Ha ha! The one I saw was just dim. He wasn't set up to deal with an intelligent person who wasn't prepared to sit there like a doe-eyed twerp and listen to his nonsense without challenging him. He couldn't even get the name of the condition I was diagnosed with correct.

He was particularly upset when I told him that I was perfectly aware from his questions that he was trying to establish whether or not I was suffering from conversion disorder. I point blank told him to tell me there and then if he though i had conversion disorder and crack on with the treatment because from all my research that was significantly more treatable than the (very organically caused) neurological condition I had already been diagnosed with!! I wasnt joking either, if that was what he thought was wrong, I would have at least tried his 'treatment'. Interestingly, he immediately shut up shop, stopped asking any more questions and asked if there was anything else that I thought he could do for me. I said no, not really and he got rid of me!!!

He was a slime-ball, I didn't trust his motives and he wanted to talk far too much. It was great when he discharged me. The condition I have often presents with movement disorder problems - dystonia, myoclonus, spasms, tremor etc. mine is severe but is consistent with the overall symptom pattern I have. I am in the 5% of patients with what they call "cold" CRPS which is typified by severe movement disorder and extremely low rates of remission. The problem is that in the whole of the UK there are actually no true specialists in this condition and the couple of consultants who are the best we have will very, very rarely see a presentation like mine so they have no clue. Neurologists will almost never see it - the ones I saw had never treated or seen any cases of CRPS so they were hopeless.

In my job I couldn't get away with just shrugging my shoulders and saying sorry, never come across that before. Or worse, making it up as I went along hoping to fool patients who were too stupid or too deferential to challenge me. I would be expected to go and do the research to give people answers. Why is it that these extremely well paid 'professionals' don't need to bother to rectify their own ignorance in order to provide effective and informed treatment? Why should I be disadvantaged just because I have a very rare presentation of a rare condition? Don't I deserve the same level of care as someone with a common condition? It's professional laziness and an astonishing lack of interest in gathering new knowledge.

Sorry , I'm away again! Now you've got me started on this, I'm venting my spleen!!!