EXPERT
Dr. Stella Fitzgibbons, M.D.
Internist
- Houston, TX
- Accepting new patients
What's A Deposition and How Do I Handle It?
You're sure that you have a legitimate medical malpractice claim, and your attorney has found experts who support you after reading your medical records. Now somebody wants to...
Is Alzheimer's diagnosed with a blood test?
How is hepatitis B caused?
Severe chronic pain. What do I do?
Are snoring and sleep apnea the same thing?
Is Propidren suitable for me? I'm afraid it'll mess up my other hormones
Can herpes cause heart disease?
How would I know if I have hookworm?
What could it mean to have stabbing pain in the lower left abdomen?
Why does anemia cause fatigue?
Should I be concerned about random attacks of severe pain under ribs?
What medication helps with jock itch?
Are gallbladder polyps common?
Is there a smaller, better version of the CPAP?
Which is better for Costochondritis, massage or dry needling?
How do I get medical CBD/THC?
There has to have been a doctor involved in diagnosing the celiac disease. Ask that doctor to pick a really good GP.
Bactrim uses?
How urgent is this?
(2) Low iron stores mean that you're either losing it somewhere or you are not absorbing it or both. If you still have periods and they are heavy, see your gynecologist. For gastrointestinal losses there's a cheap test--stool samples for blood--and it can be can be done this week. You mark the little cards, and your doctor should be able to test them right there in the office.
(3) Unless your periods are very very heavy, ask the GP to refer you to a gastroenterologist, who should be available sooner than the hematologist. He (female ones are pretty rare) will probably want to scope your esophagus, stomach and small bowel to look for ulcers and also for atrophic gastritis which interferes with iron & vitamin B12 absorption. Since you are 50 he will probably do a colonoscopy at the same time (Hint: some of the prep solutions you drink for that are very expensive, so complain if he uses one of them).
(4) If the GI doctor turns up nothing, then the hematologist can wait UNLESS your hemoglobin is less that 8 or hematocrit less than 24.
(5) The 10-year history of diverse problems--me, I would go to the smartest rheumatologist you can find. That may require a trip back to Mayo.

Can sleep problems be corrected through therapy?
This is the official list of things to try. Counseling about any problems that keep you from sleeping (misbehaving spouse or kids, mother's illness, etc.) might help some. (Me, I study Italian or do puzzles when I can't sleep.)