What Gutkin wrote & comment from 1992

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 4/22/2006 10:34:39 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time, lowerbp2@... writes:

Do you have the renin and aldo from Dr. Gutkin?

NO. Nothing. All results were sent to Dr. Jain. My doctor on record. Which months later I got a copy of -- only when I sneaked and peeked in my medical records. I demanded a copy.

I emailed you the values of the 24 hr urine test last year. Your said it was okay -- in range. It was tests for VMA and for Pheochromocytoma, creatinine and stuff. His letter of 8-3-2005 (see 4 & 5 below) said to my doctor that the bloodwork was not ready yet.

Secondary aldosteronism is quite different from primary.

What Gutkin wrote 8-3-2005 on page two of two, paragraph 3 & 4:

"She had a brief hospitalization at Mountainside Hospital where she was treated only with Clonidine, for which reasons escape me. When I last saw her she was on Clonidine .1 TTS, nitro-Dur 0.2mg per hour applied to the central body, and Norvasc 5 mg; she refused the addition of a beta-blocker or an increase in her other medications.

She gave a history of primary aldosteronism. (See the 1993 Hospital discharge below). The 24-hour urine steroid profile was completed, and seemed to suggest excess aldosterone secretion, but I have not yet seen results of plasma renin activity and routine screening blood chemistry from my laboratory -- it is possible she did not come in for these but I am checking on that now. More likely she has secondary aldosteronism."

He writes he enclosed the discharge summary of Dr. Donaty. That is from 1993. It is a four page discharge summary that states I have high and then low aldosterone. I keyed in the admission & discharge info below. This doctor did not have PA or low potassium on the summary. He left off that I was on Kdur. It mentions I had K of 3.3 -- not mentioning I was the K replacement.

The 1992 report is full of errors. It was for a period of 25 days in the hospital. He got fed up with my BP and put me first in cardiac ICU on monitor for 15 days. They found nothing. Then he ordered a full body catscan. They found the ovarian tumor. Here is what the 14 year old report says:

Admission diagnosis: Severe Hypertension, Angina (not true, I never had chest pain), Agenesis of kidney.

Discharge diagnosis: Severe hypertension, Left ovary hemorrhagic corpus leteum cyst, Acute peri-appendicitis, severe adhesions, severe adhesions small and large bowels, bipolar depression, anxiety disorder, agenesis of the right kidney, Asthma. (The asthma was so bad they had to hit me on the back).

Note: I do not have bipolar depression. They brought in a hospital psych. who talked to me as I rambled on all the drugs. Theophylline, Cardizem, Capoten, Hctz, Elavil, Catapres -- allergic, Ventolin, Vanceril - allergic, Nitro paste, Procardia 90. The Endo on the report is the same doctor I later saw in 2000, and 2001.

Later, I was given so much surgery IN ONE INCISION that my health plan refused to pay for it. Dr Donaty operated with two other doctors on me. He removed the ovarian cyst or tumor, did an appendectomy, fixed multiple excoriations on my small and large intestines, cut adhesions. I was told, not on summary, he stitched my intestine because he said I had a megacolon. I was so obstructed I was bringing up bile in the hospital. I was obstructed, but they sent me home anyway. I do not even have one BP record from this doctor. It was the end of the year, and with then policy of my company, the insurance plan changed. He writes in the report that my records would be forwarded to the next doctor. It never happened. This was my worse experience ever. That was 14 years ago at Somerset Medical Center. Dr Gutkin said he wanted to put me in his hospital and remove my intestines. I only went to him hoping he would talk to my GI specialist, not try to do everything.

In 1992, (Donaty report 1993 above) aldosterone was mentioned twice. First 46.5 with renin 15.79. Later (after Fleet) 22.9, renin 5.33. He did not know the change was whether the colons were working.

I called my doctor last year. They claimed they did not have it in my record. It Gutkin sent it and they are lying, that is REALLY BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LabCorp later wrote me. They sent me a bill for the bloodwork -- over $600. They said Gutkin never put a Dx. on it. That was around 9/2005. They told that was not my responsibility -- to put a Dx.

I assume the GRA test was negative you did not say.

I do not know. I only know he may have done it because in his notes I see the comment I wrote. They took blood. I got the bill and that was it.

Gutkin got so concerned with my BP. I do not know what he did. I later got a bill that all this bloodwork was done. LabCorp said I have to call my doctor to get the results. My doctors said they only had the urine lab. I sent them a copy of Gutkin fax to the ER. Gutkin sent them copies. The letter I found later said he called and spoke to Dr. Jain my doctor.

Gutkin was VERY UPSET that the hospital gave me no discharge summary. He said how was he going to treat me if he has nothing. He said the hospital did not treat me right.

Dr Grim, what was I supposed to do? What that hospital did, has happened before. On day four when they put me out, I was so drugged I could not do anything. Perhaps, that is why he thought something was WRONG with me.

It is a known fact, that my doctors do not want me as a patient. The doctors in this area refused to take me as a patient. They say I am too complicated.

[Guest guest]

I need to know what is normal for aldo and renin for each of the labs in which this was done.

You should send a letter to Dr. Gurkin and ask if he can send you a summary of all the tests he did on you and their normal values.

The numbers you gave me sound more like seconary aldo but need the normal values. I would do everything by letter and keep a copy now.

May your pressure be low!

CE Grim, BS(Chem/Math), MS(Biochem), MD.

Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatrics and Hypertension

Former Epidemiologic Intelligence Services Officer (Lt. Comdr.), CDC

Specializing in Difficult to Manage High Blood Pressure

Clinical Professor of Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin