This is the 4th doctor I have seen for my vertigo problems and I almost left this visit in tears. I had such hope that he could help me.
We talked about the ENG test - I have a major problem with this and will not take it. I told him that and told him that the first bit of vertigo the test gives me would fill me with such anxiety and fear that the test would be skewed. Without being sedated I honestly don’t think I can go through it and I’m not willing to try (didn’t verbally say that part). It is just too frightening for me. What I would like is a doctor who will understand this and work with me on it. But this a*****e said “either you take the test and get vertigo, and YOU WILL get vertigo, and we find out what’s wrong with you and treat it OR you be a wacko and don’t take it and learn to live with it. Do you have any more questions?” This was said in a very unkind, nasty, sarcastic tone of voice. And I had to pay $50.00 for 10 minutes of this jerk’s mouth. Even if I were to get brave enough to take it I sure wouldn’t go back to him.
Then he had the nerve to imply that my vertigo is anxiety provoked, because I told him that I will take valium not only when I am having an attack but when I am afraid I will have an attack or when I am going somewhere where I don’t want to have an attack. I asked him, wouldn’t you be anxious if you never knew if a vertigo attack was going to hit you suddenly out of the blue and make you 100% incapable of doing anything except lying there and throwing up all over yourself? I didn’t word it quite like that but wish I had. :x
He is an ENT, there are no neurotologists in my area. At least I didn’t think there were. But when I get to this jerks office today there is a sign on the door saying that Dr. so and so is a new doctor in the office and is accepting new patients. His specialty is neurotology and vertigo. Well, if I had known this I would have made the appointment to see him instead of dr. jerk.
What I did get out of the appt - he said my symptoms don’t fit anything - not menieres, not bppv. Said labyrinthitis is a nothing disease, it’s what a doctor says when he doesn’t know what is wrong. (last doctor said I had lab…) He didn’t mention MAV and I didn’t bring it up other than to say one of the other doctors I saw said that was a possibility.
I just feel like giving up - I don’t know who to go to next. I’ve been to four different docs and seem to have used up what few ENT offices there are in my area. Sorry for the long post, I’m really upset about this vist.
Vent, that is what forms such as this are for. Venting helps you cope with things such as this. Many of us have been through the same doctor experiences you have, never getting a proper diagnoses. The doctor that diagnosed me was just a neurologist, nothing fancy in her title, but she specialized in neurological disorders that caused balance and dizzy problems.
One word of caution though, I have found that all the doctors in my local ENT office, there is only one here, all subscribe to the same belief and technique for diagnosing meniere’s. Hopefully you don’t run into the same problem.
Unfortuantely most ENTs are idiots. I was even told this by the top neuro-otologist in Australia. In his own words, he said if they can’t find something to cut out with a scalpel, they’re not interested. And it appears the guy has no idea about migrainous vertigo. The whole anxiety-induced thing is such garbage and old hat. Forget this moron.
If you cannot see anyone else, would you consider a phone consult with Prof Hain? He’ll probably peg your condition immediately. If $$$ is an issue, you could always convince your GP to start you on a migraine preventative. There’s stacks of them but Hain seems to prefer either Topamax or Effexor followed by beta blockers, calcium channel blockers and tricyclic ADs (which most docs consider a “messy” option).
Top 10 Reasons to Fire Your Doctor
By Carol & Richard Eustice, About.com
Created: June 21, 2007
About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board
Filed In:Doctors / Insurance Doctors have strengths and weaknesses. How does your doctor’s “bedside manner” match up with your personality?
Are you confident in your doctor’s ability?
Do you feel that you understand the directives and decisions made by your doctor?
Are you encouraged to ask questions?
Is the overall experience at your doctor’s office positive?
The relationship between a doctor and patient is very important. If you’re answering no to most of the questions it may be time for a change.
Lack of Confidence in Doctor’s Ability
A patient must trust their doctor. Patients are more likely to be compliant with their treatment plan if they have confidence in their doctor’s ability. A patient consults with a doctor for their expertise as a diagnostician and ability to problem-solve. A patient should not routinely leave the doctor’s office feeling uneasy about decisions and recommendations which are made by the doctor. If you find yourself doing that, it may be time to fire your doctor.
The Right Doctor For You
Lack of Continuity Between Visits
The nature of chronic illness implies you will be seeing a doctor many times to help you manage your condition. With copious notes in your medical chart, your doctor should be able to recall your prior visit and gauge your progress. Doctors are busy and they see many patients, so it’s not always perfect. If you constantly have to repeat yourself and if you feel that your doctor isn’t following along, it may be time to fire your doctor.
