Hello,
Does anyone have any advice on going private to see a neurologist to be assessed to see if you have the diagnosis?
Does anyone have any recommendations of private neurologists (I live in Newcastle Upon Tyne but would travel if best)
Thank you for any help
You can check your NHS hospital department and your local private clinic to see who does both.
I hope that someone local to you can make a recommendation. I did some web searches and there are lists available online. If you get a good neurologist it is well worth the effort.
Good luck
Mick
p.s. Thinking back, my GP did the referral for a private consultation with the neurologist. In my experience of medics generally, they are usually more comfortable when contact is initiated via other medics (eg through GP or other medical referral) than directly with civilians.
I don’t think I realised how lucky I was getting past the advice and guidance stage, as mine sailed through (also Newcastle).
My GP didn’t mention possible MS at all, neither did I to them. The symptoms in my advice and guidance letter related more to the suspicion of unusual migraines and it was the neurologist who first seemed to put lots of pieces together with it possibly being MS.
I will say that my wait for an initial appointment was 12 weeks, and I’m now waiting for an MRI which they have said could easily be 8 weeks after the request.
If you’re worried and can afford private I would do so, there’s definitely a couple of doctors that seem to do NHS and also on the Nuffield website.
I believe that a specialist outside the NHS can refer back in to the NHS so it would get the ball rolling and get you into the system, if that specialist believes you should be.
Thank you! Knowing the waiting times is really helpful!
Hope you are doing as okay as you can be, must of been a bit of a shock being queried when you went.
I don’t really understand why they turn away my advice and guidance forms. I just feel like I really need to be seen and it’s seeming impossible
Does anyone know how much it matters if going private whether the neurologist specialises in MS or not?
There doesn’t seem to be any private ones that do in Newcastle so wondering if I went private if worth travelling
I’m really not sure what made my advice and guidance letter stand out enough to get an appointment being honest, although I have been moaning to the GP about vague symptoms for years and tried a lot of potential treatments with no improvement.
I know the consultant I saw didn’t specialise in MS but they must still be able to triage - I think the possible MS symptoms were really picked up in a full neuro exam which I assume would be done at every initial appointment. As I’ve been referred for the MRI, things might change after the results of that are in - if it is MS I might end up with a MS specialist, or maybe not.
I’d suggest a private neurologist would be quite happy to allow you to pay for a private scan if they have any doubt, even if you wouldn’t meet the typical NHS criteria. At the very least, you’d expect them to be happy to investigate fully as you are paying them to do so!
I know I don’t want to have MS, but I’ve convinced myself that if I do it’s an answer to why I’ve been having the issues I have and that at least an explanation would make things more understandable to those around me. If it’s not MS I’m probably back to the “unexplained” stage and left in limbo with odd symptoms forever. Neither is appealing to be honest!