good luck with that one. I have tried that too and did ok with it until my local doc retired and my care was transferred to another local GI in the same center. I had been using my local GI for nutrition and anemia issues. But the local GI I have now seems to have some ego complex with my surgical and wound care being done at CC and Dr. Shen being involved. In fact, so much so, that my now local GI has refused to help me - despite my massive recent weight loss due to bacterial overgrowth. He told me diet didn't matter, refused to give me a dieticien referral, and didn't care that I am now clinically underweight and continuing to lose weight despite being on antibiotics. I even had to beg him to get me iron infusions when my iron stores were completely depleted 1/2 year ago. He even tried to butt in with Shen's plan for my wound healing and so much told me no way would doxy injections work and Shen didn't know what he was doing. wrong wrong he was. He has some cracked up idea about how to heal the wound and I refuse to let him try anything as he couldn't provide any proof or patient success referrals. I trust my CC docs. So that has pissed him off. Its like its a competition and he could care less about caring for the patient.
Remzi and Shen of course are all for working together with local docs. It's just that the local docs seem to be afraid and against working with the CC docs. And since where I live there are only two major medical systems and all the GI docs work for one or the other. I am screwed. As the GI team in the first medical system is headed by the GI doc who didn't treat me with a massive UC flare and left me to wither away until I had to have emergency surgery to remove my colon and then let me suffer with an improperly built jpouch for 5months.. again withering away until I found my own way to Dr. Shen at CC. And the surgeons who screwed me over and built my jpouch wrong have moved to the second center where my now local ego filled GI is. And the surgeon who created the jpouch knows so much he did it wrong that he actually has hid from my husband when they have seen each other at a local gas station. crazy crazy crazy.
So where has that left me.. driving to cleveland and praying that Dr. Shen and Dr. Remzi stay healthy and there for all of us. Ridiculous. But at least I know the docs there are knowledgeable, experienced and most of all compassionate about the care for their patients. And... I know that Dr. Shen responds to emails!!!
sorry to be such a downer, maybe you will have better success, especially since you are more than a "drive" away from CC.
lix
