I had this crazy pain that started in my right shoulder about 5 years ago, so I went to see the…read moretop-rated orthopedic doctor in the state of Ohio. A year and two rounds of physical therapy later, she officially gave up on me. Yep, sent me on my way. Told me to try getting a massage.
And then no less than a dozen doctors gave up on me.
Through the years, I've seen chiropractors, a Chinese medicine DO, three gastroenterologists, a physical manipulation specialist, and a handful of Western medicine docs. I've been needled, herbed, cracked, and popped... I'm pretty sure I even went on a spiritual witch hunt for a while to exorcise a demon. I spent no less than $10,000 on scans, pills, and massages and countless hours in doctors' offices.
And then I met Dr. Richard Costin. He had been referred by one of my caring doctors who just didn't know what to do with me anymore. He said Dr. Costin is the surgeon he'd choose for surgery on himself. Sounded good enough for me!
If you've ever seen a surgeon, you probably know they're... well... not the nicest. You pray for one who's just a pompous, self-righteous ass and not one who's completely cold-hearted and unrelatable to people. Well, Dr. Costin was neither! Don't get me wrong... he wasn't shitting out rainbows and butterflies, but was truly great. He was kind, really listened to my concerns, and spent enough time with me at every visit.
Dr. Costin told me he believed my problems stemmed from my gallbladder, even though all my tests came back saying otherwise. He said he had seen a few patients with symptoms like mine and that he thought removing my gallbladder would be the right thing. But he wouldn't go in blindly and remove it--he had many hoops for me to jump through before he would remove this pesky organ.
A year after my first visit--and many tests and diet changes later--I went back to see Dr. Costin. He spent quite a bit of time discussing my case, and then he told me it was time to say goodbye to my gallbladder. His office helped schedule my surgery, and just a few days ago, I had my gallbladder removed.
While it's too soon to claim complete victory, I can confidently say that things are looking good so far. I had such an amazing experience with Dr. Costin, and I am incredibly thankful to him for not giving up on me like everybody else did. He saved my life.