Eric H.

For 8 years Brenda Peart, a Cardiologist for Carondelet Medical Group, prescribed Crestor (Rosuvastatin) for my high cholesterol'. For 8 years I was never told what my cholesterol level was. For 8 years I was never warned of the side effects of ANY statin drug. For 8 years I was the naïve patient who believed it's not polite to second guess a doctors diagnosis. Because of that stupid notion and trusting the medical profession I now get up every morning suffering from chronic muscle fatigue in my arms and legs, Peripheral Neuropathy with chronic axonal sensorimotor polyneuropathy in my hands and feet, EMG abnormalities, and chronic radiculopathies along with a moderate degree of carpal tunnel, stage 3 chronic kidney disease, progressive imbalance control and mild cognitive impairment.

Last year the FDA began to post warnings on the label of statins in general against memory loss and mental confusion, risk of high blood sugar, and risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes to mention a few. Over the course of 8 years I was told during almost every office visit by Brenda Peart and/or her assistant Sherry that I had to continue taking the statin because of my high cholesterol and because I had diabetes. My last office visit to Dr. Peart was on November 1,2018 during which I showed her many documents confirming that prolonged use of statin drugs can lead to Peripheral Neuropathy including test and the lab results from tests she had ordered stating my Cholesterol read 129 and my Glucose read 101. I told her I had discontinued Rosuvastatin on my own two weeks prior and she answered "then you should feel better in a couple of weeks". At that meeting after my presentation she apologized profusely in front of my wife and the scribe that was taking notes on the computer for never mentioning the possible side effects of taking a Statin like Crestor long term. She suggested the next office visit be in three months and gave me a Requisition for more lab work to be carried out before the next office visit on February 1st. All of a sudden I didn't seem to need a Statin drug. This past January 21st I had two blood tests performed simultaneously at Lab Corp, one for Brenda Peart and one for a Nephrologists office. A few days later Brenda Peart's medical assistant left a message on my phone stating that my Cholesterol "was still high" and that the doctor wanted to try a new (and quite expensive) anti-cholesterol drug called Repatha. According to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, this drug has 36 side effects including the possible development of Diabeties mellitus and is heavily advertised on television. At my office visit to the Nephrologists the doctor told me my Cholesterol was "well within the range for someone in my age group". I am still trying to figure out why the conflict between two similar Lab reports. Needless to say I never kept my February 1st appointment. Did I ever need to be prescribed Crestor in the first place which ruined my mobility, balance and quality of life? I know now for a fact I never had Diabeties! I now need my wife's help to walk down the front steps of our home and to walk on any of my own property that is not level because my balance has greatly deteriorated. If I lived in Oregon I would not be allowed to have a driver's license because of the numbness in my feet. After much research, several doctors statements and multiple lab tests I finally realized that for 8 years I was on a merry-go-round to enrich AstraZeneca (the manufacturer of Crestor) instigated by this Carondelet Medical Group employee. "Thank you (Dr.) Brenda Peart for ruining my life"!

I started going to Head to Toe Healthcare on alternate Tuesdays since I live 47 miles from their office after seeing their TV ad which promised unprecedented relief from neuropathy pain. Turns out my dog knows more about Neuropathy. Dr. Shih waited two whole months before billing my insurance company because he probably knew that I would not stand for $145.00 injections of 'protein and anesthesia' being billed as 'surgery' per foot. The so called 'treatment' barely lasted till I got back home. Each office visit lasted less than 10 minutes and the Neuropathy sign on the front door looked as if it had been recently painted on to get on board the medical Neuropathy band wagon. Like most of the 'medical/prescription' ads on TV... if it sounds too good to be true, it is! This country has the most expensive healthcare in the world for some of the worst treatments and Shih is a full on contributor to this sad fact every day his office is in business. I found it impossible to post a review on the actual Head to Toe Healthcare Website which can only mean that the five star reviews on the site were posted by members of the office.

While my wife was in this "hospital", November 4,2018 for a total of 56 hours a woman came around gathering insurance information. Besides giving the Primary and Supplemental Insurance company names my wife was asked "What kind of house do you live in... Conventional, manufactured home, mobile home, trailer and how many steps to your front door?" What has anything besides the names of the insurance companies have to do with an individual's medical insurance unless the billing department of Banner co-ordinates their billing practices by a patient's residential 'means'! How about a Zip Code? Would that help them pricing a hospital stay? Patients beware!

Your insurance company should also be aware that Banner charges a "Facility Fee" which comes to roughly 14% of the bill. After many emails and phone calls to their billing department *******806) someone finally admitted that the "Facility Fee" is for walking in the door of any Banner Facility. That's like going to a movie and besides being charged for admission there is a "Facility Fee" for sitting in the seat! My wife was in this "Facility" for a total of 56 hours and the insurance company was billed $13,386.20 for a Hiatal Hernia. Twenty cents... really? This country has the most expensive healthcare in the world for some of the worst treatments. And this is one of the reasons. Banner should be BANNED!