Dr. Elif Derya Cinisli

I was rushed to Gokturk Medical Center after a severe allergic reaction to shellfish caused my throat to swell. It was terrifying. Dr. Cinisli wasn't even on emergency duty that night, but she was called in because of her expertise. While the ER team handled the immediate crisis, she took over my dietary aftermath. She didn't just give me a list of foods to avoid. She spent an hour with me and my panicked wife, mapping out my entire kitchen, explaining cross-contamination risks I never knew about, and even helped us find safe brands at our local market. She followed up with me three times in two weeks. Her approach turned a scary emergency into a manageable lifestyle change. I feel safer now than before the incident.

My 8-year-old son, Leo, was diagnosed with a rare metabolic disorder that requires an extremely precise, lifelong diet. We saw three other specialists who gave us confusing, contradictory charts and left us in despair. Dr. Elif Derya Cinisli was our fourth opinion. The difference was night and day. She got down on the floor with Leo's toy cars to explain how 'fuel' works in his body. She created a color-coded, visual food guide for him with his favorite cartoon characters. For us, she developed a detailed 7-day meal plan with recipes and backup snack ideas. She gave us her direct line for 'dietary emergencies.' She treats Leo like a little person, not a diagnosis. For the first time, we feel equipped, not scared.

As a 72-year-old with congestive heart failure and newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes, I felt overwhelmed by the conflicting dietary instructions from my cardiologist and endocrinologist. My daughter brought me to Dr. Cinisli for a 'dietary reconciliation.' What a genius idea. Dr. Cinisli took all my medications, lab reports, and the other doctors' notes and created a single, harmonious 'nutritional prescription.' She called it 'The Blue Zone Adaptation for Mr. Ahmet.' It considered my Turkish culinary traditions, my limited budget, and even my difficulty chewing some foods. She didn't take away my favorite bean stew; she showed me how to modify it. This wasn't a restrictive diet; it was a thoughtful, sustainable eating plan for my complex reality. My energy has improved, and my latest labs were the best in years.

I consulted Dr. Cinisli for what I thought was a routine pre-bariatric surgery dietary assessment. It was anything but routine. During our deep-dive session, she picked up on subtle patterns in my eating history and symptoms that everyone else had missed. She gently but firmly suggested a series of specific tests before proceeding with surgery. Those tests revealed a significant, previously undiagnosed gastrointestinal motility disorder. Surgery would have been a disaster. Instead, she designed a targeted nutritional therapy plan to manage the motility issue. Six months later, my symptoms are 80% controlled through diet alone, and surgery is no longer on the table. She didn't just follow a protocol; she truly listened and connected dots that saved me from a potentially catastrophic outcome. Her insight was nothing short of miraculous.