Fernando Velayos MD
what type of doctor: Gastroenterology and Internal Medicine
Colonoscopies: this doctor can do a colonoscopy
Doctor’s office Address:
2330 Post St # 610M
San Francisco, CA 94115
Phone Number: (415) 885-7478
Comments:
UCSF Department Of Medicine | Division of Gastroenterology. Dr. Velayos has been my GI since 2005. And it’s been a very long and rough road.
He’s a very good listener and straight shooter and will guide you along this long journey.
When I’ve asked other GI doctors about him, I’ve been told that he’s the best in the field.
The office works has been great in regards to working with my insurance (never a problem).
It can take long to get appointments, but it’s worth the wait.
Since he’s part of the UCSF, I get the benefit of being able to use UCSF mycharts, which is an online portal that has all my test results (I get notified every time there is a result) and I can email him or his staff directly. It’s been crucial when I’ve had flareups, being able to get almost immediate responses, helping me with medications, etc.
I’m glad you had a good experience with him. I had the opposite. While he is a super friendly doctor, he is completely unhelpful. He literally could not answer basic questions after performing a colonoscopy (ie, did you see a fistula, etc). While I like that I can email him my questions, I have found his answers short, and unhelpful. He does not seem to care about patient history, or care enough to actually learn what is going on with them, beyond what medications he can prescribe. I would recommend finding a doctor that is actually dedicated to you throughout your treatment process, not one who can’t even tell you if your colon looks inflamed 10 minutes after being inside it.
Many things can affect a persons judgement when inflicted with UC. It is only human to want someone to blame for all the pain endured. Fear, pain and anger make for a very unstable emotional state. The extreme pain, lack of sleep, pain meds etc and steroids for inflammation to name a few are enough to drive you crazy or at least act crazily temporarily. I can tell you from experience that Dr, Veleyos is the consummate professional. I was dosed too much pain killers as time went on and my memory recovered; I clearly remember that the opposite of what I thought at the time was true and it was apparent I had some paranoid delusions and pain med induced hallucinations etc. due to reaction to meds and lack of sleep and having lost close to 50% of my body mass. Late one night at about midnight I was sharing with my wife that I was going to leave the hospital because they wouldn’t give me pain meds and Dr. Velayos came to the hospital direct from his home (being awakened from sleep possibly?) and proceeded to calm me down and more importantly save me from myself. I doubt anybody else including a psychiatrist etc could have talked me down. I would hope that would be complainers would dig deep to find the real truth as to what happened for their own good; its not that I’m calling these malicious posts to be from liars but as I carefully pointed out that sick people think sick sometimes. I would defend the docs reputation with my life. If doctors doent take offense to some farcical posts that I’ve read I do because it could get in the way of someone benefiting from his help and care. Not just medical care but as I pointed out before the caring kind of care. Maybe he isnt exactly like a talk show host all the time but maybe its because of people like me who act crazy sometimes when we feel like we are dying. In the end I trusted him with my life and will continue to put my trust in him. I saw the Dr. many times and I find it very hard to believe that a patient would only have one memory and have it be so ridiculously bad as to suggest he would refuse to share test results with patient? come on…really? The doc would have had to have done so right in front of other staff members etc
Dont take the word of isolated and random posts but I suggest instead to look at forums and or ostomy groups like ostomates to get a clear picture from a range of patients not just the inflamed and irritated ones.
I almost died in the months before surgery (worse case they had ever seen)I wouldnt believe a thing I was saying or experiencing because it was highly altered. In opinions and in general life, carefully consider the source. Good luck, stay positive and hopefully like me you will fully recover and be even healthier than ever asap after treatment.