This doctor started out by telling me that he did not know my MS doctor and that he was not an MS specialist. He asked me why I had seen a neurologist in the area last year but had not stuck with her. I told him I just didn’t like her.

Truth is I was not satisfied with her answers.

He noted I had 7 children and asked WHY I had 7 children. I said because we adopted. He left it at that.

He looked through my chart and said I see you had ON last year and an abnormal VER. I would expect and abnormal VER with ON.

He wondered why I had not had an LP. I said I guess it was because the MS doctor felt I had enough other evidence of MS to skip
the LP.

He wondered what blood tests I had had. He checked my chart and saw I’d had all the tests he could think of but the LP. Kept coming back to the LP.

He started to loosen up some and said ok; ON twice in one eye, evidence of two lesions on brain MRI, and trigeminal neuralgia……He then started talking about Clinically Isolated Syndrome because my lesion load is not great.

Then he does a neuro exam. When that was done he talked about what he thought. He went back to the LP but said an LP at this point would not change the treatment plan. He said there were no other tests he would do. I asked him what HIS opinion was and he said MS and for sure CIS.

He said he did not need to see me again for 6-7 months since I am seeing my MS doctor next week. But I should call him if something like another bout of ON comes up because steroid treatment should have been used the first time.

I was so stressed. I hated going back and being grilled like that. I was so hoping the records I provided him would give him all he needed. It did really and in the end I just got a second opinion from another neurologist that I am being treated properly and it is MS.
I do not meet the MS criteria solidly because I do not have enough lesions, but I do have enough symptoms.

One weird thing he asked was what my grades were like in school and if I had ever been put in the hospital for psychiatric reasons. HUH? Is that a normal question? I am just grateful he did not grill me any further on the kids!

Another thing that bothered me was his saying there is no way he knows for sure all of these sensory things I say I have are for real. He said some times we think things like dizziness are bad when they really AREN’T so bad. I wondered what he was saying. I didn’t bring up any symptoms. He asked me if I had this or that and I answered yes or no.

So that is the whole ugly story. I had to stop and see my granddaughter to recover!