometimes, etc. Did the Upper GI, no Reflux, No Gerd, Then did a endoscopy all the way to stomach and took tissue samples of esophagus and found out a high count of white blood cells and called it possible eosinophilic esophagitis. Basically an allergy to something that passes through it and causes irritation. Prescribed Flovent which is basically Flonase steriods sprayed in your throat or stronger allergy pills. Seems to of worked. This was done through Atlanta Gastroenterology doctors.This is not a diagnoses for you just what happened to me. Good Luck

[Bogie Shooter]

Did not realize we had so many medical providers signed up on TOTV!

[VillagesFlorida]

Have you considered that you might be dehydrated? A lack of fluid in the body can cause everything from confusion to dry mucous membranes. I became aware of my own issues with dehydration years ago when I went to a doctor for what I thought was another in a long line of sinus infections. He told me that not drinking enough water causes mucous membranes to dry out, resulting in drainage that is thick and irritating. Needless to say I left the office NOT with a prescription for an antibiotic but rather with instructions to drink more. I did and the stmptoms passed. I have read a lot of articles recently on what a serious problem dehydration is among older folks. We just do not drink enough. You can research this on line and you'll be quite surprised as to how a simple lack of water in our bodies affects us, sometimes with devastating consequences. We are in air-conditioned buildings for months here in Florida. If you want to know how fast water can be removed from the air (and, your body) by airconditioning, hang a wet washcloth on the towel bar in the evening and check it the next morning. Our bodies are made up of 50%-60% water and even a 1%-2% loss of fluids can affect us. As for me, when my sinuses begin to feel stuffy I reach for water. If I don't, the next problem will be thick drainage that irritates my throat. Just a thought and perhaps a simple solution.

[Finallyfree]

Are you on any ace inhibitors for blood pressure? They can cause a nagging cough with gunk in throat. A nurse friend of mine heard me cough one evening and told me to have my doctor change my medicine, problem solved. Good luck!

[graciegirl]

Are you on any ace inhibitors for blood pressure? They can cause a nagging cough with gunk in throat. A nurse friend of mine heard me cough one evening and told me to have my doctor change my medicine, problem solved. Good luck!

I agree. It happened to me too.

[NIPAS K-9]

Please give me your thoughts /experiences with my symptoms. For the short version skip to the bullets below.
Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor. After two months of Dr. visits and antibiotics, I continued to have irritants in my throat causing me to clear it continuously and causing coughing. All other "cold" symptoms gone.
I had chest Xrays, and CAT scans and lung Dr. visits along with allergy meds, more antibiotics, inhalers and prednisone. While some things helped a little, it always came back.
Finally, I persuaded my Dr. that my cough was not from my lungs, but due to the irritants in my throat, so he sent me to an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist.
The ENT diagnosed me with Acid Reflux and put me on Omeprazole (Prilosec). After 3 weeks the symptoms were almost gone, but then gradually came back about 60% and did not improve further.
The ENT told me to double the dose and come back in 4 months. The doubled dose did not help.
When my scrip ran out, after 2 months, my primary refused to refill it and wanted me to come in for a possible upper GI. I was so disgusted that he overruled the ENT that I balked and instead discontinued another medication I've been on for years (Citallopram) to see if that was the cause.
Now, a month later, with no improvement I'm reluctantly ready to go back to the primary to see if he can solve what seems to be an easy problem.

Current Symptoms:
>Continuous clearing of throat due to irritant (gunk) in throat
>Occasional coughing/ choking due to irritant
>Does not have that vomit acid taste
>Almost never a problem at night or early morning/ worst in evening
>Everyday occurrence
>No noticeable specific food causes
Thanks for your help

Sounds like sinuis drainage, my wife had simmilar symtoms and took clariden. It cleared her up., Hope this helps.

