This is not one story, but has happened multiple times over the last 2 years. In early November 2021, I met with Dr Merritt Dunlap, and let him know I had been experiencing ongoing diarrhea, accompanied with some serious abdominal pain, for about 3 weeks or so, and seemed consistent, regardless of what I was eating. He immediately gave me a prescription to have an Untra-Sound of my abdominal area, explaining that he wanted to see if there was a visible mass. When that did not show anything, he gave me a referral to a GI Doctor, and over the next 3 months they did every test they could think of, and said basically we have no idea what is causing it. When I met with Dr Dunlap shortly thereafter, he said, “That’s their job”, airing his frustration that they had not figured it out. He noticed my Liver Enzymes had spiked, so he ordered a Liver Biopsy, which I did on a Monday morning (outpatient) and unfortunately went poorly and I ended up hospitalized overnight to get my blood pressure under control. Then on Friday morning of that week, my took me to the ER, due to extreme, knife stabbing pain in my lower abdomen, for which I was admitted, and, later that day the ER team ordered a CT with contrast, and they found that my Gall Bladder was engorged, and also noticed a faint shadow on my Pancreas. So, once released, Dr Dunlap wrote a referral to a 2nd GI Facility, and I was told by them), a Gall Bladder that’s working a little, is better than none at all. Then a surgery was ordered, to put a stent in the biliary tube, which was blocked, and not allowing my Gall Bladder to drain, and during that procedure, a biopsy of the apparent mass on my Pancreas was taken, with no cancer cells found. Dr Dunlap then wrote me referral to an Oncologist, that specialized in pancreatic issues, and he gave me a sample of Creon, and assured me it would eliminate my digestive and diarrhea issues, which it did not. A second stent and biopsy, two months later, and still no cancer cells. Finally two months after that, during the third stent replacement, a spyglass procedure was done, and the cytologist was able to say with surety that the mass on my pancreas must be cancer. Two months after that, my oncologist, pancreas doctor performed the Whipple surgery, and a month after that, I started chemotherapy, which lasted for five months, followed by six weeks of radiation. During this time I had shared with every doctor, and Specialist about my digestion And diarrhea issues, in each time, none had any solutions that worked. Every time Dr Dunlap and I met, I would hear the frustration in his voice, when he said, basically the same thing, “That’s their Job”. I really appreciate Dr Dunlap, caring demeanor, as well as his tenacity, and commitment to help me find a solution and or treatment for my digestion and diarrhea issues. On our last visit, he and I spoke about him, referring me to a team of gastroenterologist specialists at Stanford University in California, and he has since written a request to be able to refer me to them, in an effort to help with my issues. I have been seeing Dr Dunlap as my primary care physician since 2001, and was very pleased when he decided to join MDVIP, when I became one of his limited number of patients. My wife decided, partially because her doctor was a specialist on her condition, to stay with them, however, a short time after that, she had a numbness in her tongue, and one cheek inside her mouth, and went to urgent care, and her doctor, neither of which had been able to identify or treat her condition. I suggested she consider becoming one of Dr Dunlap, patients, which she did, and shortly after she met with him, he emailed his associates, and was provided a diagnosis by two of them that matched her symptoms, as well as what they prescribed to treat it. He prescribed that for my wife, and the condition healed, and was gone in a matter of days. I’m writing this today, on behalf of both my wife and I, to make sure Dr Dunlap understands how much we appreciate his attention to detail, and very obvious caring nature, and are both very glad that we have him in our corner, as we fight the good fights of aging, cancer etc…
Patient of Merritt W. Dunlap, MD
