What does your neuro do for you that the MD doesn't? The neuro does nothing for me so why see one. And I have seen more than one. My MD gave me LDN in 2004 after a very bad attack, the neuro would not even talk to me about it. I felt like I had nothing to lose by taking it. I took avonex for several months before 04 and the side effects were so bad I had to stop, I had an MRI in November, first one in 10 years, no new leisions. I had to see a cardiologist and he insisted I see a neuro, he knows nothing about MS, I feel like I have to be my own doctor. Even with no new leisions, my walking is worse, balance worse. I'm 67, is it age or MS? I was diagnosed in 1995. I so hate this MS.

I stopped seeing my Neuro 5 or 6 years ago. My PCP takes care of all.
I see him once per year. He will be writing my scripts for LDN, since
my phone Doc retired.

Oh and it's both...age and MS are a formidable team for destruction.

Be well.

Poochie -

Even if you are not taking a DMD or other MS- specific med, MS Specialists and some neuros are amazing at what they can conjure up to keep us running and out of pain as much as possible. Mine is a Dr. Fix It.

I do agree that most of us do not need MRI's on a schedule and after the first few can be on an "as needed" bases.

Also, everything is a collaboration- you and your medical team deciding on what is best for you. You get the final vote.

Maybe some Physical Therapy for gait and balance would help now.

Good to hear from you,
ANN

my neuro is good at answering questions, and helping me figure out what else I need to do for the various things the MS does to me. He's also the first person I call when something new and really annoying happens.

He's also pretty much the only one of my doctors that I didn't lose when the ACA screwed up my insurance and took away all the doctors that I trust. (I kept my regular doctor anyways even tho he's now out-of-network for me. At least for now. My neuro likes my regular doctor, and they both talk to each other about what to do about the MS that I'm stuck with)

I went without a neuro for many years but made sure I had an excellent primary care doc. When I started Avonex, I was referred to a neuro and have had a neuro ever since, more or less.

I went from Avonex to Copaxone to no DMDs, and at that point, a couple of years ago, there seemed to be no need to report to the neuro once a year or so. I believe I'm supposed to return in a couple of years.

I'll probably do that even though there's not much reason to. Maybe there's an interest in seeing how I'm doing and keeping a record of it.

I really think it has more to do with the quality, interest, knowledge and ability of a doctor - and much less about what type of doctor they are. I have had neuros and primary care docs that were not worth the time of day. I happen to have a neuro and a PCP who are smart, experienced in MS, compassionate and they work togther with each other and me.

My biggest tip: Keep looking till you find a doctor that helps you- who cares what initials are after his/her name

boy, yours is a loaded Q for me.
i moved to st. augustine from denver and have not been particularly happy with the local neuro.

my MS is stable and i stopped the copaxone after 10 yrs.
my neuro barely does a neuro exam anymore. and, he told me he doesn't believe in MS pain (even tho i have terrible pain). after he said that i pretty much mentally gave up on him.

the MS magazine i just got has an interesting article about MS pain. they said that 75% of MS pts have pain. i decided if i became unstable, or got worse, that i would go into jacksonville to find a better neuro dr; an hr away.

i would say if you have any dr that doesn't listen or meet your needs you should look for another one that does. it sounds like you have a good pcp. mine is family practice here and refers me out to other specialists.

do what helps you the most. it's not always the dr but the care they give.

This is why I've decided to keep my now out-of-network regular doctor. Because he listens to me. He and my neuro (only doctor I got to keep in-network) are really really good at keeping in touch with each other about me. I LIKE that about the two of them. They play well together.

I'm worried that if I switch from my regular doctor to a new one, I won't get another doctor that works so well with the neuro. I don't want to have to learn a new doctor and teach him what I want out of him. I want to keep the guys I have.

I'll probably be switching my insurance later this year to something that lets me keep my regular doctor in-network. Hopefully they'll have better benefits.

Another question. If I have no new lesions, why are my legs getting weaker and it's harder to walk. I try to do some exercises but its getting harder and harder. I want to keep my heart rate up, I had a mild heart attack in December and doing what I can to prevent another. I am so tired of fighting, but I have no choice.

Lesions don't seem to have much of a connection with your symptoms. The experts don't know why this is but you can have lots of lesions in "bad" places and still have few or no symptoms, and you can have almost no lesions, or no new lesions, and have worsening symptoms.

It's possible that the leg weakness has a connection with the heart problem. I hope you're asking a doctor about the best way to exercise, just to be on the safe side. A course of physical therapy might be suggested, or have you tried that?