[babbs455]

Just curious were you ever in a sever car accident where you had sever neck injury or upper back? Reason being this sounds just like my father..to a T. He was in a horrible head on crash with a semi truck when he was in his late teens. he lived in the hospital for almost 6 months he is pushing 80 now and is in severe pain 24/7 this thing in his throat started about 3-5 years ago. Come to find out his spine has so much arthritis and spurs in his neckl area that it is affecting his throat, he has to constantly try clearing his throat...just curious

[ariel]

Find a good diagnostic physician - Mayo or Gainesville are both good ideas. Could be so many things - allergies as have been mentioned, polyp on vocal cords, barret's esosophagus, etc. Also, as someone suggested, reflux may not be improved by first drug try.

Wish you luck!

[SALYBOW]

When I take a long acting allergy pill it goes away. I, who was not a victim of allergies in Cincinnati, the allergy capital of the world have barely a day without allergies in FLORIDA. Who knew??:rant-rave:

[bstenon]

Please give me your thoughts /experiences with my symptoms. For the short version skip to the bullets below.
Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor. After two months of Dr. visits and antibiotics, I continued to have irritants in my throat causing me to clear it continuously and causing coughing. All other "cold" symptoms gone.
I had chest Xrays, and CAT scans and lung Dr. visits along with allergy meds, more antibiotics, inhalers and prednisone. While some things helped a little, it always came back.
Finally, I persuaded my Dr. that my cough was not from my lungs, but due to the irritants in my throat, so he sent me to an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist.
The ENT diagnosed me with Acid Reflux and put me on Omeprazole (Prilosec). After 3 weeks the symptoms were almost gone, but then gradually came back about 60% and did not improve further.
The ENT told me to double the dose and come back in 4 months. The doubled dose did not help.
When my scrip ran out, after 2 months, my primary refused to refill it and wanted me to come in for a possible upper GI. I was so disgusted that he overruled the ENT that I balked and instead discontinued another medication I've been on for years (Citallopram) to see if that was the cause.
Now, a month later, with no improvement I'm reluctantly ready to go back to the primary to see if he can solve what seems to be an easy problem.

Current Symptoms:
>Continuous clearing of throat due to irritant (gunk) in throat
>Occasional coughing/ choking due to irritant
>Does not have that vomit acid taste
>Almost never a problem at night or early morning/ worst in evening
>Everyday occurrence
>No noticeable specific food causes
Thanks for your help

I had similar problem after the flu. Went to an allergist and he had me have a cat scan of my sinuses and it ended up I had an infection there. Might help if your scan didn't include the sinuses. Try it if it didn't.

[bstenon]

I has similar problems after the flu. Turns out it was a sinus infection found through a cat scan.

[Villages PL]

Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor. After two months of Dr. visits and antibiotics, I continued to have irritants in my throat causing me to clear it continuously and causing coughing.

I think it's important to learn from past mistakes so as not to repeat them in the future. That's why I said what I said previously about your immune system. Your immune system is your ticket to good health if you guard it and nurture it.

One other thing I would like to question is why you would take an antibiotic (as you stated above) for a cold. You must have asked for it because a good doctor should know better than to prescribe antibiotics for a cold. The only thing you likely accomplished was to kill off a lot of good bacteria in your digestive system.

[graciegirl]

I think it's important to learn from past mistakes so as not to repeat them in the future. That's why I said what I said previously about your immune system. The immune system is our ticket to good health if we guard it and nurture it.

One other thing I would like to question is why you would take antibiotics (as you stated above) for a cold. You must have asked for it because a good doctor should know better than to prescribe antibiotics for a cold. The only thing you likely accomplished was to kill off a lot of good bacteria in your digestive system.

Here is Dr. Mom's cold information 101. A cold will last a week, or if we gargle, rest in bed, drink plenty of fluids and take cold medication to relieve the symptoms it will last seven days. A cold is caused by a rhinovirus and there isn't a medicine to kill it at this point.

HOWEVER, after the week, it may leave us with a seconday infection caused by bacteria which can be treated with an antibiotic. A secondary infection would be a sinus infection with a purelent discharge, or a lung or bronchial infection.

Seniors know that anything that attacks the lungs or bronchia should not be treated lightly because pneumonia is dangerous for the over 55 bunch.

