Has anyone gone to Columbia for their second opinion?

[jess100]

At the Columbia University Medical Center, we offer a second opinion evaluation service for patients who have persistent neurologic or neuropsychiatric symptoms that have been attributed to a tick-borne illness. During this 1 1/2-day evaluation, patients are evaluated by a physician, medical history and records are reviewed, and extensive neurocognitive tests and blood tests are carried out. If indicated, imaging and CSF tests will be discussed. If you are interested in discussing this second opinion evaluation further, please contact a member of our team at (646) 774-7503 for initial screening or call Dr. Kathy Corbera directly at (646) 774-8099. Please remember to leave your phone number and your email so that we can reach you. Please be aware that since the evaluation is comprehensive and only a limited number of patients can be seen each week to accommodate the large volume of requests for appointments, it might be several weeks before your telephone call is returned to set up your appointment. There is a waiting list. Your patience is appreciated.

 

[msf]

Seems like a weird advertisement to me - surely any doctor is able to offer a second opinion on such cases? The question then is whether they know any more about Lyme than the average doctor...

 

[duncan]

Try tracking someone down there, @jess100. I have called several times. I found it difficult to nail anyone meaningful down.

@msf , Brian Fallon heads Columbia University's Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Research Center.

Oddly enough, I did go to Columbia U for some ME/CFS cognitive testing a few years back, but at the hands of a group unrelated to their Lyme & TBD Research Center.

 

[msf]

Who´s Brian Fallon, and will he be the one giving the second opinion?

 

[duncan]

Dr. Brian Fallon is a neuropsych who practices out of Columbia U and heads its Lyme and TBD Research Center. You know the four famous (infamous?)controlled Lyme studies? Fallon was responsible for one of those. (Klempner and Krupp headed the other three) He is considered an advocate by many. Clearly, the LDA thinks so as they convene their annual Lyme conference in conjunction with Fallon's Columbia Lyme Center,

Some such as I have mixed feelings.

 

[msf]

No, I don´t, you´ll have to keep it simple for me - is he IDSA or ILADS?

 

[duncan]

Well, ILADS likes him, so I guess technically he is ILADS.

But, in my opinion, he might straddle that fence a bit too often....

People I respect respect him, if that helps.

 

[msf]

It´s good to have the expert on Lyme politics on the forum.

 

[duncan]

I agree.

 

[Kyla]

fwiw someone has written up their experience with this program here:

http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/ly...versity-medical-center-second-opinion-program

it sounds like they paid upwards of 5 grand to be given a shrug and a recommendation for anti-depressants.

 

[duncan]

Inviting the UK's Dr. Brooks to speak at this November's Lyme forum in Rhode Island also may be ruffling a few feathers...