if you live in the Orange County CaLIFORNIA AREA,
I would love to know if one of you great Parkies would volunteer the name of your neurologists'...
thank you!

assuning you have PD, theh majority come up hhere to L.A. county. I go to UCLA's movement disorder clinic. Dr. Jeff Bronstein. Jeff is the BEST! He is always there for me.
Dr. Mark Lew at the clinic at USC is excellent also.
This is not to say there are no good docs in OC, there are. you can look at the NPF "Find a doc" at the National Parkinsons Foundation website.
The hard part about choosing is there are so many to choose from!!!!

Charlie

Ok... here you go. I understand that everyone has their favorite style of doctor. So, I can only offer this list based upon my personal experience. I've put them in order of preference.

Neal Hermanowicz, MD - UC Irvine - Very highly regarded and a specialist in movement disorders. Probably the top choice in Orange County. Very nice man, spends plenty of time with you and can think outside the box. Biggest drawback is that he works at UCI which means it takes months to get an appointment and extremely difficult to contact. One big, huge switchboard over there or you can communicate through their website.

Dr. Janet M Chance, MD - Hoag Hospital, Newport Beach - Very highly regarded in general. Nice little old lady who likes a cup of tea and will always be extremely late for your appointment. Knows her stuff but not a forward thinker. She'll hit you with all of the accepted treatments but, will not even discuss anything remotely outside the box. Pretty set in her ways but really specializes in movement disorders and should be considered for a visit.

Daniel D. Truong, M.D.- Part of the Parkinson's and Movement Disorder Institute in Fountain Valley. If you speak Vietnamese, this might be a good choice as he can be very difficult to understand. If not, bring an interpreter. Good doctor, thinking way outside the box. However, very egocentric and into being "published." The walls of the waiting room pretty much tell the story. He is always right and all other doctors are wrong kind of guy. Will spend quite a bit of time with you and seems to know his stuff. Also really into conducting clinical trials.

M. Mike Kreidie, M.D., F.A.A.N. - in Mission Viejo - very nice man who really spends some time and tries hard. Small office with alot of person care. Doesn't really specialize in movement disorders. Would be ok to keep the prescriptions flowing and to treat in a general manner.

Steenblock, David MD - Steenblock David MD - offices all over south Orange County but seems to now be located in Mission Viejo. This guy is on quack alert.( not kidding... this guy has had his license yanked before) Refers people to stem cell clinics. Very into experimenting??? Will write you a script for almost anything. If you like a good game of Russian Roulette... this is your guy. Love him or hate him. He's pretty far out of the box. But, sometimes that's exactly what you need and he's the guy. Watch out for his testing. He will send you for thousands of dollars of tests and could really **** off your insurance company. On the other hand, he gathers information that no one else even thinks to gather. If what you're doing isn't working... you might want to visit this guy just be aware that you are really entering the world of experimental medicine.

Postigo, Pedro J MD - one of the cruelest people I have ever met. He was the doctor who first diagnosed my PD by giving me carbo-levo on my first visit. On second visit, asked how the meds did. When I responded that they helped, he stood up, said "you have Parkinsons, go out and buy a cane" and walked out the door telling me to make another appointment. Left me sitting there with the wind knocked out of me. May God judge him appropriately.

Thank you dear Charlie and dear MadameLash!
I so appreciate your time to help me!
merci!

I would go with Neal Hermanowiz at UC Irvine. He is the best!


Charlie

all are very kind here, gave me a temporary benefits id card
called - cal-optima? they said that is what medi-cal is called in orange county...
thank youall!

a photo of the beautiful surf... I live so close...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/soloflight/4860034607/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/soloflight/4860034607/

I'm digging up an older thread..... We are in Costa Mesa -- just want to say our first neuro was Michael Mahdad, who I felt did not do much for us...at all... except confirm initial diagnosis. We are NOW paying out of pocket for Dr Chance - and I REALLY like her; she is pretty hands on. Will continue to see her even at the extra cost and she is working nicely with Dad's GP. I have also heard good things at PD support groups about Hermanowitz....

Do any of you go to the Irvine or Huntington Beach support groups?