Tips on going private

New diagnosis and before diagnosis
1

Hi everyone,

I was wondering if anyone had experience of seeking private consultations and any advice on how to go about it.

I have now been struggling with the NHS for over 4 years and haven’t really got anywhere- don’t get me wrong, I am so grateful for the NHS but the waiting times are getting ridiculous. I’m based in Cambridge and the waits are getting longer and longer. I’m in the middle of my third big ‘blip’ as I like to call them in the last 4 years and I’ve got odd sensations, cramp and weakness in my right arm and leg which is making it hard to walk, and I feel like someone is sat on my chest. I’ve also had splitting headaches behind my left eye and photophobia in that eye. I have a named consultant at Addenbrookes but whenever I see him I’m not very symptomatic as I wait for months to see him. When he sees me I only show some ‘souvenirs’ from the attacks like fatigue and occasional cramps which is making it hard for him to assess me.

I would like to seek a second opinion as I have had 3 brains scans in the last 4 years. The first one showed nothing, the 2nd one showed lesions which were “not within the normal range for someone my age” but were not really followed up. The 3rd scan was identical to the 2nd but I hadn’t had any ‘blips’ between the 2.

So my question to anyone who has gone private is what did you do with pending NHS appointments/ juggling 2 different neuros? I get that I need to request that my GP refers me to a private neuro, does that mean that my NHS appointments get cancelled? I also don’t want to annoy my NHS neuro or make him think I don’t value his opinion- do you just have to hope that if they re-refer you into the NHS you don’t get your previous neuro back?

Oh and finally, anyone in Cambridge, I was going to try and see Dr Paul Molyneux if I can as he is an MS specialist, has anyone see him before or does anyone have any other recommendations?

Thank you so much for all your help! You guys are such a great source of support :slight_smile:

Georgie X

2

Hello,

I’ve been going down the private route. I’m currently sitting with a CIS diagnosis, with lesions on my brain and one on my spine. I also have a NHS referral. You don’t require a GP referral to go private, unless you are claiming on health insurance, I am claiming on insurance so my GP happily provided me with two referrals. Once the NHS referral is in the system nothing happens to it if you choose to go private. My initial consultations and one of my MRI’s were done privately, and I have requested copies of all reports and CDs of my MRIs so I have them for reference and subsequent appointments. My private neurologist is the same one I’ll see on the NHS, by design not coincidence, with his help I have been able to differ my NHS appointment until my scheduled follow up, and even then I will be bringing all my letters etc with me just in case I get seen by a different member of his team.

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