Cathie:

I'm with you on the B-12 thing and I completely agree that doctors should be much more informed than they are on B-12 and supplements.

Now Dr. Theirl, well, he's a whiz kid on supplements and vitamins. Believes wholeheartedly in them.

KNow why I like Dr. Fred? Because he listens. He just doesn't pooh-pooh things. He always makes you feel like you matter, your thinking process matters. I will never forget when Alan started going (way before he became MY doctor).

We were there for his first visit (because you have to pick a primary care doctor when you are on a medicare HMO) and I forget why he picked Dr. Fred, but there we were and he had Alan on the table, and he's giving him an exam and he gets to his feet and he asked Alan, "tell me about your neuropathy". Alan says "listen to Melody, she knows all about my neuropathy" and Dr. Fred says "go ahead", and I began to speak about our journey from one neuro to another and Alan having Idiopathic Peripheral Poly Neuropathy and he has had this test and that test and then Dr. Fred asks Alan if he ever had a certain test, and I chimed up with "oh, for Peripheral Vascular Disease?" and after that, it was the funniest conversation you ever heard. You see, I have learned MUCH from these boards.

I told Dr. Fred all about these boards and he was absolutely fascinated. He said "that's the most amazing thing I have ever heard, you actually know what you are talking about". Then they ordered Alan to have the Arterial Doppler and Alan said "how come", and I walk over to Alan and show him where the carotid arteries are, and what the dopper does, and what they are looking for and Dr. Fred is laughing and going. "wow do you know how lucky you are to be married to this woman". Alan laughed his head off saying "are you kidding, she massages me every day too".

It really is a no-stress situation when you go to this office. Many people (and I mean many people), never go to a doctor because their blood pressure goes up, they are scared, they can't talk to their doctor, they are rushed, etc. This is not the case. While you have to wait to be finally seen, the wait is worth it because the care you get is top notch. And if you need ANYTHING? they give you samples, I mean, they treat you like a human being and that alone can make a person's blood pressure go right down.

I mean, I will never forget when I chose Dr. Fred as my primary. I had to give up Oxford because they charge $1675 for a deductible for hospitalization and Blue Cross Mediblue does not. So I had to switch on Jan 1 of 2007. My previous doctor did not accept mediblue so during one of Alan's visits, I told Dr. Fred, "Dr. Fred, I'll be coming to see you soon, I put you down as my primary care, Alan and I have the same insurance, so you'll be my doctor from now on, I want to make an appointment next week so you can look at my frozen shoulder". He was all finished with Alan and we were about the leave when he walks over to me, examines my shoulder and says "Let's get you a workup, make you my patient now, you'll go across the street for an x-ray, you'll come here in two days, and we'll see about giving you a shot of cortizone". I WAS NOT PREPARED TO BE A PATIENT THAT DAY, but because I knew this man I said 'oh thank you.

He examined me, they took my insurance card. I was officially a patient.

Then a few days later, I go back (thinking the x-ray report had come in".

Well, you should have seen Dr. Fred when he heard the report had not come in. He called the x-ray place across the street. (They know and love him).

In two minutes flat, he had a fax in his hand with my report.

I mean, you gotta love technology and you gotta love a man who gets things done. He GETS THINGS DONE.

Even the little old ladies love him.

And because he's only 39, he will continue to learn and be even a better physician as he grows older. That's what I truly believe.

And I told him about being in the Cornell Protocol. I had all the copies of all my blood work from Cornell. He said "very very good, you gave me all I need". we'll run a new batch of tests in three months.

Well, that is tomorrow.

So I finally will see what my b-12 level is. After all the test results come back.

This should be most surprising.
melody

Melody