The Quest

On the advice of Dr. Wang when asked questions about the diet I was trying to develop, I met with a delightful Mayo Clinic nutritionist. We began the visit with me presenting what I was doing and asking for comments or corrections to my approach. She was literally speechless and said I was the first patient with whom she had spoken for which she had no advice. I was so far … Read More

The VA saw an anomaly in a Cat Scan they ran in April and scheduled a sonogram to take a closer look to day. The appointment was in the morning and I thought went very well. In fact the results found nothing unusual, yeah!! HOWEVER, maybe a coincidence, by 4:30 PM I was in great rectum distress with great pain and spasms. It was so bad my caring bride drove … Read More

The visit to the VA GI department was a good experience for me. The Nurse Practitioner was very good and thorough. She is on board in a supporting and advisory role for the IBD healing plan. In agreement on approach and providing medication support. Could not ask for better help. She offered a couple of suggested actions with which Dr.Wang was in full agreement. It’s great to see a plan … Read More

Met with Dr. Wang, a delightful doctor, to discuss his findings and set a course for healing/treatment. Test Findings: Colon, rectum and sigmoid, biopsy: Active chronic inflammation consistent with inflammatory bowel disease. Good news and not so good news: I have do not have Chron’s disease. I have Ulcerative Colitis. He is very supportive of my 3 path approach and will structure the allopathic treatment plan to support the homeopathic … Read More

OK, if I wait until February to see the VA, I’ll be out of meds from the doctor I’m fleeing. Hello Mayo Clinic who could see me in January. I was given an appointment to see a Dr. Wang, but there was a catch – all previous tests and scopes and scan must be rerun. Yikes!! I went for it and never looked back. Minor flare during first week of … Read More

December was a waiting period, waiting for my new insurance in January and waiting to make an appointment with the Mayo Clinic GI department. All along hoping the meds would hold my condition in check. Also began more study on homeopathy and trying to define a diet plan. Nothing was obvious.

Funny how things work. Speaking with a vet friend, I’m a Viet Nam vet, he thought I should be receiving VA medical benefits and was surprised I was not — for over 50 years!! Oh my gosh, so I applied and was accepted as a disabled vet, but not for IBD. Here was another place to explore for a GI doctor. But wait, there’s more …… I had to learn … Read More

The GI doctor said I had NO options other than a future with biologics. There are always options! So, we felt it was time to explore what options did exist. After a bit of research and on the advice of my wonderful bride of many years and on the recommendation of our pastor, we set an appointment with nutritional doctor, Dr. Epitropoulos, to explore natural healing options. We were pleasantly … Read More

Finding a supportive GI doctor naturally began with my current medical team. So, in November, we met with the GI doctor I have been seeing and asked if he supported our plan. He scoffed at what we proposed, noting if it was that “easy” he would be out of business. Oh well, we needed him until we could find the right GI doctor. We let him prescribe Biologics which required … Read More

The post colonoscopy office visit was truly an awakening. The GI doctor’s diagnosis was Crohns disease. He prescribed more medication and set a follow up an appointment for late November. He told me to consider biologics, whatever they are, I had no clue.