I'm shocked at some of the online reviews describing Dr. Belmont as "caring" and "compassionate." Intelligent and knowledgable yes, but the man I met yesterday was the opposite of caring and compassionate. Instead, he was demeaning, confrontational and actually went out of his way to humiliate me. Just to provide background, I traveled more than 150 miles for my appointment with Dr. Belmont because I've been suffering from a debilitating condition for almost 18 months which my local doctors think is likely autoimmune in nature. I was hoping Dr. Belmont could provide a diagnosis or at least steer me in the right direction. Instead, before he even looked at my chart, he came after me as if I am a drug-seeking hypochondriac. To provide context, I am a lawyer in my 40s who never takes pain or psychiatric medications. I was accompanied at the appointment by my husband, a doctor who trained at top institutions, including Harvard, just like Dr. Belmont and took time off from his busy practice to be with me. The very first thing Dr. Belmont said to me, very aggressively, is "well, you look good" and it went downhill from there. He asked if I would be "upset" if he told me I don't have a connective tissue disease and wrote off even positive test results as "lab error because I've never seen a number that high." (Note that the lab indicated they had tested my blood twice because of the high number.) He dismissed my stack of abnormal EKGs with a sarcastic "well, I'm not a cardiologist" and most of my other symptoms in similar fashion (for example, said my very dry eyes could be from aging, although it started in my 20s). I told him my cardiologist wants to conduct a tilt table test and he replied that yes, POTS is "in" right now, as if I want orthostatic intolerance because it's trendy. He said since I don't stay in bed all day I should leave and go "enjoy my life." Even though I told him I was a runner before becoming sick, he repeatedly asked me what I do for exercise and why I don't run anymore. Although I am a thin person, he told me to treat my symptoms, which include cardiac arrhythmia, constant chest pain, joint pain/swelling and shortness of breath, with diet, Tai Chi and exercise. Since I had a tick bite and live in an area with rampant Lyme disease I tentatively asked if it could be Lyme and he snapped that "Lyme is easy to diagnose and not a mystery" and that the medical practice that treats Lyme in my area is for "psychiatric" patients. I told him that my local rheumatologist put me on Plaquenil and that it seemed to be helping and he said it was probably a "placebo effect." The worst part of the appointment was when he asked himself "Do I think I have a disease?" and then asked my husband "do you think you have a disease?" and then turned to me, again very sarcastically, to ask the same question, as if I WANT a disease! At the end he grudgingly acknowledged that I was tachycardic when he listened to my heart and I should be concentrating on cardiology. I suppose it was helpful and reassuring to hear that an experienced rheumatologist does not think I have an autoimmune disease, but it was hard to leave the office feeling anything but humiliated and discouraged. Dr. Belmont is probably helpful if you have an airtight diagnosis or undeniable blood work, but otherwise I'd avoid this unpleasant experience. read more