I had reason to believe that this appointment would go well because his was one of the only offices in Orlando that was accepting Lyme patients and even the receptionist knew about things like Rocephin dosing. I made an appointment for the next day. And, since there was no time to get my full records, I went to the appointment with only my personal copies of labs, Igenex results, a list of my current medications, and notes I'd been keeping for months. Based only on this information and my vitals, Dr. Robbins had the following things to say:
1.) Igenex is a "bogus" lab and everything that goes to them comes back positive. And, for that reason, I needed to have the test run through a "real" lab like Labcorp. He ignored the part about how I had already done the test through Labcorp and it came back negative. Funny that my sister's Igenex labs didn't come back all positive and identical to mine. Oh, and none of the dozens of patients I've come in contact with have labs identical to mine. Weird.
2.) Dr. Kalidas is a quack and he should be reported to the Board of Health. He went on to say that Dr. Kalidas is scamming people out of money and has me on too many medications. This observation was based on, well, who the hell knows?
3.) I should stop ALL of my medications immediately because they are the cause of all of my symptoms, not the Lyme. He was so wise to insist that I abruptly stop things like antidepressants, Xanax, beta-blockers, and pain medicine.
In all fairness, at the time I was on about a dozen prescriptions, some regularly and some as needed only. I explained to him that I had been experiencing symptoms for over a decade and had only been on these medications for about 6 months. But, you know, he's the doctor with absolutely no patient history making these observations 5 minutes after he coldly introduced himself without making eye contact. Anyway, back to the nonsense:
4.) I should go see a doctor at the Jemsek Clinic, in North Carolina. He told me that this doctor he was recommending had lost his license over some "misunderstanding" but was now practicing again. What a realistic and reassuring suggestion.
5.) He called the Lyme protocol I was following "bullshit". He told me to "use my head" and think about how little sense it makes to pay out of pocket for treatments in Dr. Kalidas' office. He yelled the word "bullshit" at least a dozen times.
6.) He had never heard of the Burrascano protocol.
He made repeated attempts at antagonizing and provoking me during the 15 minutes he spent with me. I think he was irritated by my complete lack of emotion. He kept pushing and pushing, trying to get a reaction out of me. But, I stayed completely neutral and responded to every bat-shit crazy thing he said with a simple, uninspired "ok". In fact, I think that accounts for the majority of what I said in the appointment. The entire thing was so over the top ridiculous that I fully expected to find out that I was on Candid Camera. He is a train wreck of a doctor and I would stay far, far away from him if I were you. You've been warned.
I filed an official complaint against him with the Florida Department of Health immediately following that appointment.
7 comments:
Thank you so much for sharing this information. Clearly this "doctor" is uneducated about Lyme disease and its co-infections and he has no business knocking another doctor who is trying to save lives, while he apparently would just assume see us dead. It disgusts me to no end how doctors like Dr. Robbins is allowed to practice medicine, and some of the things he suggested you do would've put your health at great risk. We would all be wise to steer very clear of this guy.
( For the record, Dr. K saved my life and I was happy to pay every penny, because no other doctor who accepts insurance cared if I got better. )
Another vote here for Dr. K and his associate, Dr. I. I was their second Lyme patient almost 6 years ago. Like many other doctors, they didn't know much about Lyme then, but they learned quickly, including attending the annual ILADS meetings and talking to other Lyme doctors.
Infectious Disease doctors for the most part should be avoided if you have Lyme. They aren't willing to look beyond their trained incapacity to understand new, challenging diseases and consider unconventional but effective ways to treat them.
Is it possible to contact the owner of this page via private email? Have an appt. with Dr K next week. Thanks!
L
Is it possible to contact the owner of this blog via private email? Have an appt. (1st) with Dr K next week
Thanks!
L
The only common sensical thing he said, to me, was to recommend Jemsek, who is brilliant, but expensive. I'm considering going to see Dr K next week, for further info. Dr K doesn't like Jemsek, but Jemsek saved my life, and that of my kids, and uses a variation of Burrascano's protocal....just thought I'd add my two cents. The reason Dr Jemsek got reprimanded, not lost his license, is that he was "treating too many people with IV antibiotics, including those who tested CDC negative for Lyme".....which we all know is infuriating and annoying. The trial is covered in "Under Their Skin," actually.
Hi, last post I see from blogger is 2011 I hope it is because she is so well she is too busy living...but suffering from this Lyme also I have to wonder. Please give us an update on you. I was just referred to Dr. Robbins it is 2014 perhaps he has grown.
clearly you are a dumb b***h who should just go to Louisiana and get some voodoo healing.
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