Can I request to change neurologists?

[EllyPaddington]

I am with my current neurologist, and the first time we saw him he seemed lovely. He assured me everything would be sorted out and when I had a myoclonic seizure in front of him, he didn't watch.

Now we went to see him the other day to talk about what had happened in the past three weeks in relation to the medication I am on and if I have any questions that need to be answered.

Me and my mum got there early, waited and saw a Junior doctor, and she was very sweet. She saw us before we saw the neurologist and guessed that was what happened in the early morning.

Then, half an hour late, the neurologist comes strolling in casually, like he didn't have 5 patients all waiting to see him and very peeved off. Me and mum were a bit shocked that he just strolled in like that, seeing as if we were late we would get a right telling off.

But, we brushed it off and went in to see him. Well what a waste of time that was. He just basically repeated what he had said 3 weeks before, and told me I should take a whole tablet of Clobazam instead of the half I had been told before.

I was confused and tried to ask a question but it didn't get answered, so I guessed he just didn't hear me over the noise of the work going on outside. Then I asked him about what options there are for safety, as I have absences and drop attack (drop attacks aren't happening much which is good) and he didn't answer that either.

Within 5 minutes, we had been ushered in to see him, and were ushered back out the door without a proper goodbye as he ignored us and spoke to his medical students instead.

Me and mum were appalled at the way he just wasted our time, but we asked the Junior doctor for some advice, and she was more help than he was. Of course she was pretty busy so all of our questions couldn't be answered.

Me and mum left a bit dazed at the way he just dismissed us like that, and the next time I see him I am going to say something. He also told me to take a whole tablet which is supposedly 5mg. I got the medication for today and just noticed I had actually been doing the right thing by snapping it in half, and from what he told me I had actually been taking 4x the amount I should have.

Instead of 5mg twice a day, I took 10mg twice a day. I admit part of it is my fault for not reading the box correctly, but he confused me so much. I called Epilepsy Society and am still pretty shocked they gave me more help than my actual neurologist did.

He said I was going to see an Epilepsy nurse, and I still haven't seen one. In 6 weeks when I see him again I am going to ask him about it - if I ever get an answer.

Yesterday I was upset and pretty darn exhausted because the stress of not having answers from the person who said he would help me through this caused me to have quite a few seizures.

So I was wondering, can I request to change my neurologist? I don't want to have to go through everything and go to another hospital, even though I get sent to another one (St George's for those who live in the UK) because it has all the facilities I need, and to be honest, the people there are much nicer.

:huh: Thanks guys and I hope you're all well :hugs:

 

[Fedup]

EllyPaddington

Of course you can change neurologist it your right, you just need to cheek out the other neurologists you are looking at. It can be difficult trying to find good doctors.

 

[momof3boys]

Yes, of course you can change to a different neuro. I had to do that this year as well. The neuro that I started seeing in November 2010 seemed like a nice guy. Switched me over to the XR version and asked if I had a VEEG? I said no, just the standard EEGs all my life. Well, after the VEEG was done and over with, it was like he was a changed person. Basicly ignored all my questions, and took what he saw and put his answer in my file and called it good. He said the seizures I had during the VEEG were non epileptic seizures, but then he saw abnormal seizure activity on my EEG which like always came from the left temporal lobe area. Which is why he put me back on the Keppra XR. But said I didnt need anything further.. and the Keppra XR was going to control the "Potential seizure activity", not the seizures which he saw me having on the VEEG. He even said he wanted me to see a psych dr. which I did just to point out to him that I dont have anxiety which is what he believes brought on the non epileptic seizures. But after going to the psych dr. she confirmed that what he says are non epilpetic seizures caused by anxiety, is indeed epileptic seizures. Why? Becuase when i was put back on the Keppra XR, all of it stopped. If they were non epileptic seizures, the Keppra wouldnt stop them from coming. Then I find out later that my neuro told me when I tried the generic keppra xr that the seiuzres that came about, wasnt from the generic keppra xr, but that I needed to go to my doctor who treats my anxiety to get a prescription for ativan! OMG. Seriously? I was beyond pissed. ive never in my seen a dr for anxiety, and Ive never been dx'd with anxiety! He clearly crossed the line with me there. Apparently there are doctors out there who is going to think what they want to think and do what they want to do. Its those drs that shouldnt be out there.

