Appointment tomorrow...

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chop456

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We have been "shopping" for a neurologist since my daughter (Paige, 14 years old) was diagnosed with JME just over a month ago. Tomorrow we go to the regional epilepsy center. I have a lot of hope going in to this. Our 1st appointment at a children's hospital was not what we were hoping for. My daughter did not even ask any of her questions because she was so uncomfortable. She felt like the dr. did not care :( I brought our seizure journal that we started the day she was diagnosed and even had a video of some smallish myoclonics she had one morning. Unfortunately, the dr. did not even want to see the journal or the video. Most importantly, Paige is looking forward to the appointment. I am hoping she is comfortable with the doctors and staff. Here is to tomorrow!
 
Hip Hip Hooray! I have one happy daughter and one relieved husband not to mention I am breathing much, much easier today! Our appointment at the Epilepsy Center was a huge success! The nurse and the doctor gave us all of the time we needed and answered all of our questions and the office staff was great. Paige is going to change her medication from the generic lamictal to lamictal xr. We are ramping up hers meds over the next 6 weeks and hope to be at a therapeutic level by then. I am so happy we decided to "shop" for the best fit. I think we found it today!
 
What a relief! A game plan always makes me feel on top of things too! I hope the new meds are the right fit just as the new dr. is! Epilepsy specialists can be like a breath of fresh air sometimes.
 
chop456, I was reading this article by a doctor on how to find a doctor & thought of you. Here's just some of what she said.

1. Word of mouth. Ask friends, relatives, neighbors, and co-workers about their doctors.
2. Ask your previous doctor. If he doesn’t know anyone in your new area, he might know someone who does.
3. Use the Internet. Social networking sites, forums, sites that rate doctors, lists of licensing board disciplinary actions and malpractice lawsuits, the websites of doctors and the groups they work for, etc.
4. Nurses know things. If you can find a nurse who works in a local hospital or medical center, who has had experience working with lots of different doctors, she may have a good sense of which ones are better than others, and she might have heard some pertinent grapevine gossip.
5. Call the doctor’s office and ask if the receptionist or nurse knows if the doctor ever recommends CAM or refers to CAM providers.
6. Check to see if the doctor’s group includes CAM providers or advertises “integrative” medicine.
7. Ask about credentials: training, board certification, hospital privileges, etc. If you are contemplating surgery, ask about the doctor’s and the hospital’s volume and complication rates for that operation.
8. Interview the doctor. Make a new patient appointment and tell the doctor you want to ask some questions to see if you and he are a good fit. Ask how he goes about deciding when to adopt a new drug and whether he gets his information from drug reps. Ask what he thinks about CAM. If you have a medical problem, ask what experience he has had with that problem. Watch to see if he washes his hands.
9. If for any reason you don’t feel comfortable with a doctor, don’t hesitate to look for one you feel more comfortable with.
10. If you have any doubts about a recommended treatment, it can never hurt to get a second opinion.
11. Ask if the doctor reads SBM. If he answers yes, that’s a good sign! If he answers no, maybe you can get him to start reading it.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/index.php/how-to-choose-a-doctor/#more-19696
 
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