[Taryn237]

Anyone know of one? A GI DAN doctor especially?

Posted in allergies:

Quote:

What kind of doctor to go to? For money reasons I need to pursue options that are in network and covered by insurance (Aetna). If I was going to take DD to someone who should it be? Allergist, GI, something else? She is EBF, low weight gain, funky mucousy, vinegar smelly poop. I have cut out gluten/dairy/soy/all nuts/all fish/caffeine/chocolate. She doesn't seem to get any worse with corn (I ate a bunch of 'safe' corn muffins yesterday), but I think the nightshades are causing the vinegar smell. Anyone know what tests Aetna would cover? We have a high OON deductible so thats not an option unfortunatly.

And chlobo's response:

Quote:

I would try to find a GI DAN (defeat autism now) doctor. Not b/c you child is autistic but because the problems your child is having are similar to the digestive problems an autistic child has.

 

[4littlemonkeys]

If you are willing to go to CHOP I recommend Dr. DeZoeten. I also recommend Dr. Rand but she may be hard to get into.

Anyway we have been with Rand and now DeZoeten (he was her fellow and now is free and clear on his own...in same practice) for years now. I went to them with my failure to thrive breastfed child and not once did they suggest I stop breastfeeding...in fact they encouraged it (she was well over a year old).

They are both very calm and laid back. I always felt like their partner in the issues and not beneath them.

215-590-3630 is the GI number at CHOP. I will tell you it can take a little while to get in but they are both excellent.

 

[kelly1827]

If you're in NJ, the CHOP Specialty Care Center in Voorhees is where my dd's GI is: Ritu Verma. She's wonderful, and my dd really is comfortable with her. We didn't start going to her until dd was 5yo, so I can't say how she is with infants, but if I ever had another baby who had GI problems I wouldn't hesitate to go to her. She is warm, caring, and very gentle. The only problem is that it can sometimes be a long wait for new pts to get appointments.

She is not a DAN doctor, but she is part of the EE Team, so she is knowledgable about food allergies and GI issues.

 

[Taryn237]

I was able to get into Dr. Barbara Verga in Morristown next Monday ao we'll try her first.

 

[hae703]

Please do NOT waste your time with Dr. Verga! I saw her a little over a month ago with my 8 month old DS because he has had GI issues (smelly mucusy green poop, sometimes blood, tummy aches, spit up, etc.) and she was a complete waste of my time.

She said she was pretty certain it was food allergies so I should put him on Formula!!! She said she could do a colonoscopy and biopsy if I didn't want to do formula, but she was pretty sure it was still going to come back food allergy so we'd be back to square one. She did not understand why I wanted to continue BF and practically rolled her eyes at me.

When I tried to explain that I was willing to cut things out of my diet (and already had cut out the top 8 at that point) she insisted it was "impossible" to figure out everything he was allergic to. She said that if I tried milk and soy and there were still problems formula was the only option.

She also told me a personal story of how she had to give up milk and soy with her first child for a year so she could BF and when her second child was born and started showing symptoms at 2 weeks old she said no way, not again and put her on formula. So obviusly BF is not important to her.

If you have any other questions about my visit with her feel free to ask, but I would not recommend her to anyone who wants to BF.

 

[Taryn237]

Thank you. I will cancel that appt.

How about Dr. Elizaveta Iofel?
A friend rec'd Dr. Koniaris but she's not taking new patients.

 

[Taryn237]

I just put in a request for the CHOP specialty center in Princeton with Dr. Verma. Maybe she's there too.

 

[Taryn237]

Well I am going to Dr. Tracie Wong at the CHOP center in Princeton tomorrow! Hopefully she's good.

 

[hae703]

She's Gastro? Not Allergist right? I got a recommendation for an allergist in Princeton so I'm going to see if I can get in with her. Since the GI was a bomb we saw a local allergist in Somerville yesterday, but I could tell she wasn't that experienced with this type of situation. So we'll see if I can get in to see Dr. Skolnick in Princeton.

Let me know how things go.

 

[Taryn237]

Dr. Wong is a GI. I liked her, she was supportive of breastfeeding, very nice, and very gentle with DD. But since DD doesn't have blood in her stool, and is on the chart (even though its the very bottom), she wasn't overly concerned. She said there wasn't much an allergist could do. I still think something isn't right though...

 

[Mavournin]

Dr. Wong is my youngest's GI too. I LOVE her. I'm near to the Princeton office, but I usually go see her at Main Hospital. I've run into her in the hallways while there to see other physicians and she remembers my name and my son's name. You can't say that for a lot of doctors, especially children's specialists.

You will find though that Dr. Wong will continue to seek out answers to what is going on. My DS2 had a lot of things that you say your daughter has, and Dr Wong was very committed to finding out why and how to make it better. But she is a little conservative - try the meds, then maybe an endoscopy sort of thing.

Your Dd is pretty young. I kept bringing up seeing an allergist and both Dr. Wong and my ped poo-poo'd it until he got closer to two. At my last appointment I mentioned again his reactions to specific foods and she immediately gave me a referral to the allergy dept. She told me that she doesn't like to send kids to allergy too early because a lot of times it's just something that they outgrow.

 

[momoftworedheads]

Dr Kevin Kelly is amazing. He listens to the parent and really will help your child. He is in private practice, his number is 215-293-8800. Our son has gone to him for 2+ years and is doing a lot better. (our son has a feeding tube and multiple medical issues). The previous GI he went to wanted to do surgery instead of changing his diet.

My son used to see Dr Verma (when he was a baby), she was not that great with his case. He saw her at CHOP's main campus.

Take care!

Jen