Hi
Just wanted a bit of advice about what to say in my appointment. I want to be honest, but at the same time I don’t want to bore my neuro, or make him think I’m a hypochondriac. I’ve read all the other threads with advice, and feel like I know what to expect, but I just wanted some advice on things that you think I should include/leave out. Essentially, I just want to be investigated fully so I’ve got more chance of finding out what it might be (fingers crossed for something fixable!), so I just want to make sure I’m representing myself fully, without turning the neuro off. Advice? Personal experience? I’ll take anything/everything please!
Symptoms list:
Vertigo
Twitches in left side of face, left leg, stomach.
Weird sensations in left arm and leg (pain, burning, vibrating, pins and needles)
Muscle pain (lower back and lower legs)
Poor balance
Right arm/hand tremor (this is an old symptom from a previous ‘episode’, but tends to come back if I’m really tired)
Mild/moderate fatigue (I am more or less coping with work, but often feel like I just need to sleep NOW and will usually take a nap as soon as I get home, and will sleep most of the weekend).
I’ve tried to trim it down by grouping things together - is that the best way, or should I do it by time (as I’ve seen suggested elsewhere?)
Thanks for any/all advice/support/encouragement!
Hello, Much more wiser and knowledgeable folks will be along later I’m sure but I had my first appointment last week. One point I would make is that my Neuro asked for dates, I.e when it started, how long for and if there was recovery. I would try and note this down just in case you are asked like I was. Also, give him/her time to make the notes as you are saying, I sped off at one point (due to nerves) and had to back track and apologise! He was fine about it. Good luck for your appointment 
I felt relieved afterwards that I had actually discussed my issues with someone who could get to the bottom of it Sam xx
Thank you, that’s very helpful. Will have a good think and try to get everything as accurate as possible.
I’m looking forward to tomorrow really - thanks to other posts here I pretty much know what to expect, and am looking forward to getting closer to getting some answers after so long of putting up with things. Won’t stop me being a nervous wreck tomorrow morning though - starting to wonder why I didn’t just ask for the whole day off because I can’t imagine I’ll be much use!
Timing is very important, just as Sam said. It shows any pattern, but also that these things have developed over more than one attack.
Apart from that, if I were you, I might make a couple of changes to the list. The first one is to take the “mild/moderate” out - if you are sleeping the whole weekend then it doesn’t sound very mild! Just tell him the “I am more or less coping with work, but often feel like I just need to sleep NOW and will usually take a nap as soon as I get home, and will sleep most of the weekend” bit. The other one is to introduce the twitches and weird sensations as saying that you’ve been having problems with your left side, with twitches in… and weird sensations in… The fact that it’s all left sided is important so no harm in leading with that.
You may find that you don’t need your list at all, you’ll have thought about it so much before you get there It’s just an aide memoire after all - you’ll be talking about & describing each point, not just handing over a list.
Try not to worry about it. Most appointments go absolutely fine!
Good luck
Karen x
Thanks for the advice, I’ve taken it on board and think I’m all ready now! I’m actually not as nervous as I thought I would be, and I think that’s probably because I’ve read so much on here that I feel like I know what to expect, and am prepared as I can be. (It could also be because I was at work this morning, so didn’t have time to think about it until now!) Hopefully I’ll be back on here later on singing the praises of the neuro, but even if not I know that I can have a good moan here too.