Based on Crystal K's review, I suspect that Dr. Verhille isn't interested in treating patients who have autoimmune diseases. If you have an autoimmune condition, look for another GI. I have Graves' disease which is an endocrine problem, but patients with autoimmune thyroid disease have a higher than normal risk of also getting autoimmune gastritis. But, I'm getting ahead of myself here. Here's my tale:
When I first met Dr. Verhille last August, I had been to the emergency room twice in the past two weeks because of severe heartburn symptoms. The first time I went to the ER, my GP's office had told me to go in order to make sure that I wasn't having a heart attack (I wasn't). The second time I went it was because, despite having been given a prescription for proton pump inhibitors to take in the morning by my GP, I was still experiencing fire in my chest at night to such a degree that I hadn't slept in two days. So, when I first met him and he told me I had acid reflux and to take the PPI once in the morning and once in the evening (and he gave me a bunch of samples out of concern that my insurance wouldn't cover the second daily dose) and I was able to sleep the night after seeing him, I thought he was a godsend. Hence, the second star.
Going back to him two weeks later, however, I started to question my initial analysis of him. At the time, he gave me a list of foods to avoid, but told me that maybe in a couple of weeks, I could try a "stir-fry." Uh, I'm not Chinese. He also told me to start weaning myself off of the PPI at night.
So, while I was able to sleep at night, I was still having other issues even though I was basically living off of rice, peas and broiled chicken breast. Trying to wean myself off the PPI at night wasn't working out as my heartburn symptoms returned when I didn't take it. I went to see him two months later to ask about an endoscopy. Instead, he admonished me for trying to wean myself off the medication in the evening even though he had told me to do it. When I reminded him of this fact (I wouldn't have tried it on my own accord), he waved his hand and started in on some story about his father. He then sent me away and told me to come see him after the holidays in January. This was in the middle of November.
Shortly after seeing him, my nausea started to get worse and I vomited a couple of times. I started feeling a fullness in my abdomen. Despite all the literature I had read about acid reflux and how you should stop eating for the day a few hours before bed, if I didn't eat something in the evening I would sometimes develop a gnawing pain in my stomach and would end up having to eat something in the middle of the night. I was also planning to go to Mexico for Thanksgiving, so I was worried about leaving the country with these symptoms. I contacted his office and left a message. He called me back at the end of the day, but he clearly wasn't taking me seriously. When it became clear he was not interested in what I was experiencing, I got off the phone and contacted my GP.
My GP recommended another GI (Note: This was a different GP from the one who had recommended Verhille). After waiting almost two months to meet with the new GI (she's quite popular because, as I learned, she's really good), I told her my story. When I finished, she immediately suggested that we perform an endoscopy. She scoped me the next day. The endoscopy revealed that I had gastritis. Gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach. Look up the symptoms of gastritis and you will find: nausea, vomiting, fullness in the abdomen and gnawing pain that can either get worse or better with eating. These are the symptoms I had told Dr. Verhille I was experiencing before Thanksgiving. Once my GP got the endoscopy results, she immediately tested me for autoimmune gastritis because she knew that I had Graves' disease and autoimmune patients have a higher risk of acquiring another autoimmune disease. I tested positive. After my GP and my new GI conferred, they prescribed sucralfate to be taken four times a day in addition to taking the PPI twice a day. It's a medication that coats your stomach to protect it against inflammation and ulcers. Since starting to take the sucralfate before every meal and before bedtime, my nausea and vomiting seem to have gone away. I no longer have the fullness in my abdomen and the gnawing pain has disappeared. I almost feel normal again.
What gets me angry about Dr. Verhille the most is that if he had performed the endoscopy earlier, he could have seen the gastritis, made the adjustment to my medication and saved me months of needless suffering. Quite frankly, he seems to have preconceived notions about people, to not listen to his patients and to not take into account patient history. Please, if you have an autoimmune condition and are suffering with a GI problem, do yourself a favor and find another doctor. read more