My Epileptologist / Neurologist ...

[stilldancing_98]

It used to make me mad. But its funny now. My docs if they notice something they look at me like they are apes. I tell them to knock it off. lol They tilt there heads. I don't know where they learned this but it cracks me up. Teresa

[Seruzies]

Yeap! And I took myself off dilantin while under her care. She has a different attitude with me than she did you.

I just saw her a few months ago to get approval of this one particually nasty medicatiom for my RA. Told her even if she didn't approve, I was going to take it anyway. (Unless you live with the kind of pain RA causes, you won't understand my reasoning,) but she just said if there were anymore seizure, just come back.

Then sprinkled holy water on me, kissed my feet and blessed me.

Well, maybe not all that, but she understood my pov.

She was your worst but has been my best. What does that say about Las Vegas doctors?

Picking an epileptologist is a crap shoot!

Hey in Vegas Birdbomb! I just moved back to Vegas about a month ago from dreary Erie, PA, the mistake on the lake. I've only been here for a few weeks, and am interested in finding an epileptologist here in Vegas. All neurologist's keep doing is giving me drugs and tell me not to have seizures. I'd rather have someone treat me for my seizures, not just the drug thing. Do you know of an epileptologist here in Vegas anywhere? If so, can you post it here or send me a message?

[danjor]

My neurologist is horrid. I really want to switch

[epileric]

My neurologist is horrid. I really want to switch

I hesitated because I was scared of switching neurologists but once I did I wondered why I'd hesitated. After that I just kept switching until I found one I liked (drove my GP nuts).

Don't be scared to switch if you don't feel you're properly benefiting from him/her. Also don't let the neurologist scare you into not switching if it's what you want to do.

[Grazianina]

I've probably had 8 in the past 31 years and most had the same cookie-cutter, know-it-all mentality. However, I absolutely LOVE my current Epileptologist.......but so does the rest of the world. He's so well respected that he has been interviewed in trade publications. The man will spend an hour with me going over my meds. But that's if I have 3-6 months to wait for an appointment in the first place! I'm in the middle of a major crisis with my meds now......Lamictal Rash; had to be pulled off of it and he gave me a new/old med (Phenobarbital) to switch to with Topamax and a 3 week plan for the change.....all unsupervised medically. I guess he figures, I was on Phenobarb for 17 years before so I should be fine. Problem is, now my body is rejecting the Topamax and I can't get an appt. with him for 7 weeks......even in an emergency. I'm in the hospital with massive reactions to the meds and all the ER docs can do is give me giant Prednisone prescriptions and an epileptologist pen in case I feel like I can't breathe again. We've tried other Neuros, buts it's all the same........too bad if you're urgent........neurologist and Epilepsy is a casual specialty. My MD is doing what she can with what limited knowledge she has, but for the most part, I'm dictating MY medical care because I simply can't get an earlier appt. Thank God I have insurance this time or they wouldn't even consider seeing me!

[Loudmouth]

neurologist #1- told me I had epilepsy, shoved a load of leaflets into my hand, told me to give him my driving licence RIGHT NOW,when I asked how to deal with epilepsy a 2 week old baby, an 18 month old toddler and a 5 yr old with medical issues he just said "how should I know, my next appointment is waiting". went home and started on the lamotrigine he gave me, did't even come to see me when I got SJS and had to be took off the meds. Didn't go back to see him, discovered 2 yrs down the line that he was a UROLOGIST with a 'special interest' in neurology(not trained in it) who was doing it because the last neurologist had been sacked by the primary care trust...

neurologist #2-was about 110 yrs old and wore a bow tie. He told me it was all in my head (DUH) that it was non-epileptic seizures (without even doing an MRI or EEG) and there was no family link with my nan's seizures and that "it was my fault I was having seizures as I had 3 kids with 3 different men" now I'm not someone who cries easily but he had me in floods of tears and my ex-partner, who is the most mild-mannered person I have EVER met nearly punched him, he was that nasty to me. I was sent to him as the PCT was no longer using the UROLOGIST .he worked at a private hospital turns out he was the neurologist that the PCT had sacked but they were sending patients to his private practice as they had no neurologist....backhanders or what??!!

neurologist #3- he is quite aloof, his bedside manner is non-existant, but he is very knowledgable, and he does take notice of what I say. problem is tht he is being seen by most of the people with epilepsy on the south east of england, so you only get to see him once a yr. He did MRI and an ambulaTORY eeg, SAID IT'S DEFINATELY epilepsy and it's in my right temporal lobe and told me what types of seizures I am having. I have to travel 70 miles each way to see him.

Which brings us to my GP....he is absolutely wonderful, when I was put on topamax by the neurologist last yr and had vision problems with it (have permanantly lost my peripheral vision) my GP took me off it, and he listens to me, and usually agrees with me on whether my meds need to be upped or not. I am seeing him on monday as my next neurologist appt. isn't till october, and my seizures have got so bad that something new needs to be done. I can't up my dose of gabapentin any further as I'm already on 1200mg/day, but last time i saw the GP he asked what med I WANT to try as an add on, and he will ok it with the neurologist!! I'm glad at least the GP listens to me and is very helpful, he researches everything to do with E now, and he has suggested I decide what meds I want as an add on, and he will just make sure there's no interaction with the gabapentin! between my wonderful GP, and my brilliant but often unavailable neurologist, I'm finally hopeful of getting somewhere...

[rewired]

I have a different approach with docs. I figure they work for us, since we pay them and should be alert to our needs. Not their own.
After being in status for several hours and spending 12 hours in the ER. I had an emergeent appt with my neurologist of 10 yrs. He is an epitoligist and an attending at the hospital I work for.
He had a very young and pretty med student in with him. I can tell he was trying to impress her but didn't review my chart.
Well Mr. Rich we can always start you on Lamitcal.....On it now doc
and if adding a new medication doesn't work their is something called the Vagal Nerve Stimulator.....Number 17 doc
and if that doesn't work, we can always try brain surgery......Got that tshirt too doc.

LOL