The pneumonia immunization does not immunize us from all forms of pneumonia.

I am not a medical person. However, I am a mom. And you can bolster your immune system with all kinds of healthy foods until the cows come home. Healthy people still get secondary infections sometimes.

[renielarson]

Are you by chance taking statins for cholesterol? When my husband takes them he develops a nagging cough. When he goes off them, the cough goes away. Needless to say, he no longer takes statin drugs.

[Shirleevee]

I had similar problem after the flu. Went to an allergist and he had me have a cat scan of my sinuses and it ended up I had an infection there. Might help if your scan didn't include the sinuses. Try it if it didn't.

See ande E.N.T. sounds like allergies to me! My husband has the same symptoms and after ruling all else out, he is being tested for allergies. Good Luck!

[sjdjmd]

Our daughter is currently experiencing the same thing as you. Her doctors, too, think it's from her sinuses, with the constant dripping down her throat causing the acid reflux and thus the coughing. They have her Omeprazole; however, it really hasn't helped so they are trying a new medication to get the sinus condition under control.

I do know several years ago our doctor told me about his constant coughing which they finally discovered was caused from acid reflux.

Good Luck!

[Villages PL]

Message deleted.

[Villages PL]

Please give me your thoughts /experiences with my symptoms. Last January I caught a very bad cold from a visitor.

What happened to your visitor? Did he/she have the same problem you're having? Or did their cold just go away by itself in a short period of time?

You had:

1) antibiotics

2) chest Xrays

3) CAT scans

4) lung Dr. visits

5) allergy meds

6) more antibiotics

7) inhalers

8) prednisone

9) omeprazole (prilosec)

Could it be, in retrospect, that you overreacted and did too much which may have depressed your immune system, thereby preventing normal healing?

If, as was suggested, you had a secondary infection, wouldn't two rounds of antibiotics have cleared it up? Well, it's not cleared up so we're back to my theory of the immune system.

I think most of us assume that you don't smoke and you don't live with a smoker. And I assume you don't drink alcohol. Also, I hope you're not getting too much iron in your diet from red meat and/or supplements because too much iron can depress your immune system. Well, not enough iron is bad too, so we need just the right amount.

[Suemc]

One more opinion. I have had the same symptoms for a long time and know what you mean by an irritant in the throat. I have severe GERD but I rarely have the taste of vomit in my mouth. I've been to many dr's through the years, had many, many tests and just had another upper GI. I also went to the Mayo Clinci, which was excellant, but all their blood work and tests which were done over a weeks time, provided absolutely no new information. They accepted our insurance, but even though we have two insurances, not all costs were covered! So beware! Even with that, I'd rather go to Mayo than Shands. Mayo is run like a well oiled machine, Shands is a zoo. Shands may be excellent, but they are a teaching hosopital and I know for from experience that their GI department pushes envolvement in studies, one way they make a lot of money. After a while, I felt like a lab rat. A few years ago I changed dr's and have been seeing Dr. Lily Tran, who is excellant. Look her up on the web, her ratings are fantastic. We went through several changes of med's before we found which one worked the best and even then it sometimes takes two. She prescribed Dexilant daily as a prescription med, but when I notice increased symptoms she suggested I also take over the counter Zantac. It works! Good luck

[Barefoot]

I'm sorry, I can't resist.
I just have to dedicate this cartoon to Villages PL.

[Madelaine Amee]

I also went to the Mayo Clinic, which was excellent, but all their blood work and tests which were done over a weeks time, provided absolutely no new information. They accepted our insurance, but even though we have two insurances, not all costs were covered! So beware!

I've been a patient at Mayo - but my doctor who referred me was savvy enough to tell me to call and check that my insurance company would pick up the difference. I was very fortunate, they did, and a two year period of back and forth to Mayo including four minor surgeries and one major surgery, only cost us $72.

[Villages PL]

I'm sorry, I can't resist.
I just have to dedicate this cartoon to Villages PL.

Hey! Barefoot, that was very good! Thank you, it's just what the doctor ordered.

:1rotfl: