Scarlett Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 34 minutes ago, Lanny said: Disclaimer: I have not read all of the previous responses. Only the first one, so probably others have made the same comments. OP you wrote: "She has these letters after her name. PhD RDN LD LMFT My friend's Dallas psoriatic arthritis doctor referred her to a dermatologist in Boston. That was a wasted trip IMO (except they did need the vacation) and the Boston doctor referred her to a doctor here locally to help my friend with her gut issues." The "doctor" in Dallas whose letters you posted above, may have a PhD in Basket Weaving or some other topic. If you mean by "doctor" a Medical Doctor, she is not an M.D. or she would have those initials after her name. Now, having lived in or near Dallas for many years, I am familiar with the medical care available there. My now late Cousin was an eminent Dermatologist in his sub-specialty. I believe that if he was still alive that he would find it incredibly rare, and probably unneccesary, for someone in Dallas to go to Boston, unless there was nobody with that expertise in Dallas. I hope that your friend will be OK. I suggest that she goes to Medical Doctors. Lanny, thank you for responding. This is a very long on going saga. It is very very complicated. She has been to every medical doctor one can imagine. I think the doctor in Dallas ( who specializes in at least arthritis if not psoriatic arthritis) is a good doctor. My understanding is he referred her to the Boston dermaologist because he went to med school with her. Honestly if I had to guess I would say he wanted his colleague to see this most unusual case. My friend loved the Boston doctor. She was very kind and thorough. She did a bunch of testing and in the end she said my friend was getting the best care back in Dallas and in Tulsa for the psoriatic arthritis. The Boston doctor referred her to the Tulsa ‘Doctor’ to help her with her gut issues. Many people on this thread have helped me to see that although she is not an MD she probably can help with the stress and help with a diet that might help her gut. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 On 6/18/2021 at 9:03 AM, Scarlett said: She has these letters after her name. PhD RDN LD LMFT My friend's Dallas psoriatic arthritis doctor referred her to a dermatologist in Boston. That was a wasted trip IMO (except they did need the vacation) and the Boston doctor referred her to a doctor here locally to help my friend with her gut issues. This new doctor has a PHD in Natural Medicine, and those other letters all refer to dietician and therapy. She put her on a carnivore diet for 3 weeks. (Friend lasted like 5 days and got so so sick she had to stop) She has introduced my friend to tapping. And she wants her to start sessions in hyperbaric chamber. I believe all of those things are at the least not helpful. Maybe harmful. Woo. In the middle of all of this....friend's GP sends her for a CT and she is diagnosed with abdominal wall cellulitis. They put her on antibiotics......one dose and she is covered in head to toe in a painful red rash. They try another antibiotic....same reaction. So she is still going back to the doctor with all the letters attached.....and I have tried to gently tell her maybe this is not what she needs right now. Yesterday she had an appointment with her and afterwards texted me "Yes she is a licensed functioning doctor! I made sure of it today". So does anyone have an opinion on this situation? I feel like she is so desperate she is just willing to try anything. Coming back to this thread to respond to the bolded part. Abdominal wall cellulitis, from what I understand, is very serious. Cellulitis is an infection so of course that's why they treated her with antibiotics because untreated infections don't usually just go away on their own especially in someone with a compromised immune system. It can lead to sepsis. Which can lead to death. I am a bit surprised that she wasn't in the hospital on iv antibiotics for this. When I was on one antibiotic after another, they had to try different families of antibiotics. They didn't just try two and then throw their hands up in the air in defeat. I am also surprised that they didn't try surgery to remove some of the infected area. (I realize that she probably refused further treatment so maybe their hands were tied.) 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 (edited) On 6/18/2021 at 9:17 AM, Scarlett said: I agree diet is not woo, but I think a carnivore diet is. There is no ND or MD after her name. And the website for this clinic refers to 'clients' instead of patients. That last thing may be because she’s trying to avoid practicing medicine without a license. Some states, mostly on the west coast, have professional licensure for NDs and they can practice medicine (in my state they can ever prescribe many medications) but many states do not. It sounds like whatever she is, it’s not working for your friend. Your friend should have no hesitation to stop seeing someone who isn’t helping her. ETA- I see that maybe this person is helping, just not with the carnivore diet. Edited June 19, 2021 by LucyStoner 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 19, 2021 Author Share Posted June 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Jean in Newcastle said: Coming back to this thread to respond to the bolded part. Abdominal wall cellulitis, from what I understand, is very serious. Cellulitis is an infection so of course that's why they treated her with antibiotics because untreated infections don't usually just go away on their own especially in someone with a compromised immune system. It can lead to sepsis. Which can lead to death. I am a bit surprised that she wasn't in the hospital on iv antibiotics for this. When I was on one antibiotic after another, they had to try different families of antibiotics. They didn't just try two and then throw their hands up in the air in defeat. I am also surprised that they didn't try surgery to remove some of the infected area. (I realize that she probably refused further treatment so maybe their hands were tied.) She has not refused treatment, at all. Anything they suggest she tries. I also am concerned that she has a GP treating this cellulitis. The last I heard the doctor was researching another antibiotic to give my friend since the first to try progress so bad. I just talk to my friend and the reactions she had to those antibiotics have caused her skin to now start peeling all over her bodyI also am concerned that she has a GP treating this cellulitis. The last I heard the doctor was researching another antibiotic to give my friend since the first to try progress so bad. I just talk to my friend and the reactions she had to those antibiotics have caused her skin to now start peeling all over her body over her body 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted June 19, 2021 Share Posted June 19, 2021 46 minutes ago, Scarlett said: . The last I heard the doctor was researching another antibiotic to give my friend since the first to try progress so bad. I just talk to my friend and the reactions she had to those antibiotics have caused her skin to now start peeling all over her body over her body Does she has a care team that can read her health/doctor notes? When I was in college, I had tried every drug for hay fever that the university health service have and it was at best symptomatic relief. In the end I had to go to the specialist clinics at the university hospital to get more coordinated and thorough treatment. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 3 hours ago, Arcadia said: Does she has a care team that can read her health/doctor notes? When I was in college, I had tried every drug for hay fever that the university health service have and it was at best symptomatic relief. In the end I had to go to the specialist clinics at the university hospital to get more coordinated and thorough treatment. No she does not. She tried hard to get an appointment at Mayo but they rejected her. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 4 hours ago, Scarlett said: She has not refused treatment, at all. Anything they suggest she tries. I also am concerned that she has a GP treating this cellulitis. The last I heard the doctor was researching another antibiotic to give my friend since the first to try progress so bad. I just talk to my friend and the reactions she had to those antibiotics have caused her skin to now start peeling all over her bodyI also am concerned that she has a GP treating this cellulitis. The last I heard the doctor was researching another antibiotic to give my friend since the first to try progress so bad. I just talk to my friend and the reactions she had to those antibiotics have caused her skin to now start peeling all over her body over her body Omg. Sh3e desperately needs an infectious docror to handke the cellulitis and yes, she needs toe hospitalized. Cellulitis, especially internal Cellulitis id extremely serious especially in people w autoimmune diseases. I have been hospitalized twice for it. And none of mine were so internal as hers. My first was peri-orbital Cellulitis that was anti-biotic resistant and the last one was an MSSA infection on my knee but they were worried it was an MRSA infection. That one happened this Spring and U was hospitalized for a week snd she sounds like she is in a much worse condition than I was. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 At a minimum she needs an internal medicine doctor- not a general practitioner as her primary care doctor. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frances Posted June 20, 2021 Share Posted June 20, 2021 7 hours ago, Scarlett said: No she does not. She tried hard to get an appointment at Mayo but they rejected her. Does her healthcare system have care coordinators? My mom’s was so valuable when she was dealing with some new, serious issues last fall during the pandemic while also having several serious, existing conditions. And it was all free. It was wonderful for all of us, not just my mom. We could call her whenever we had questions or concerns, she accompanied my mom to all appointments and arranged phone conferencing when we requested, she helped set up appointments, she followed up with doctors, pharmacists, therapists, rehabilitation facilities, etc. The care coordinator was literally a life saver for all of us. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted June 20, 2021 Author Share Posted June 20, 2021 7 hours ago, Frances said: Does her healthcare system have care coordinators? My mom’s was so valuable when she was dealing with some new, serious issues last fall during the pandemic while also having several serious, existing conditions. And it was all free. It was wonderful for all of us, not just my mom. We could call her whenever we had questions or concerns, she accompanied my mom to all appointments and arranged phone conferencing when we requested, she helped set up appointments, she followed up with doctors, pharmacists, therapists, rehabilitation facilities, etc. The care coordinator was literally a life saver for all of us. It has been a while since I talked to her about a care coordinator but I am pretty sure she told me she got no where with that. It is worth mentioning again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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