well guys this is my first appointment with my neuro surg can any1 giv me any tips as i no ive got all these questions to ask and tell him or her but i no i will go in there at sit quiet and ready to burst in2 tears helpppp plzzzz
Hi Heathera! I’ve just scanned through past posts as there is a lot of advice on how to approach your first neuro appointment x
The following is advice from the lovely Rizzo (I’m sure she won’t mind me cutting & pasting it!)xxxxjenxxx
As Chis said, please write a list of things for your neuro appointment. Try and remember when things happened so you can put rough dates next to the symptoms (when they started, how long they lasted / if you still have them) and look back over your life to see if there is anything “weird” that you’ve had before that might actually be related. Keep the list as concise as possible and make a copy of it. Do not hand it over to the neuro or it may end up not being read properly! When she/he asks you what’s been happening, read through the list bit by bit, pausing to let the neuro take notes & keep up with you and answering any questions he/she has, then going back to the list until it’s all done. If the list is too long, you may lose the neuro’s attention and/or interest(!) so try and keep it brief and get the important things in. At the end, give the neuro a copy for your file.I’m sure everything will
thanks hun i do hav a diary of things thats been happining to me over the past years so al get that out and hav a read through myself and add more to wats been happining now . i will let u no how i get on 2moz the fact there is new symtoms showing up with my eyes and they hav been confirmed that this may b the cause of MS progressing am hopeing they will listen to me now and that i no am not going mad lol
Hi, try and take someone with you, a second pair of ears is good as sometimes you do not take it all in. Good look and let us know how you get on Karen x
I think the bit about keeping it brief (say a single side) is particularly important as there is a tendency to view a long list as an indication of neurosis and they certainly are on the look out to detect and dismiss a sizeable percentage of their patients as overly anxious people who are self-obsessed with their own bodies and exhibiting supposedly neurological symptoms that are ‘all in the mind’.
I think the bit about keeping it brief (say a single side) is particularly important as there is a tendency to view a long list as an indication of neurosis and they certainly are on the look out to detect and dismiss a sizeable percentage of their patients as overly anxious people who are self-obsessed with their own bodies and exhibiting supposedly neurological symptoms that are ‘all in the mind’.
wee update . well saw the neuro took my partner with me, she asked me wats been going on so i said i hav jotted a few things dwn that bit went well, she then asked me what i thought it was ? i replied i think i hav MS she then said if its not MS ware do u think we should go now at that point my partner said well this has been going on for 14years isnt that the doctors job to no ware it should b going. she then spoke over him and said lets do some tests ie reflexes , balance tests and eye tests , well she jotted things dwn and said i dont think u hav MS . after falling over in the balance test and not feeling the needle prick going up my leg i looked at her baffled . she then said she will make arrangments for me to hav a lumbur punture and MRI SCAN and also to see there eye specalist , i am really baffled now but kinda glad of the tests , now if they all come bac normal she will then send me to the psychologist as it might b all in my head well that just made me want to scream its not all in my head , wat so me losing my vision is all in my head lol dont think so i thought , so guys without these tests i am still in limboland and now am thinking surley this cant b all pyschlogical and anxiaty attacks its been to long for that , this is horrible so frustrating now
Hi, sorry your appointment didn’t go to well but at least she is sending you for tests. I hope you don’t have to wait too long for them and the results take care Karen x
Hi, sorry your appointment didn’t go to well but at least she is sending you for tests. I hope you don’t have to wait too long for them and the results take care Karen x
I have my first neuro appointment on Wednesday and am dreading this happening to me!
I am currently writing out my symptoms and trying to make it short and sweet but getting the stuff in I think I need to tell them about.
Yes the other thing I think people tactically shouldn’t do is say “I think I’ve got MS” since there are so many possible considerations that need to be ruled out. I think that if they think you already have this as a conclusion, then it will invoke a strong tendency to bias your perceptions towards seeing what you expect to see and a reinforcing a cycle of anxiety, hence the psychiatrist. Make a point of genuinely having an open mind in that part of the discussion. Maybe better to say I dont know doc but cant you do some tests to narrow it down? Or to say what it cant be if you know your doc has already ruled it out e.g. "Well it cant be diabetes because my doctor has already checked, and it cant be a back problem because I’ve already seen that specialist etc.
I just posted this for someone else ( see Waiting Waiting …). I think it might be useful for you. Do take the advice from mrbobowen about one sheet of paper, and not trying to make the diagnosis yourself.
Advice from my Neuro (shame he is moving on) was to list everything, starting with the biggest problem. It made it easy for him to identify which was MS related, and which was not. Following on from this, you identify which problem is serious on the day that it is at its worst, and less serious on a “good” day. Now you have a complete picture of of your condition from your viewpoint. This is what you tell the Neuro. This makes it easier for the Neuro, and (s)he can give more of his/her time to you.
That is the worst day/worst case turned into a sheet of paper.
Now read what kizzydane has posted above. Don’t hand over the list in the beginning, but do have two copies and leave one with the Neuro at the end.
Geoff