i'm just insane

[dollfinn]

Finally got to see the neuro @ Shands today & now that I have stopped crying...took two file folders of records with me as well as my MRI disk. He looked at my numbers from bloodwork. People would pay to have my cholesterol and other numbers. Didn't look at the MRI & didn't address the request for referral. Told me I might want to see a psychiatrist and ordered bloodwork. Upped my amitryptilene to 175 mg. Plus two weeks of prednisone. All I heard was YOU'RE CRAZY. I have a SSDI mental health eval on the 20th. Was he blowing me off or just starting at the beginning? I've had the strangest symptoms with no DC for any of them for the past 6 yrs.

[Seasha]

Dolfinn - You are NOT insane, but merely confused. I would be too - actually I would be mad at the neuro for not even glancing at the MRI!!

I don't know your history leading up to this time, but If I were you, I'd find a different neuro who treats you with respect and listens to your concerns!

Thankfully, I also have good bloodwork results consistantly, but that doesn't mean I don't have MS!!

Please think about getting a 2nd or even 3rd opinion and hang in there!

[ewizabeth]

A doctor that tells a patient that they are insane is not a professional and likely doesn't know what he or she is doing.

Get a second opinion. My first neuro told me to go home and take vitamins for six months ... even though I was still having active symptoms. I found my current doctor through the NMSS website and I've been with him since early 2003. It's worth finding a good doctor! Good luck and keep us posted!

[poohb3ar]

dollfinn,
i know how painful it is to hear a dr. tell you that you need a psch. don't listen to him!!!!
find a new one right away!
i let one do that to me and waited years before i'd even go to another, all the while my MS worsened while untreated. please don't make the same mistake.
take care & God bless ya!

[JoanFrances]

Hello Dollfinn

Any Neuro that didn't even bother looking at you MRI, doesn't sound like a Neuro to me!!!!! Sounds like maybe you hurt his feeling because you asked for a referral.

Didn't you know we can't hurt their feeling, but they have the right do it to us.

He/she, should be reported to the hospital they are affiliated with.

Years ago, I was discharged by an internist with him tell me my leg problems would go away if I lost weight!! Less than a month later, I was having surgery for calcium deposits on my knee and they found bone tumors in my leg to boot!!!
Guess what, I lost the weight within 30 days of the surgery, without dieting, and while I was bedridden.

Don't let any doctor treat you like that. Push back!

With your next doctor/neuro, just bring the MRI and a list of you sx, leave your files at home, and see what happens then.

Do you have a GP, ask him/her for a referral?

Good luck Dear, and please come back and tell us what is happening now.

[dollfinn]

one of the reasons I was being seen by this neuro was because I had been accepted by the charity relief program. I have no insurance and since I had to leave my job in March, I have been staying with my father so as to be seen by the medical clinic run by his church. My MRI was negative except for. A questionable area of low signal at the level of the medulla. Was recommended for a follow up. If I don't have a DX would anyone know of how I can find some other type of assistance. I have spent the past 25 years either as a cake decorator or serving in restaurants. I volunteer at the womens center at church where all I do is sit or attend classes with the clients.


I'm rambling again. But I an just so frustrated. Have a SSDI mental & physical eval next week but if I don't have a DX I may just be insane in their eyes. OK I'm done. Thanks for letting me go off half cocked. Seems like everything I do these days is half cocked.

[Nabbosa]

NMSS and MSAA

Dollfinn -

First, it sounds like you are doing a great job getting through a tough time. When I was going through diagnosis, I remember saying to someone that I hoped I could do this. She said, "You ARE doing it!" Repeating that to myself in difficult situations really helped me a lot. I didn't have to worry about whether I would be able to make it through, because I knew I already WAS making it through.

Second, have you called the toll-free number for the National MS Society? They were very helpful for me when I was trying to figure out how to find a specialist, and again when I needed assistance getting an air conditioner. The staff at the information center are knowledgeable and patient. The number is 1-800-344-4867. You can also go to the Society's site and click on "Possible MS" in the green "Information for ..." section on the right side of the site. It has that number, and some videos and a question & answer site.

The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America also offers assistance for some things - MRIs, for instance. If you go to their home page, and click on "Programs and Services", you can find the toll-free Helpline (1-(800) 532-7667) and the times it is open. They will also place "reassurance calls" to you, which sounds like a great thing during diagnosis!

Lastly, don't forget to do something nice for yourself every day - especially right now. Make yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea mid-afternoon and think about something nice. Or find the prettiest flower in the florist's window and appreciate it for a while. And remember, you're doing it.

[Shashi]

I think that doctors who tell patients that "it's just stress or anxiety", "it's all in your head", or "you need to see a psychiatrist" should be stripped of their credentials. All they are doing is taking the "easy" way out. They are either too lazy to put any effort at all into researching what is going on with that patient or too ignorant to be able to figure it out what needs to be done. They are NOT doing their job and should be fired.

Granted, there are cases where stress, anxiety, or psychiatric problems can cause physical symptoms. But before they slap that label on a patient, they need to exhaust all other possible explanations for the patient's symptoms, even if they have to send that patient to someone else who might be able to find the answers, if they are too lazy or uninformed to do so.

I've been watching Mystery Diagnosis and Mystery ER for several years now, and so many of these poor people are told that "it's all in your head" when in reality they had legitimate problems and all these doctors were doing was putting that patient's life in jeopardy. I myself had one doctor dismiss half my symptoms as being caused by anxiety (when I was taking both Wellbuterin for mild depression and Valium for dizziness.) I never went back to see him again.

"It's all in your head" or "it's stress or anxiety" should be permanently banished from doctors' vocabularies!

[hollyquinn]

My first experience with a neuro was like this. He told me I had a conversion disorder. He said the Lesions were caused by either diabetes or migraines and that I should see a shrink. It was so upsetting.

I'm so glad though I got a second opinion. You might want to, too.

[GoodJennie]

Hi Dollfinn,

I used to work as Shands, so I know some of the Neurologists there both from work and from the patient side. Some are better than others, and some are awful. I'm sorry you got one of the bad ones. I will admit, though, you've made me very curious if you went to see my former doc. I wouldn't recommend him.

All the docs in their department should accept charity care because it's departmental. SO, you may be able to switch. Don't give up hope!

Jennie

[dollfinn]

Thanks so much for all your suggestions & encouragement.

I will be contacting the nmss.& I'm going to be contacting the MS clinic in Tampa Orlando & I think Jacksonville

As for the best future. Volunteer work at the womens center. a friend is taking me to Cape Cod for two weeks. Sometimes I have to channel Scarlett O Hara. I can't think about that...I'll think about that tomorrow.