hmnr asg
Senior Member
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- 553
The following is my awful experience with a so called "CFS expert" known as KDM (Kenny Leo De Meirleir). I share my story so that maybe I can save some of you from wasting thousands of dollars and potentially being hurt by this crook.
Here it goes (sorry folks for the long story):
Despite reading a lot of negative reviews about him, out of sheer desperation I went to his clinic in Reno, Nevada. He practices his scam out of the Whittemore Peterson Institute (the folks who brought us the XMRV "discovery").
The whole thing felt like a scam from the beginning, but I went along with it hoping just "maybe" he can help.
Initially they gave me a brochure that said his fee is 490$ (payable by cash or credit card) and that potentially I have to pay another 200$ for food allergies. So I thought the worst that will happen is that I lose around 700$ (boy, was I wrong!).
I drove all the way there which cost me a lot more money, and energy (and I don't have much of either).
So during the visit I explain my problem and without really listening more than a minute or two he tells me he knows exactly what is wrong with me. He asked me to lay down on a bed and he proceeds to touch my abdomen and asks me if it hurts in that specific spot, to which i answered "no". He then proceeds to push his finger as hard as he could (almost a stabbing motion) which made me yell out from the pain. At this point he goes: "yes, I knew it, exactly, it hurts right there" (duh!). Then he proceeds to tell me the cfs is caused by the gut bacteria and rambles on for more than an hour about himself and his grievances against certain individuals in belgium etc. At this point I was in so much pain and I was starting to crash and I just wanted out of there.
When I thought the appointment is finished he says he will have to do some blood work. I assumed he means by a lab (like Quest or LabCorp). His receptionist made me sign a list of blood tests and asked me to sign it (which i did). He only THEN gives me the subtotal of 3200$ ! I was a bit confused at this point why they're charging me and not the lab (turns out HE is the lab!). I should have left right there and then but I gave my credit card info because I was very much confused and didnt know what else to do.
Then KDM himself proceeds to do the blood draw in his office, with a needle that really didn't seem like it came out of a sterile packaging. Also the needle was just dangling in my arm the whole time and causing pain. I have given blood on many occasions and this was the weirdest experience.
Afterwards I go to my hotel and had difficulty falling asleep from the sheer pain in my abdomen. The next day i had a large bruise on my lower abdomen and I was having trouble "going" and was experiencing severe bloating (but not being able to pass any gas).
I drove back and the next few days my pain got even worse. Also, I noticed that they withdrew 3950$ from my credit card (and not the 3200$ that they had told me).
I emailed their office and the receptionist said he had made a mistake in calculating the sum, and that the amount they withdrew is the correct one. But THEN the next week another 370$ charge was withdrawn from my account.
So at this point i'm out 4000$ + 370$ that were charged to my credit card by an entity called "RED RENO LLC" And "R.E.D. Laboratories". When I searched around they showed up as legal entities that he had set up in Reno to funnel money to himself via these nonsensical blood tests.
I asked their office for a refund at this point, to which they gave no response. Also I didnt go urgent care until after two weeks because I was in such a major crash. I still had a bruise at that spot but the doctor there really couldn't believe when I said a "doctor" had done this to me and kept pressing me to tell her if I had been abused at home.
This is my story and I regret the day I walked in to this guy's "clinic". I still have abdominal pain and bloating and I am out of almost 5000 USD (which is a lot of money for me). And all I got for it is a script for mestinon and vitamin B shots (I already take mestinon and vitamin B).
I really think KDM, with the full knowledge of this Whittemore Peterson Institute is engaged in embezzling vulnerable patients out of thousands of dollars per person.
Here it goes (sorry folks for the long story):
Despite reading a lot of negative reviews about him, out of sheer desperation I went to his clinic in Reno, Nevada. He practices his scam out of the Whittemore Peterson Institute (the folks who brought us the XMRV "discovery").
The whole thing felt like a scam from the beginning, but I went along with it hoping just "maybe" he can help.
Initially they gave me a brochure that said his fee is 490$ (payable by cash or credit card) and that potentially I have to pay another 200$ for food allergies. So I thought the worst that will happen is that I lose around 700$ (boy, was I wrong!).
I drove all the way there which cost me a lot more money, and energy (and I don't have much of either).
So during the visit I explain my problem and without really listening more than a minute or two he tells me he knows exactly what is wrong with me. He asked me to lay down on a bed and he proceeds to touch my abdomen and asks me if it hurts in that specific spot, to which i answered "no". He then proceeds to push his finger as hard as he could (almost a stabbing motion) which made me yell out from the pain. At this point he goes: "yes, I knew it, exactly, it hurts right there" (duh!). Then he proceeds to tell me the cfs is caused by the gut bacteria and rambles on for more than an hour about himself and his grievances against certain individuals in belgium etc. At this point I was in so much pain and I was starting to crash and I just wanted out of there.
When I thought the appointment is finished he says he will have to do some blood work. I assumed he means by a lab (like Quest or LabCorp). His receptionist made me sign a list of blood tests and asked me to sign it (which i did). He only THEN gives me the subtotal of 3200$ ! I was a bit confused at this point why they're charging me and not the lab (turns out HE is the lab!). I should have left right there and then but I gave my credit card info because I was very much confused and didnt know what else to do.
Then KDM himself proceeds to do the blood draw in his office, with a needle that really didn't seem like it came out of a sterile packaging. Also the needle was just dangling in my arm the whole time and causing pain. I have given blood on many occasions and this was the weirdest experience.
Afterwards I go to my hotel and had difficulty falling asleep from the sheer pain in my abdomen. The next day i had a large bruise on my lower abdomen and I was having trouble "going" and was experiencing severe bloating (but not being able to pass any gas).
I drove back and the next few days my pain got even worse. Also, I noticed that they withdrew 3950$ from my credit card (and not the 3200$ that they had told me).
I emailed their office and the receptionist said he had made a mistake in calculating the sum, and that the amount they withdrew is the correct one. But THEN the next week another 370$ charge was withdrawn from my account.
So at this point i'm out 4000$ + 370$ that were charged to my credit card by an entity called "RED RENO LLC" And "R.E.D. Laboratories". When I searched around they showed up as legal entities that he had set up in Reno to funnel money to himself via these nonsensical blood tests.
I asked their office for a refund at this point, to which they gave no response. Also I didnt go urgent care until after two weeks because I was in such a major crash. I still had a bruise at that spot but the doctor there really couldn't believe when I said a "doctor" had done this to me and kept pressing me to tell her if I had been abused at home.
This is my story and I regret the day I walked in to this guy's "clinic". I still have abdominal pain and bloating and I am out of almost 5000 USD (which is a lot of money for me). And all I got for it is a script for mestinon and vitamin B shots (I already take mestinon and vitamin B).
I really think KDM, with the full knowledge of this Whittemore Peterson Institute is engaged in embezzling vulnerable patients out of thousands of dollars per person.
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