# Need a good GI doc in Florida



## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

I am looking for a really good GI doc in Fort Myers or Naples Florida; I have had chronic constipation for 25 years now; I rely on Magnesium pills but they make me feel ill; I need to find a doctor with some creativity (I hope) who can think outside the box and perhaps help me find something else to take some of the time. Without magnesium I can't go at all. When I told my GI doc i feel sick because of Magnesium he said he didn't think that was the problem, it must be something else; it isn't anything else; i have had a complete physical including lytes and mag level (normal) but magnesium has finally gotten to me after 20 years. I think it is because I am older now (65) and the body changes. Thanks in advance for your help


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## paraAdrian (Nov 5, 2010)

songbird said:


> I am looking for a really good GI doc in Fort Myers or Naples Florida; I have had chronic constipation for 25 years now; I rely on Magnesium pills but they make me feel ill; I need to find a doctor with some creativity (I hope) who can think outside the box and perhaps help me find something else to take some of the time. Without magnesium I can't go at all. When I told my GI doc i feel sick because of Magnesium he said he didn't think that was the problem, it must be something else; it isn't anything else; i have had a complete physical including lytes and mag level (normal) but magnesium has finally gotten to me after 20 years. I think it is because I am older now (65) and the body changes. Thanks in advance for your help


I live in miami,florida and ive seen about five G.I doctors and no one has able to help me. I get distended and my belly its always bloated. They have done evrything on me a ct-scans , xrays , colonoscopy and alat of stuff and it turns out be that eveything its negative except for that there is always more feces than normal in my colon. Ive tried all laxatives and they youst give you more abdominal pain. A doctor recomended a colostomy a bag full of ###### in your belly and I said no , I am traying to find other solutions cause i really dont wanna have a colosotmy cause I really whant a nother solution for this. So Im basically in the same whole as you looking for a nother good doctor in miami that could help me the only thing is that Im younger im 21. I wish you good luck my god help you find a road that leads you to a good doctor , cause I know what you are going thrue.


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## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

paraAdrian said:


> I live in miami,florida and ive seen about five G.I doctors and no one has able to help me. I get distended and my belly its always bloated. They have done evrything on me a ct-scans , xrays , colonoscopy and alat of stuff and it turns out be that eveything its negative except for that there is always more feces than normal in my colon. Ive tried all laxatives and they youst give you more abdominal pain. A doctor recomended a colostomy a bag full of ###### in your belly and I said no , I am traying to find other solutions cause i really dont wanna have a colosotmy cause I really whant a nother solution for this. So Im basically in the same whole as you looking for a nother good doctor in miami that could help me the only thing is that Im younger im 21. I wish you good luck my god help you find a road that leads you to a good doctor , cause I know what you are going thrue.


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## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

Thank you for your kind thoughts; you are so young and I hope that you can find an answer for this awful problem; it is not easy and many physicians are in the dark ages when it comes to this issue. Good luck to you too.


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## Guest (Jan 18, 2011)

songbird said:


> I am looking for a really good GI doc in Fort Myers or Naples Florida; I have had chronic constipation for 25 years now; I rely on Magnesium pills but they make me feel ill; I need to find a doctor with some creativity (I hope) who can think outside the box and perhaps help me find something else to take some of the time. Without magnesium I can't go at all. When I told my GI doc i feel sick because of Magnesium he said he didn't think that was the problem, it must be something else; it isn't anything else; i have had a complete physical including lytes and mag level (normal) but magnesium has finally gotten to me after 20 years. I think it is because I am older now (65) and the body changes. Thanks in advance for your help


Hi Songbird,I'm not sure how far you are from the Cleveland Clinic, but they have some of the top gastroenterology doctors in the country. Several people on the Healingwell boards have said great things about their experiences with them. You will likely need a referral from another doctor for an appointment there, but you may not - I'm not positive. Anyhow, it is definitely worth checking out, even if you have to travel a little ways to get there - just take a day and do it. The GI doctor I see is 2 1/3 hours away from home and each visit is worth it. I hope you find a doctor who will help you soon, -AliHere's their link:http://my.clevelandclinic.org/florida/departments/gastroenterology/default.aspx


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## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

AliKaye said:


> Hi Songbird,I'm not sure how far you are from the Cleveland Clinic, but they have some of the top gastroenterology doctors in the country. Several people on the Healingwell boards have said great things about their experiences with them. You will likely need a referral from another doctor for an appointment there, but you may not - I'm not positive. Anyhow, it is definitely worth checking out, even if you have to travel a little ways to get there - just take a day and do it. The GI doctor I see is 2 1/3 hours away from home and each visit is worth it. I hope you find a doctor who will help you soon, -AliHere's their link:http://my.clevelandclinic.org/florida/departments/gastroenterology/default.aspx


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## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

