Dr Vina or Dr Feinerman?

[engineman]

need help deciding/Dr Vina or Dr Feinerman?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am a 57 year old man recently diagnosed with copd/emphysema. My doctor says it is just over the line into the severe range. As an engineer on a ship my work is very physical requiring climbing ladders, hanging suspended from heights doing heavy work. I am still able to keep up, but my breathing is becoming more and more labored.

I stopped smoking one year ago. Since then my lungs have cleaned out and I don't have any congestion. In some ways I am breathing more regularly and easier but I still get winded to readily. I think the extra 40 pounds I put on my stomach when I quit smoking might have something to do with that.

I have been in touch with Dr. Feinerman and Dr Vina. I am leaning toward taking Dr. Vina's treatment in San Salvador in May. Here is my question. How do I evaluate these two Doctors? Dr. Vina does an adult stem cell treatment using the patients own bone marrow. His charge is 17K USD. Dr feinerman does the same thing in Tampa Florida and charges only 5K USD.
What are the differences in their procedures?

Can anyone give me any background on either of these two doctors? Doing a google search I found a Doctor Burton Feinerman in Hawaii who specialises in anti aging medicine, whatever that is. Is he the stem cell guy? I hope not.

Engineman/john

 

[Tami03]

My daughter is a patient of Dr Feinerman's. She had a stroke at 19 weeks into my pregnancy. Dr Feinerman was the ONLY person who has helped her. We went to Peru for a differenet treatment using donated umbilcal cord stemcells and she has impoved 15 percent in 4 months and is having another spurt of improvement as we speak. Dr Feinerman is the type of doctor that is true to his profession. He truly cares for his patients and is interested in post op care. Something to really consider.
Tami Milam

 

[engineman]

reply to dr feinermaan indorsement

der tami,

Your words are very encouraging, Thank you. This stem cell thing is so new it is difficult to know what is real and what is not. I talked to my pulmanary doctor and asked why, if the procedure offers even a small hope and dosn't do damage, arent there any pulmonologist doing it. His only answere was that the research was still in its infancy. I described Dr Feienerman's stem cell procedure using retinoidal acid and he admitted that this was a legitimate way of attempting a treatment. But when I asked him about the new stem cell drug Prochymal by Osiris In its IIstage FDA trials he hadn't heard of it.

I am going to Dr Fienerman in two weeks. I have hopes, but I also have doubts. Part of my brain tells me that if every pulmanary doctor in America is of the mind that COPD is irreversable, should I really pin hopes on this guy from South Florida who doesnt seem to have a settled office but who says that if I sign a waiver releasing him of responsibility and send him a check for five thousand dollars to a post office box, he can make me better ----You see what I mean.

I'll let you know how it goes, and I will pray for you and your baby.

John

 

[Jeannine]

engineman

I will vouch for Dr Feinerman. I know him personally and was scheduled for treatment with him in Feb but had to postpone because I became ill (unrelated to my COPD). He is an honest doctor and even took the time to call me while I was in the hospital to wish me a speedy recovery.

Several people on this forum know and trust Dr Feinerman and have been there for treatment for COPD. As far as Dr Vina goes, I know that Nassin (see Member list) has been treated by him on more than one occasion with good results. I originally considerde going to Dr vina but the language barrier was hard to overcome. As for the differences in price between the two doctors, I really have no idea. There are other doctors who charge 40K for the treatment while another clinic charges 25K. that's why you need to shop around and see what you are getting for the price you are paying and speak to people who have dealt with the clinic.

Good luck with your treatment.

 

[hlichten]

It is going to be way more money for Dr. Fernandez-Vina, and, like Jeanine says, the language issue is going to be a big problem. He simply does not speak English very well at all.

I attempted twice to negotiate a reasonably-priced treatment with him, with no luck. His current international rep, who is in Mexico, speaks English fluently, but came off as a pure sales associate, in my opinion, nothing more.

Dr. Fernandez-Vina is quite well known, but his procedures are invasive. I could not be comfortable knowing that my words might not be immediately understood by him at some critical moment during my care.

He is also quoting success rates that are beyond belief to me.

Why would Dr. Feinerman being the anti-aging doctor from Hawaii bother you?
He is, indeed, that doctor.
Anti-aging is a good thing.

He has not treated me, but I have communicated with him a few years ago.
He appears to be quite honest, and free of exaggeration and exorbitant claims.

 

[engineman]

thanks for the feed back

Dear Jeannine and Harve,

I appreciate your sharing your experiences with Doctor Feinerman. Harve you say you had treatment, but not from Dr Feinerman. May I ask from whom and how you feel about it. Jeannine how are you feeling? I read in Barbara's posts that you had been ill.

My hope from the treatment that I am about to take is that it will stop the progression of my emphysema and allow me to continue to work. My doctor tells me I am at least several years away from having to take oxygen. Of course if I get a really bad respiratory infection, I might not last that long.

It is a scary thing when this stuff hits you. It hit me all at once. One day I was feeling as well as ever. The next all my strength was zapped and I was gasping for air. I'm an engineer on a ship. I can't do that job carrying an oxygen bottle. I don't mind saying all this scares me a little.

John

 

[Jeannine]

engineman

It seems that COPD strikes with little or no warning. The same thing happened to me. One day I was fine and the next day woke up and couldn't breathe.

I have been ill but unrelated to my COPD or my previous stem cell treatment. I received umbilical cord stem cells in April 2007 and noticed improvements that continued for almost 18 months. The most notceable improvement was the 70% reduction in shortness of breath. One thing I can recommend to you to help with shortness of breath is to purchase a Power Lung (see the Sea Change site listed above for details). It will strengthen your lungs and if done faithfully every day (takes 3-4 minutes twice a day) you should notice improvements within 2 weeks.

I also suggest that you register at our http://www.copdliving.com forum to learn more about COPD.

 

[barbara]

John - One thing you can do to help yourself is get in the right frame of mind. I have been told by a very well known stem cell research doctor that being in the right frame of mind is of help when getting a stem cell treatment. We all have had doubts about whether we were doing the right thing or not, but the alternative of what will happen with no action on your part, is not something you need to doubt. You know you will continue to get progressively worse. That is the nature of COPD. You will like Dr. Feinerman. I like all the doctors that help with this forum. They are a nice group of highly intelligent mavericks that are doing everything they can to help us beat some very horrible disabling conditions and diseases. Report back after your treatment please. I want to know how you are doing. I am feeling really good and I hope that you achieve the same results.

 

[Mysty119]

John

I have to "ditto" Barb's statement above. I had treatment with Dr. Feinerman the same day as she, last month. I too, feel very good.
It IS important to go into ANY treatment or procedure one has with a good frame of mind. Go in knowing that doing nothing will not "help" anything. Know that you will have to suffer with what you have getting progressively worse if you don't do something.
Hey, if a person gets a cold and doesn't do anything for it, it's going to take a lot longer to be rid of the cold. And, having COPD especially, that cold will take a toll on your lungs. We not only accept prescriptions from doctors for drugs for the cold and to alleviate our symptoms, but we have also purchased over the counter medication for it!! In other words, we get "treatment" for it.
We're Pioneers here. There have been many "pioneers" in medicine in the past. Look at the people who got laser eye surgery when it first came out! (Our Barb was one of them; one of my nieces was another). All kinds of people cringed and made faces at them and remarks to them about having this "new" thing done. Everything new starts with someone. Then it grows and grows until no one even "blinks" (excuse the pun) at the mention of laser eye surgery.
Start a journal now, today---before treatment. Write down what your typical day is like. What do you do. Your O2 and FEV stats. What do you have difficulty doing, and what is it that happens that makes it difficult. Make sure you keep up a daily journal of how you feel and what your stats are. Tiny things happen to us that we don't realize right away. If you keep this journal you can readily "see" what improvements you have had, no matter how miniscule.
Be poitive, John. Dr. Feinerman is a wonderful, genuine and caring man. Keep us posted!!

 

[engineman]

thanks for the encouragement

I am overwhelmed with everyone's feedback and encouragement. I agree that you must do something and I am looking forward to my treatment with Dr Fienerman. I will keep a journal and record my progress. A positive attitude is very important. I admit having trouble keeping that. I project often in a negative way anticipating what I will not be able to do next year and the year after that. Then I worry about using up all my life savings selfishly trying to cure myself of a disease that I brought on myself by smoking. My family doesn't deserve to be left penniless because of that. I admit this kind of poisonous thinking eats away at me and makes things worse than they are.

Thank you all for the positive encouragement. I needed it.

John

 

[barbara]

John - I cringe when I hear someone say that COPD is their fault. It is undoubtedly true that smoking is bad for anyone's health, however, there are a lot more factors than smoking as to why you got the disease. Genes, environment, childhood illness may all play a part. It is silly to blame yourself in this way. Some people eat poorly resulting in illness. Some people are couch potatoes. Some people do sports that may injure them. Some drive poorly. That is life. You need to look forward to living, not spend your time blaming yourself. I am sure your family would rather see you feel better than to inherit some money. There is no way that COPD can only be brought on by smoking. There have to be other factors involved. I think that many researchers are discovering that and are refocusing their efforts to include these while searching for a cure.