How Would You Rate Your Doctor?
Questions Are Not Welcome
Patients go to doctors in search of answers. Patients want to know what’s wrong, their treatment options, and what they can expect going forward. While some doctors allow a reasonable amount of time for patient questions, other doctors are unapproachable and discourage questions. If it’s difficult to have a dialogue with your doctor about your health care, it may be time to fire your doctor.
The Patient-Physician Encounter
Doctor Is Not Forthcoming
Does your doctor share all pertinent diagnostic test results with you? Does your doctor share why a specific test is being ordered or why a specific treatment plan has been chosen over another? For example, your doctor may give you an order for an MRI – or your doctor may tell you why you need to have an MRI and explain what he is trying to rule out, and then give you the order for the MRI. If you feel uninformed more often than not, it may be time to fire your doctor.
Should You Change Doctors?
Doctor Is Cold and Unsympathetic
It’s important that you understand your doctor, but it is equally important that you be understood by your doctor. Does your doctor understand how your medical condition impacts various aspects of your life? Is your doctor sympathetic about your problem or is your doctor’s demeanor cold and abrupt? You must feel that your doctor truly cares about your well-being, otherwise it may be time to fire your doctor.
How To Choose The Right Doctor
Excessively Long Wait to Get an Appointment
You may encounter a long waiting period when you try to set up a doctor appointment. Doctors have very busy schedules, especially specialists and surgeons. As the joke goes - I wouldn’t want to go to a doctor who will see you the next day. A busy doctor is often a popular doctor with a great reputation. However, by waiting too long for an appointment, you may be compromising your health. If the wait seems unreasonable, find another doctor.
Doctor Is Always Rushed
Do you have your doctor’s full attention during your appointments, or do you sense that your doctor’s mind is cluttered by other matters unrelated to you? Do you feel that you’re being hurried? Has your doctor ever backed out of the room before you were able to ask all of your questions? If you are left feeling that not enough time is devoted to you during your appointments, it may be time to fire your doctor.
Inconvenient Location
It can be stressful and inconvenient to have to drive a long distance to see your doctor, especially if you have mobility problems. Some patients who live in rural areas have fewer options, but convenience is a factor to be considered. Where will the doctor send you for blood tests, x-rays, and other tests? What are your doctor’s hospital affiliations? Be sure your situation is either convenient or agreeable to you, otherwise you may want to find another doctor.
Cost / Coverage
If your insurance does not cover your doctor’s fees, it is unlikely you would want to stay with that doctor. Know the details of your individual health plan and be certain that your doctor is available to you on the provider list. If not, you may want to find another doctor so your medical costs will be covered by your insurance.
Doctor Is Not Respectful
Is your doctor harsh when speaking to you? Does your doctor consider your fears and apprehension when making decisions, or are your feelings disregarded? Does your doctor respect that your time is as important as their own, or does your doctor leave you languishing in the waiting room for unreasonably long periods of time? Do you feel respected as a person by your doctor? If not, it may be time to fire your doctor
Thank you thank you!!! You honestly have made me feel so much better than I did earlier today. :lol: I guess I needed some confirmation that this doc is a knuckle head. I know and totally realize that I have a big psychological problem when it comes to this ENG test but I do expect if I’m paying a doctor for his services to work with me a little bit on this. I believe there are other ways to get a diagnosis.
Scott, what do you mean when you say most docs consider tricyclic AD’s a “messy” option? I tried Topomax once but the side effects did me in - I’ve been wanting to go the tricyclic route and was hoping I could talk to the doctor today about that but obviously things didn’t go in that direction. I’m not real keen on taking meds but am willing to try this if I can start very low and work up slowly (that’s how I did it with Lexapro for a severe depression a few years ago.) Beta blockers are out as I get allergy shots, not sure of the reason behind it but I know everytime I go in for my shots they ask me if I am on any beta blockers and if I am I can not longer get the shots.
Do you know how much a phone consult with Dr. Hain costs? Does he diagnose over the phone? He’d probably want to see the results of an ENG in hand. Asking my PCP for medication is a good option if all else fails.
Top 10 Reasons to Fire Your Doctor
By Carol & Richard Eustice, About.com
Created: June 21, 2007
About.com Health’s Disease and Condition content is reviewed by the Medical Review Board
Filed In:Doctors / Insurance Doctors have strengths and weaknesses. How does your doctor’s “bedside manner” match up with your personality?