 

[qtowngirl]

to hell with seeing him in six weeks, i don't think you should ever see him again. just get your regular doc to send a referral wherever you'd like to go for another neuro and you should be good to go. he IS appalling, i feel so bad for you. i had a typically useless neuro at one time too but atleast he took an hour for each appt and tho he had an attitude he did answer any questions. any specialist shouldn't take less than half an hour to catch up and take care of things, it's not like we see these people every week. what an ass, pls pls don't give him another minute of your time.

 

[CQ:)]

Elly-
I agree with everyone else, if you are unhappy with your neurologist then maybe it is time to look at finding another neurologist. As Qtown said you should be able to speak to your GP & ask them to give you a referral to see another neurologist.

I hope you are able to find another neurologist because the way your current neurologist treated you is just plain wrong.

 

[momof3boys]

Oh I forgot to add.. I found my now neuro who I am seeing through my GP. She referred me to this dr and Im very happy! I hope things can get better and you can find the right neuro!

 

[EllyPaddington]

Oh my goodness, momof3boys that's awful!! I am so glad you found you're new nice neurologist!! Mine seems like he would be the type of person who would do the same, I just found everything about his check up appalling and it didn't seem like a check up at all. Told him I have these new drop attacks and he just said that was unusual and then told me that he might have to put me on another medication for my absences, then told me that I would put on weight and lose my hair. So he didn't paint a very pretty picture for me, like I'm not stressed enough!!!

I' glad that the next time I see him I will be going with my dad, who also has epilepsy but he is a very blunt person. He's one of those proper business men who will not leave until he has questions answered and if they areen't answered, he will just get up, leave, complain to the highest person he can complain to then take me somewhere else.

The next time I see him I will have my EEG and MRI results, so I am praying and hoping that he gives me answers then. I would have already left if I didn't have my EEG and MRI after I saw him. If he does the same and doesn't answer my safety questions and other questions, which are pretty damn important, then I am just going to leave and speak to my doctor about seeing another neurologist somewhere else, hopefully at St George's where I had my EEG.

Seems kind of silly to have the neurologists at the hospital I am at now without actually having the equipment to diagnose neurological problems. We've been sent everywhere else to have tests done. I'm just going to move hospitals, St George's is so much nicer and worth the traffic to get to!!!

 

[CQ:)]

Told him I have these new drop attacks and he just said that was unusual and then told me that he might have to put me on another medication for my absences, then told me that I would put on weight and lose my hair. So he didn't paint a very pretty picture for me, like I'm not stressed enough!!!

Which med was your neurologist thinking of prescribing you for your drop attacks?

What the neurologist said about you putting on weight & losing hair from the med was just not on. All meds have side effects, some can course hair loss or affect your weight but we are all different & some people may have side effects from a med where people on the same med may have no problems.

Whenever my neurologist decided to change my meds I used to do a search online about the med & side effects from the med so I was aware of what side effects I might have. The chemist can usually give you print outs on medications & side effects they may have.

I' glad that the next time I see him I will be going with my dad, who also has epilepsy but he is a very blunt person. He's one of those proper business men who will not leave until he has questions answered and if they aren't answered, he will just get up, leave, complain to the highest person he can complain to then take me somewhere else.

It is good that you will be going to your next neurologist appointment with you, maybe he will be able to get some sense out of the neurologist. If the neurologist is still not cooperating or answering your questions at your next appt then definitely look into trying to see a new neurologist.

 

[AngelwithDentedHalo]

You should never stay with a doctor you're not happy with. I was lucky to have found a great and caring Neurologist first thing and I did have a primary doctor that was not very good cause he only tested my blood 5 times in the many years I saw him and I need regular blood tests and when I was going into kidney failure, told me to take heartburn medicine and drink gaterade, less than 24 hours, I was in intensive care.

Now I have a primary doctor that listens, as well as my Neurologist. A good doctor doesn't mind answering questions and cares about your needs and symptoms and knows your condition inside and out.