Finally! My appointment with neuro has arrived.

[Hon-e-bee]

I have been waiting 4 long months for an appointment with a neuro. Because of insurance. And apparently there are alot of us waiting in line.

But I will be going on friday. I had my first attack in 2005. Had some ongoing symptoms from that point. But nothing that I considered serious. Just thought all the pain was from back problems.

I have been sick since Sept. 2012. My ongoing symptoms are numbness tingling mostly on left side hand and foot. Also tingling numbness and itching on right side of face. Nausea, vertigo, balance problems constipation, hard time concentrating, anxiety and depression also at times falling asleep instantly and also not being able to sleep at all. And that is so frustrating. Also extreme fatigue.
Can't take the heat of summer, it just drains me.

And I would like to know if anyone else has had the symptom of your whole body getting very hot and lasting usally maybe 6 or 7 minutes. These happen all through the day and at night when I wake up.

I am hoping that the neuro doc will go ahead and start treating me and not make me wait untill tests are done.

I've about had all I can take at this point. I have the report of my visit to ER in 2005. Also 2 cat scans and one mri of my brain. The mri shows a flair that was there in Sept. 2012. Also my brain lit up in a zebra pattern.I am going to make symptom list before I go. Can anybody tell me if they were given treatment on first visit?

[22cyclist]

Only if you are diagnosed on your first visit can you get treatment. He may give you steroids for your symptoms depending on your neurological exam. It all depends on how you present at the time of the appointment.

Bring all of your records.

Good luck
Lisa

[poohb3ar]

4 months is a long time to wait!!! i was fortunate to have a primary dr. who had strings he could pull to get me in sooner.

so glad you are getting to see a neuro, prayerfully you will get answers and treatment soon.

cyclist knows more about the medical side of it than i would, since i've only been a patient.

my experience was a bit backwards. the whole left side of my body going dead numb literally overnight speed up my dr.'s urgency to rule out heart and find an answer. me too! i couldn't work like that at all! and quickly using sick days.

this was march 22, 2002, by april 15, 2002 i had a very lengthy appt. (4 hrs.) with Dr. Samuel Hunter. left with a MS dx and medicines to help relieve the sxs. no dmds.
just management meds that i take to this day.

so, yes and no, you may get meds like cyclist said. i didn't get any roids at that time. and he scheduled the full spectrum of tests for when school was out so that i wouldn't miss any more time than nec.
the 2 days of testing bore out that i did have MS and later started a disease modifying drug (DMD) to slow it down.
what i would have given for some of the DMDs that are out now! being able to take a pill instead of shots all the time would be great!
though the shots weren't so bad, because i knew i was doing something to help myself stay better.

keep us updated on your appt.! we care about you and what's going on, good & bad

take care and God bless ya!

[JerryD]

As always, I want to weigh in, here, with my gladness that you found us and sorrow for the reasons you needed to find us. I am curious about the testing that your doctors have done to date.
Have you had your vitamin D levels tested? It should be between 50ng/mL and 70- 100 ng/mL. What about vitamin B-12? Did your doctor test for Lyme disease?
You aren't supposed / expected to know that these things need to be tested. Your doctor should do it, automatically. But I have found that many of us MSer's don't seem to get the benefit of these tests, in a timely manner. I, myself, had to prod my doctor to get the vitamin D test. And my level was in the 20's (low !). Now, I get the blood drawn and tested, regularly.

[onlyairfare]

I had all the ancillary testing to rule out other diseases done by my family doctor before I saw the neurologist, so I was begun on Copaxone at my first neurologist visit. My family doc had ordered the MRI's already too so I had the CD's to take with me.

I had already had optic neuritis documented by a neuro-ophthalmologist and an abnormal VEP before I saw my family doctor for the weak leg that I suspected was MS. I already knew that since I had ON in the past, I might go on to MS. So my family doctor and I knew I had MS before I saw the neuro, so my case was straightforward.

If you bring all your previous test results with you for the neuro to review, and you meet all the criteria to dx MS, it can all be done in one visit. I even went to my regular drug store and got my Copaxone right then and there, though eventually I heard from Shared Solutions about how I should use the Copaxone and how I could get it mailed to me.

[BigA]

Jerry is right about Vitamin D. It's very very important.

But what's this talk about waiting for a procedure? This is America! We have the finest healthcare in the world, don't you know. No one waits like in (blah) Canada! Everyone knows Canadians are lining up for our wonderful system.

Sigh. At least we have a chance now. Sorry to hijack your post. I'm glad you're getting your MRI. Good luck with everything.

[HellsBells1]

Are you hating on Canada?

Big A: I read your post with a slight bit of humour, as I hope that is where you are coming from.

I am Canadian. Yes, sometimes we can wait a very long time for procedures or tests if sx are not serious, but three years ago, I waited about 3 weeks for my MRI through normal channels, less than 2 weeks for a CT scan, about 3 weeks for Evoked Potentials.

This current round of sx, I paid for my MRI (because currently waiting periods have been increased - but I live on an island with no large cities and limited hospitals with equipment, plus I wanted the Tesla 3 MRI), and they booked me in 2 days, and I went through our normal healthcare for EEG and VEP and SEP - all wonderfully coordinated and booked on the same day, within 2 weeks of the neurologist's referral.

MRI machines in Alberta run 24 hours a day, and have a maximum waiting period of 2 weeks now (without a single person having to pay for the tests). I think in the States, if you have an awesome health insurance plan, you can say you have the best healthcare in the world (but you might pay an awful lot for your premiums). What about all the other people on this site that can't afford to see specialists or have tests run? At least we know that we will never have to worry about the cost of seeing someone - even if it is at the expense of a longer waiting period. But again, if something is urgent, they will expedite.

So, the only out-of-pocket expense for any of my healthcare and tests in my entire life has been for this recent MRI, plus my minimal monthly premiums ($60/person which is subsidized or eliminated if you are low income).

My daughter was born with kidney disease and was in ICU for 1 week and then regular hospital for 3 more weeks. The statement (for my info, only) that the gov't sent me showed that they had covered in excess of $200K for her care in that one month period. If I were in the US, 18 years old, unemployed, I suspect I would have been billed for this.

Anyway, sorry for the rant (really)! There is probably tons I don't know about healthcare in the U.S. and vice versa.

I just hope that anyone suffering with MS or any other illness, regardless of where they live, get the care and medications they deserve without bankrupting themselves.

To the original poster... good luck with your dx journey and especially your treatment options.

[22cyclist]

Well said Hells Bells! Coming from a US citizen with a 5,000 deductible on my insurance each year, and then a 3,000 out of pocket above that, it sucks to have our wonderful healthcare system sometimes!

I am applying for disability, but it takes forever. For now I just have to rely on the hospital's charity care. Without it I would be bankrupt.

Crazy.
Lisa