Are you confident in your doctor’s ability?
Do you feel that you understand the directives and decisions made by your doctor?
Are you encouraged to ask questions?
Is the overall experience at your doctor’s office positive?
— End quote
MS, this is great for any and all doctor visits. The only part of this that dr. jerk passed today was his location and the fact I didn’t have to wait forever in the waiting room. My appt was at 1:30 and I checked in, had my visit with the doc, checked out and was back in my car by 1:45. Maybe that is little too quick! :roll:
I went through similar garbage as far as being told that my vertigo was being caused by anxiety. Then topamax took away 95% of my problem and I’ve been fine ever since. hmmmm, so what happened to my anxiety then? The doctors don’t seem to know. I told them. When the condition lifted, so did the anxiety. They chalk up everything to anxiety because anxiety is easier to treat than this junk!
what do you mean when you say most docs consider tricyclic AD’s a “messy” option.
This info was from a power point presentation given by Dr Rauch. They say “messy” because of the potential side effects associated with them. There’s a lot of them I guess. But then they do work for some people. Generally nortriptyline is supposed to have the least number of SEs so maybe you can start with that one.
What happened with Topamax? What were the SEs you experienced?
Here is some information Julie posted a few months ago about getting a telephone appointment with Dr Hain, I hope it helps.
Becky
To set up a phone consult with Dr. Hain call: 312-274-0197. During the first phone call to the office it doesn’t matter who you talk to, they are just going to tell you to get all your records together and fax them, so you may as well get them together before even making the call (their fax is 312-274-0198).
get your records together.
call them, they will tell you to fax your records.
they will tell you that once they have them they will call you back to make an appt. they may or may not call you back.
if they don’t call you back within 24 hours, call them back and ask for Monica. Tell her you faxed your records and you want to make your appt. She will get you your appt. From there on, if you ever have any trouble ask for Monica.
The fee for the first visit (1 hr.) is $260 and insurance does not cover it - it is cash only.
Follow-ups (frequency determined by Hain at the time of the consult, could be anywhere from one month, to two months or more) are $160 (1/2 hr)
REMEMBER - Hain is in Chicago so they will give you the time of your appt in Central Standard Time.
On the day of the appt. they will call you in advance for credit card payment. Hain will call you himself, he is sometimes a little behind.
I am sorry to hear you had this awful experience. But I would have to say that my ENT here in Georgia is the only one who seemed to have a clue with what was going on because my neurologist at the time sure did not. I see a new one next week.
As mine told me doctors have to look outside the box and many times they are not willing to do that. Or just used a very scripted method to make a diagnosis.
Where do you live perhaps someone would know another option for you there? Or perhaps a phone call with Dr. Hain would be your answer.
what do you mean when you say most docs consider tricyclic AD’s a “messy” option.
This info was from a power point presentation given by Dr Rauch. They say “messy” because of the potential side effects associated with them. There’s a lot of them I guess. But then they do work for some people. Generally nortriptyline is supposed to have the least number of SEs so maybe you can start with that one.
What happened with Topamax? What were the SEs you experienced?
Scott 8)
— End quote
Scott,
I was only on Topamx for 3-4 days, 25 mgs, then was supposed to go up to 50 for a couple of weeks, and then 100. I had hand tingling which I could handle and nausea/loss of appetite, which I couldn’t. I do not like the feeling of being nauseated at all and that is what caused me to stop. And then of course, reading about other people’s bad experiences scared me. I think I was afraid of brain fog/memory issues. I have a job that I need to be alert on. I personally know people on tricylic ad’s (who are taking it for depression not migraines) and they have no problems with side effects so I’m a little more willing to go that route.
hmm, sounds like a couple of visits my husband went through! One visit with a neurologist was awful, and he almost caused my husband to lose disability, because he “suggested” that my husband could work part time. Yea, like my husband could “decide” that on Monday, Wed, and Friday he wouldn’t have any illness and be perfectly fine for a whole day of light work, whether office or otherwise. Needless to say he didn’t see any neurologists after that and got in with a balance specialist…who in some ways wasn’t much better but at least diagnosed him with Vestibular Migraines which is probably more accurate then the original MS diagnosis. However, my husband has basically given up faith with Doctors in general, as he says that’s why they "Practice"medicine!
