No one should be subjected to being treated as you have been under any circumstances. I say "ditto" to all the prior responses you have received.
Find someone else for sure.

About the age of docs......... some of the "old" ones turn out to be the BEST ones but that certainly was not the case for you. Try checking out the age of the doc before you go in Vitals or Healthgrades or something like that online. You can also check out the "patient satisfaction" reviews by patients that have seen the doctor.

The youngest doc I had ever seen turned out to be the one I had the most contention with after a few years. He finally got smart with me when I disagreed with him and he very sarcastically asked me "How many years had I spent in medical school?" My response was "As many years as you have lived in my body." And that I knew my body at lot better than he did. That was my LAST visit with him.

Find a doctor that will listen.

I give docs a bit of slack as they do see a lot of people that are not what they portray for various reasons, and they carry that with him and tend to have that color their opinions to other patients. Make it clear that you need to be HEARD.

When I was younger, I would have never stood up to a doctor. Now that I have aged considerably, (smile)........ I DO stand up to them and say, WAIT, just one minute, did you HEAR what I said? Do not just move on, walk off, throw pills at me, etc. We are a TEAM and if you are not willing to be my team member, and help me, then I will find another team member. I put my life, health, and well-being in the hands of my doctors and I have come to believe that I DESERVE respect, and help and will not tolerate less.

Wow, that made me sound brave........ no, some times I too get the rush treatment and no answers and all the stuff we have all encountered. Even by some docs that I dearly love and respect. They are usually just having a bad day or very back-logged and I let it go for THAT visit but if it continues, I speak up.

I wish you luck with finding someone and soon. I am so sorry you are suffering.

No matter what YOUR age or the age of the DOC,...... you DESERVE to be treated with respect.

I am so so sorry you were subjected to such treatment by a physician. Yes, get your records. I was amazed at how much erroneous info gets written in a medical record.

BEST RESPONSE EVER!

In yo face doctor man! booyah!



ohhh you checked that man and that's great!

My pre-ms days I wouldn't let anyone talk to me this way.. but nowadays I get intimidated and scared and I coward down.. and that's lame.. definitely need to start bringin someone as a support system so I won't.. they'll help me stand up for myself.

I am usually a very meek mild mannered person but I had enough and he really pushed my buttons. Illness has done the exact opposite to me as it has to you. I have become very different personality-wise. I am now short tempered, easily irritated, and no longer avoid confrontation.

Since you get intimidated, which I did when I was younger, I would definitely bring someone with you.... that way THEY can be the "bad" guy to speak up and it will not be held against you.

You really deserve to be treated much much better. I really do hope you can find someone and soon. You need to be heard and helped.

Ayna, just realized your from IL. Im originally from IL, have you tried Northwestern Medical Clinic, Ken and Ruth Davee Dept of Neurology?
Right there in Chicago. Not sure how close to Chi town you live. But its an excellent center. Gather your records and make and apt. Or google and see if there is a close MS clinic near where your part of IL is.
Practice Number: (312) 695-7950, its attached to the school of medicine so you know they are up to date. Hope this can help you, even if its just alittle. No one did this for me when I was getting dx, so I want to give you all the ideas I can to help you along this difficult road. Hugs all around, we're here for you

"Can they change stuff before it is sent to me?"

That would be falsifying medical records which (at least in Canada) is
against the law.
It is unlikely that they would do that, as they often don't know that you have requested the records. Processing that sort of thing goes through the office staff and some medical offices have a deisgnated medical records person to take care of copying records.

With love, Erika

I would call the Chicago office of the Nat'l MS society; they have a caseworker who can guide you through the maze of finding a neuro who will take patients with no insurance.
i wouldn't think you'd need a referral since you don't have insurance co. paying your bills...
I see Daniel Wynn of Consultants in Neurology in Northbrook. Not sure if he takes patients w/o insurance...

Definitely take someone with you next time. You need an advocate, no matter how wonderful the doc is. It's also always good to have a second set of ears to catch what we don't

Keep us up to date, and don't give up. I am convict-avoidance also...so I don't always get my questions answered. But I'm getting bi%$hier as I get older

Medical records won't be altered and like Erika said they likely won't even know you requested it.

I'm not sure but it might not be so easy for someone without insurance to get in to a specialist for something that is as chronic in nature as MS.

You are not being "lame" nor a "coward". It is very difficult to stand up to docs sometimes. I have kept silent out of respect in younger years and still do sometimes but respect is a two way street. Docs need to respect their patient as well as get respect from them.

According to "The Patient's Bill of Rights", you deserve respect. It is very sad that patients sometimes have to "demand" it.

Don't ever take upon yourself any disrespect from someone just because they have an M.D. behind their name. I am not advocating that YOU become disrespectful, just that you not tolerate being disrespected.

You are NOT lame and NOT a coward. You are a victim of a sad excuse for a doctor.

If it's all in your head, then why is he forcing Copaxone on you?
Whether you want to take anything that nutzy Neuro wants you
to take, is your choice. With Copaxone, you won't know if it's
helping you or not, for up to the 1st year anyway,so you could
wait to see what your new Neuro recommends?

Tami (boyfriend's mom) pointed that out immediately. She said 'well if your ms isn't bad and this is all in your head, why would you ever force someone to get on a disease modifying drug?!'

I was thinking that I should have pointed that out.

I asked if the lesions in my parietal lobe could be causing these crazy spells.. he said you don't have lesions in your parietal lobe.. see your getting this crap off the internet.

My MRI that I posted on here even talks about active demyelination in the parietal lobe.. so is the doctor that reads MRI's crazy too?

What concerns me most is.. he supposedly was a board member for the national ms society. I don't know what happened as to why hes not on the board anymore... but I am afraid that he has done counterproductivity for my case with disability.

He was also very touchy feely and I am not okay with that stuff. You're not my lover so don't rub my arms and hands and back. Everytime he would touch me I would pull myself away and made sure there was a look of complete disgust on my face.

I live in Springfield, Debbie, but I am still going to contact the Northwestern Clinic in Chicago to see if I can see someone there. If not, the psychologist recommended that I go to st. louis as he has two friends with ms that go there and get proper care. I think that man wrote in my favor.. he was slightly cold and rude at first, but after I started explaining how life is nowadays he seemed to do a 180 and was kind and compassionate.

I pray so hard that they have decided in my favor.. I'd be able to have health coverage and not have to go to that dirty nasty clinic ever again.

I hope and pray even harder that these episodes will stop so I can return to work. I miss my job and co-workers so much. I bumped into the owners the other day.. they told me if and when I am ready to give them a call and I will be on the schedule the next day. I am so fortunate to work for people that understand my situation, willing to accomodate my needs, and hold my job for the chance of recovering well enough to go back to work. they are such wonderful people.

side note: i am also super lucky to have the support system that I do.. I was hanging with my best friend the other day.. pulled out her birthday cake from the fridge.. started to have one of those crazy episodes.. next thing I know, I am on her floor, covered in her birthday cake. I was so upset for ruining her cake.. she was upset that I fell and didn't even care about the cake.. We had a good laugh tho..