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Pediatrician & Gi Specialist In Greater La Area?


sewwbennion

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sewwbennion Newbie

Hi everyone. We just moved from Utah to LA County - and need to find some new Doctors. Our 3 year-old son was diagnosed with celiac disease two weeks ago, shortly before our move. Our pediatrician in Utah was INCREDIBLE and given that we will be meeting with a new pediatrician a lot, we would like someone spectacular!

TIA for any help and suggestions!


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Karen B. Explorer
Hi everyone. We just moved from Utah to LA County - and need to find some new Doctors. Our 3 year-old son was diagnosed with celiac disease two weeks ago, shortly before our move. Our pediatrician in Utah was INCREDIBLE and given that we will be meeting with a new pediatrician a lot, we would like someone spectacular!

TIA for any help and suggestions!

I'm not in the LA area but a pediatric gastroenterologist from Children's Hospital Las Angeles came to speak to our Celiac group and she was awesome! Below is the link to her page and the hospital website. Open Original Shared Link

Or you might want to contact the local Celiacs and ask them for suggestions..

Open Original Shared Link

Hope this helps some!

  • 2 weeks later...
sewwbennion Newbie
I'm not in the LA area but a pediatric gastroenterologist from Children's Hospital Las Angeles came to speak to our Celiac group and she was awesome! Below is the link to her page and the hospital website. Open Original Shared Link

Or you might want to contact the local Celiacs and ask them for suggestions..

Open Original Shared Link

Hope this helps some!

Karen - THANK YOU! I will look up the information about the Ped GI...but the contact information for a CDF group was incredible. We have been in need of some support as both my DH and I are so overwhelmed with information...and fear!

Thanks!

confusedks Enthusiast
Karen - THANK YOU! I will look up the information about the Ped GI...but the contact information for a CDF group was incredible. We have been in need of some support as both my DH and I are so overwhelmed with information...and fear!

Thanks!

Michelle Pietzak I believe is the name of the Dr. that Karen was referring to. She is truly amazing, but I tried to get in there (I'm 16 and live in LA)and she has a REALLY long waiting list. She is amazing though and very active in the Celiac Community. We talked to her receptionist who said that they want to see you last 3 visits to your Pediatrician with any labs, tests, etc. Then Dr. Pietzak will look it over and get you an appointment according to the severity of your case. So, by all means try to get in to see her. I got her name from Elaine at the Celiac Disease Foundation here in Los Angeles. She also has another name of a pediatric GI Dr. but I can't find her name. Good luck!

Juliet Newbie

Dr. Edward P. Laurance out of Pasadena, California is our pediatric g.i. for our now 3 1/2 year old son. He, along with the nice people over at the pediatric ward of Huntington Memorial Hospital, helped to diagnose our son when he was 2. He may be a little easier to get to than Dr. Pietzak who is practically a "rock star" in the pediatric Celiac circle here in southern California. Heck, she even produced a DVD you can purchase to find out more on the disease. I also found the CDF support group (I go to the one here in Pasadena that's also for Glendale/Los Feliz/Covina/San Gabriel area, too) a bit more helpful than the ROCK group because of my son's age. He doesn't really need to go to gluten free events for kids who mostly are older than him; instead I need to know how to feed him, where to shop, latest research, etc. This one meets every other month and you can get loaded with tons of information on the disease and food. We've been gluten free for a year and a half, and if you're anywhere near the Pasadena area, let me know and I can "hook you up" with where to go shopping, eat, etc. ;)

Karen B. Explorer
Michelle Pietzak I believe is the name of the Dr. that Karen was referring to. She is truly amazing, but I tried to get in there (I'm 16 and live in LA)and she has a REALLY long waiting list. She is amazing though and very active in the Celiac Community. We talked to her receptionist who said that they want to see you last 3 visits to your Pediatrician with any labs, tests, etc. Then Dr. Pietzak will look it over and get you an appointment according to the severity of your case. So, by all means try to get in to see her. I got her name from Elaine at the Celiac Disease Foundation here in Los Angeles. She also has another name of a pediatric GI Dr. but I can't find her name. Good luck!

Yes, she's the one that came to speak to our local Celiac group when I was first diagnosed and she is great. Very good communicator and really explains things well. But I thought they would surely have other docs that could help you too.

Local Celiac groups are full of valuable info about the best docs, the best places to get stuff and just getting together with people that have common issues. I'm not a "joiner" and I first started going to our local group for my Mom but it's been a great source of help, support and info.

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