Reserve
Your intake and scheduling email arrive within one business day.
A note from the founder
I am an emergency physician. For years, strangers have written to me with the same story: a decade of gut-brain symptoms, a folder of normal labs, and a string of seven-minute appointments that ended before the story did.
Let me be straight about what this is not. It is not a medical visit. I will not diagnose you, prescribe to you, or replace the clinicians who examine you. That is the law, and it is also the design.
What I will do is read your story before we ever speak, sit with you for thirty minutes, and explain the pattern in plain language: what is known, which tests exist, and exactly what to ask your own doctors. Then I put it in writing, so you walk into your next appointment armed.
If that is what you have been missing, I will see you.
Rick Pescatore, DO
Emergency physician · Founder, BellyMD
Reserve your session · $500
Full refund any time before your session.
Emergency physician
Editor-in-Chief, Emergency Medicine News
Author, The Merck Manuals
Former Chief Physician, Delaware Division of Public Health
Why thirty minutes matters
11 seconds
The median time a patient speaks before the doctor interrupts.
J Gen Intern Med, 2019
Here, you get thirty minutes with a physician who has read your story before you say a word, listens all the way through, and puts everything in writing afterward.
Share your story
Six questions, answered once. Rick reads everything before the call.
The session
Thirty minutes, one on one, video, in your time zone. Recap and question list within two business days.
What you get
More than the call.
- Pre-read. Rick studies your intake first. No time wasted retelling.
- The session. Your pattern, explained in plain language.
- Doctor questions. Exactly what to ask, and which tests to ask about.
- Written recap. Yours within two business days.
Sample recap · fictional patient, for illustration
Gut-Brain Consultation · Written recap
Prepared for L.M. · Session length: thirty minutes
Your pattern, as I heard it
Four years of upper-abdominal pressure and early fullness after meals, worse in high-stress stretches, with a normal endoscopy in 2024 and unremarkable basic labs. That shape fits what current guidelines call a disorder of gut-brain interaction: the signaling between gut and brain, rather than damaged tissue.
Read the full sample
Worth discussing with your gastroenterologist
- Whether a gastric emptying study would add information, given the early fullness.
- Documented H. pylori status, and confirmation of cure if previously treated.
- Whether a trial of a gut-brain neuromodulator is reasonable in your case, and which class they would choose.
Questions to bring
- What would a positive emptying study change about my plan?
- If my labs stay normal, what is the threshold for revisiting the diagnosis?
Red flags that change this picture, such as unintended weight loss, bleeding, or symptoms that wake you from sleep, call for prompt in-person care. This recap is educational; decisions belong with the clinicians who examine you.
Reserve
Gut-Brain Consultation
$500
one session · thirty minutes · video
6 of six July sessions remaining. Full refund any time before your session.
How long have you been chasing an answer?
Your answer reaches Rick with your booking.
Education, not a medical visit. No diagnosis, no prescriptions, no doctor-patient relationship. Your own clinicians stay in charge. That is the design, and it is why anyone, anywhere can book.
Questions
Is this a medical visit?
No. It is an educational session. Rick will not diagnose, treat, or prescribe, and he does not become your physician. Medical licensure is bound to states and countries; education is not, which is why this session can exist for anyone, anywhere.
I live outside the US. Can I book?
Yes. Video, scheduled in your time zone.
Will Rick tell me which tests to get or what to take?
He will explain which tests exist for patterns like yours and what they measure, then help you build the question list for your own clinician. The ordering and prescribing stay with the physician who examines you.
Do I have to buy BellyMD products?
No. If a formula honestly fits your pattern, he will say so and explain why. If not, he will say that too.
Reschedules and refunds?
Reschedule free with 24 hours notice. Full refund any time before your session; completed sessions are not refundable. The 12-week supplement guarantee covers formulas, not consultations.
Consultation Terms, in plain English
- Educational service. The Gut-Brain Consultation is an educational session. It is not medical care, diagnosis, treatment, or a medical opinion on your case. No prescriptions are written, no tests are ordered, and no medication changes are directed.
- No doctor-patient relationship. Purchasing or attending a session does not make Dr. Pescatore your physician and does not create a doctor-patient or other clinical relationship.
- Your own clinicians stay in charge. Nothing discussed replaces the advice of the physicians who examine you. Make medical decisions with them.
- Not for emergencies. If you have severe, sudden, or worsening symptoms, contact your local emergency services immediately. Do not wait for a scheduled session.
- Adults only. Sessions are for people 18 and older, discussing their own health.
- Scheduling. You will receive an intake and scheduling email within one business day of purchase. Sessions are typically held within two weeks, video, in your time zone.
- Rescheduling and refunds. Reschedule free with at least 24 hours notice. If you miss a session without notice, one courtesy rebooking is included. Full refund any time before your session takes place. Completed sessions are not refundable. Consultations are not covered by the BellyMD 12-week supplement guarantee.
- Privacy. Sessions are not recorded. Your intake and recap are kept confidential and used only to prepare and summarize your session. This is an educational service, so it does not create a medical record.
- Acceptance. Purchasing a Gut-Brain Consultation constitutes acceptance of these terms.