Thanks for your reply; i live in michigan which isn't too far from Cleveland; i am in Florida for the winter; I think I will get on the Cleveland Clinic Website and see who is on their staff; i really need a physician who can think out of the box; not the "take more fiber and drink more water" and all of that. I brought this on myself 20 years ago when my bowel habits changed and I panicked; I went right to strong laxatives and enemas and my colon basically stopped working pretty quick; then I found milk of magnesia which i used every day for 10 years; it worked great but made me weak and dizzy. So I switched to magnesium citrate pills which i take to this day; i used those every day for ten years but last January I started feeling really awful; I had a complete physical to rule out any serious problem; magnesium level was good and kidney function studies normal. I know I am developing a sensitivity to magnesium. I have cut it down by 1/3 but I still need to take it or i don't go. I need to find something else to take and i need a caring and bright physician to help me do that. Thanks for your concern and adviceMarilyn


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## Guest (Jan 19, 2011)

songbird said:


> Thanks for your reply; i live in michigan which isn't too far from Cleveland; i am in Florida for the winter; I think I will get on the Cleveland Clinic Website and see who is on their staff; i really need a physician who can think out of the box; not the "take more fiber and drink more water" and all of that. I brought this on myself 20 years ago when my bowel habits changed and I panicked; I went right to strong laxatives and enemas and my colon basically stopped working pretty quick; then I found milk of magnesia which i used every day for 10 years; it worked great but made me weak and dizzy. So I switched to magnesium citrate pills which i take to this day; i used those every day for ten years but last January I started feeling really awful; I had a complete physical to rule out any serious problem; magnesium level was good and kidney function studies normal. I know I am developing a sensitivity to magnesium. I have cut it down by 1/3 but I still need to take it or i don't go. I need to find something else to take and i need a caring and bright physician to help me do that. Thanks for your concern and adviceMarilyn


Hey Marilyn, I am from Michigan too! And I know what you mean, every medication I've tried would work for a little bit and then make me feel worse!***Wanted to let you know this - the Cleveland Clinic actually has a Department of Gastroenterology in Florida! I think it is in Weston, I'm not sure how far that is from where you're staying this winter but maybe you can get over there and check it out sometime.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi Marilyn i'm in michigan too and i remember your post from this past summer when you were looking for a doc in michigan and i suggested dr william hasler at the u of m--someone had recommended him highly to me. just for my own information, did you ever get a chance to see him? i was wondering if he's as good as i'd heard..or perhaps he isn't... hope you find a good caring intelligent doc soon. the cleveland clinic sounds like a great idea---good luck!i suppose you've tried miralax as a substitute for milk of mag...


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## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

annie7 said:


> Hi Marilyn i'm in michigan too and i remember your post from this past summer when you were looking for a doc in michigan and i suggested dr william hasler at the u of m--someone had recommended him highly to me. just for my own information, did you ever get a chance to see him? i was wondering if he's as good as i'd heard..or perhaps he isn't... hope you find a good caring intelligent doc soon. the cleveland clinic sounds like a great idea---good luck!i suppose you've tried miralax as a substitute for milk of mag...


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## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

Hi: i didn't go to U of M; i thought maybe this awful way I feel would go away but it didn't so i will have to see someone. I tried Miralax a long time ago; it was awful; it gave me the urge to go then it oozed or leaked out; it was dreadful and I took a double dose. At this stage of my life I don' want a bunch of tests; I just want a physician to have other ideas of how to treat the problem; 20 years of magnesium has rendered my colon almost useless; and what is even weirder these days is that I am trying to take less magnesium; so i take mag every other day or every two days because I am trying to lessen the magnesium load. so what happens when i do take magnesium (1500 mg) every other day or every two days, it doesn't work very well. When I take it every day it works well but i can't take it that way any longer; it is affecting my equilibrium. I plan to go to a doctor soon. it will be either U of M or Cleveland Clinic. Thanks so much for your concern; I love this board and the people here. I have learned so much.


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## songbird (Dec 21, 2009)

AliKaye said:


> Hey Marilyn, I am from Michigan too! And I know what you mean, every medication I've tried would work for a little bit and then make me feel worse!***Wanted to let you know this - the Cleveland Clinic actually has a Department of Gastroenterology in Florida! I think it is in Weston, I'm not sure how far that is from where you're staying this winter but maybe you can get over there and check it out sometime.


 Hi I did look up if Cleveland Clinic has any gasto docs in Weston; they don't but thanks for the tip.


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## annie7 (Aug 16, 2002)

Hi Marilyn--i totally empathize with your situation. i'm 58, have had ibs-c for forty years and for the last four years (after first trying everything) have been managing it--with the advice of a great gastro guy now retired--by taking milk of magnesia nightly and laxatives. and that works fairly well for now but i worry about the future--getting older and my body changing and becoming less able to handle various meds.miralax didn't work for me either. when it gets to the point that mom is too much for me i plan to try amitiza again. i tried it when it first came out and it didn't work, with miserable side effects but now it's in a lower dose form which some people say works better so i figure it's worth a try again at the new dosage. and who knows--there are some drugs in the pipeline--linaclotide and prucalopride to name a couple---hopefully at least one of those will finally get approved and be helpful for those of us who suffer with c..good luck to you! i hope you can find a great doc who will be able to help you. i sure do miss my last gastro since he retired...


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