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Old 09-04-2006, 12:37 PM
sahuaro sahuaro is offline
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Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 455
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This whole spine thing has been an incredible experience with the medical community here but I will limit this to my latest encounter with a neurologist. First, as to staff: I arrived carrying all of my MRI films, which are heavy and bulky; the receptionist demands that I write the check for my co-pay before she offers to take the MRI's. Oh well, it's always good to see the doc when you're in pain...Then I received a bill for the entire visit and when I called the billing office, they had no record of my having insurance nor of my co-payment. All of this could be laughed off in retrospect except the neurologist was (another) disaster. He walked in having read the notes from the 3 other neurologists in his practice I've seen (and no, I did not give authorization to release the records) and before I had a chance to state my "presenting complaint," said, "No good surgeon will touch you." The records he had are out-dated--there have been further developments--and I did not have a chance to tell him about the NS in town who wants to do a fusion nor of my consults with Dr. Yue and Dr. Bertagnoli. When I told him I can't look up at the ceiling, his response was, "You can live without looking at the ceiling." He insisted that my tingling was carpal tunnel--despite the fact that my ortho surgeon who is a shoulder/elbow/hand specialist has ruled it out several times now. Without doing the necessary tests, he told me I don't have thoracic outlet syndrome, despite the ortho's having diagnosed that. He did confirm that I have left triceps weakness and did order an MRI. He did do a nerve conduction test but no EMG--and despite the nerve conduction test's being normal, prescribed a wrist brace for my "carpal tunnel."
When the MRI came back with "no change" (but still showing cervical problems) he called to say I didn't need to come back for a follow-up.
I just had an EMG done (by another doc in this practice) which definitely shows cervical radiculopathy. As far as I'm concerned, it's time to go to LA for a decent neuro exam.
The silver lining is that I am so much more sensitive to my own patients' complaints about their treatment by docs and their staff.
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2001 MVA; C5-C6 disk extruded
ongoing physical therapy, exercise and massage
ESI's, oral prednisone, trigger point injections
foraminal and central stenosis C5/C6 and c6/C7
2007 EMG/nerve conduction shows pattern of chronic radiculopathy
January, 2008: Prestige ST Artificial Disk Replacement, C5/6
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