Back in 2014, I went to Quivira Internal Medicine, specifically Dr. Kalpan Gorthi, for lower back problems and numbness and tingling in my arms and hands. She did lab work, which included CRP and vitamin D levels. My CRP levels were through the roof (something like 10) and my vitamin D levels were in the single digits (if I remember, around 9). She told me to take more vitamin D, although an amount was never prescribed or specified, and she referred me for physical therapy.
So, because she wasn't specific, I increased my vitamin D intake my about 1000 ius daily. She told me to also take Aleve, but the drug only made my symptoms worse. It made my hands and arms feel like they were on fire. When I expressed the side effects Aleve caused, she blew me off and acted like I was just making it up, because she had never heard of someone reacting to it like that before. In addition, the only other choice for medication that she gave me was prednisone, a medication that I expressed I could not take because it induced manic symptoms and increased my blood pressure in the past. When I told her I couldn't take it, she told me I didn't have any other choice and that the only reason why I reacted poorly to it in the past was due to how it was administered (Flonase).
So, of course I went ahead and took it because she gave me no other choice. Like I warned her, it induced manic symptoms and caused me to lose sleep. I had inquired about Meloxicam, a NSAID, because it helped my spouse in the past. She refused to prescribe NSAIDs that were not over-the counter. I went to neurosurgeon and he got involved. Finally, she wrote the prescription for it.
When I decided that I didn't want to see her anymore because I didn't like the way she handled my medical condition, I requested to be transferred to another physician at the facility. They refused to transfer me to another doctor within the organization. So, I had to look for a doctor elsewhere.
It is also worthy to note that physical therapy never helped my symptoms.
About a year later, I was still taking Meloxicam which lessened all of my symptoms, but I also began to experience vertigo symptoms. I was hospitalized for it, was diagnosed with positional benign vertigo, and went through physical therapy. It also didn't help. I began to think that I had MS due to all of my symptoms. Then, I read a vitamin D deficiency could cause all of these problems. When I went to my OBGYN for my yearly physical, she requested vitamin D lab work and my levels came back at 12. I told her about my previous levels and how Dr. Gorthi just told me to take more. She stated the only way my vitamin D level could be normalized was for her to prescribe 50,000 ius once a week for eight weeks. Then, I would need to take around 5000 ius a day. She stated Dr. Gorthi should have known this.
Within two weeks, all of my symptoms went away or substantially decreased by 95%. I was able to go off of Meloxicam. I owe my life to my OBGYN and cannot thank her enough for properly doing her job.
I cannot begin to say how disappointed I am with Quivira Internal Medicine. Dr. Gorthi clearly should have known to prescribe me vitamin D at a high dosage in order to get my levels back to normal. Abnormally low levels of vitamin D can cause a wide variety of symptoms, including increased inflammation levels, chronic pain, vertigo, cancer, etc. 50,000 ius of vitamin D at once per week for eight weeks is probably a $5 prescription. If she would have prescribed it and if she would have instructed me on how much to take daily, she easily could have saved my insurance provider $25k in medical bills (e.g. physical therapy, hospitalizations, doctors' visits, prescriptions, etc). Medicine practiced like this is what is causing the health care crisis in this country. read more
