Iāve got an appointment with Dr Waterston in Melbourne in a couple of weeks - heās the stateās resident MAV guru. Iāve been forewarned that although he really knows his stuff he has the interpersonal skills of a surgeon (ie none) so I want to go well prepared with a summary sheet of my history and current situation (my GPās referral, laughably, completely misrepresents things and talks about headaches, but I donāt get headaches!), and with a list of questions. Also, as Iām doing a round trip of about 8 hours and ~600k for the appointment I want to get my moneyās worth out of my 20 minutes
Any tips, or advice of things to ask / take / do in my appointment based on your experience with your neuro / specialist would be gratefully received!
HI Gabrielle,
I was under the impression that you were fairing well on your current meds?
My personal experience is donāt bring anything in off the internetā¦most wonāt even look at it, or they just scan it and put in fileā¦they donāt take time to read itā¦God forbid a patient might actually have something to teach these geniuses!
A timeline, list of questions, and responses to prior meds seems to be the best imoā¦
Good luck with it all! Hope you get some good answers!
Kelley
The first thing you want to do is get him to give you a prescription pad so that you can write Valium scripts for me, Vic and yourself for the next 40 years. :lol:
Other than that, I would do exactly what Kelley mentions here which is to write down in a clear manner with headings and dot points, your history. Guys like Waterston will have his differential diagnosis brain in gear listening to you and perusing your history. Heāll be in the know about migraine and dizziness.
The first thing you want to do is get him to give you a prescription pad so that you can write Valium scripts for me, Vic and yourself for the next 40 years. :lol:
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Like like like like like like like like like like like like! :lol:
HI Kelley - I am now -0 but when I made the appointment 4 months ago I was notā¦but I figure I might as well keep it now . Not planning to take anything from the 'net, but will throw in a good word for MVertigo if it seems appropriate
Scott / Vic - I donāt like my chances but will see if I can hypnotise him and snaffle the notepad while heās not looking :lol:
Iād do what Todd did and sit down and methodically write a summary of your key symptoms, history (including diagnostic tests) and success or otherwise with various lifestyle mods/meds.
Depending on whether you have the inclination and/or time during the appointment I would actually mention this forum. I donāt know anything about Waterson but I believe some docs do actually refer their MAV patients here for itās information and advice. It wouldnāt hurt him to check it out either.
I hear you on the GPās poorly worded (wrong) referral. I found my GP notes had me listed as having āpanic disorderā all because one time a GP who I saw only once for a script refil decided that because I use Valium thatās what I must have (despite me fulfilling none of the diagnostic criteria). I raised it with my usual (excellent) GP who rolled her eyes and said āIām deleting that right nowā. I have no issue with Panic Disorder, I just donāt have it!
Iād do what Todd did and sit down and methodically write a summary of your key symptoms, history (including diagnostic tests) and success or otherwise with various lifestyle mods/meds.
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I was thinking the exact same thing after reading Toddās notes. Put together your own case report with the information you have using a similar framework to what Baloh has done (but maybe with dot points instead). If you can deliver this to Waterston in the same way they work every day of their lives, it will speed things up and you can quickly get to the meat of the issue. Heāll also be impressed with the notes and will get things off on the right foot.
I may produce a template later on when I get some time for everyone to use. Thereās a couple of specialists working near me that I can bounce this off of.
Just spoke to the prof here and he said to make your own personal notes ā dot points are good ā and keep it (your history) in chronological order. Be prepared for Waterston to stop you and ask you to expand on a point or he may think something you mention is not important and youāll just carry on.
They do like to hear what youāre saying off the top of your head too because you may have missed something in your own notes of course. Itās a combination of both that is good ā¦ the dot points will keep you on track and stop you from shooting off on a tangent. You donāt want to end up telling him about the great deal you got on bananas at Coles Sunday nigth after that horrible cyclone Yasi. :lol:
. You donāt want to end up telling him about the great deal you got on bananas at Coles Sunday nigth after that horrible cyclone Yasi. :lol:
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Wrong. That scenario is completely relevant in assisting diagnosis as: a) shopping at Coles is hard for people with MAV and b) changes in barometric pressure (eg cyclones) are also a well known trigger.
