Finding the Right Medical Provider

[TimG]

One thing that reading on this board for many years has taught me is the importance of finding a Healthcare provider with expertise. As I've aged, I've had to seek more medical treatment for a number of things. It pays to do the work of research to find the best doctor to address your needs. This can be tricky and requires dedication and persistence. Thank you to members of this forum for providing your wisdom and experience in navigating thru the Healthcare system to find the right kind if help, not just for RLS, but for a myriad of other medical diagnoses.

[Polar Bear]

The dream of all of us is to find the right medical provider and it can be a long and difficult journey.
Every member post here is valuable because we never know what little snippet of information will be just what another member will find useful.
Shared wisdom and experience helps all of us.

[ViewsAskew]

Isn't this the truth! It's also the willingness to GET the expertise and LISTEN to the experts (including the patient). Doctors that have a holier than thou attitude? I just walk away.

[jul2873]

I used to be that my main medical problem was RLS, but then I had a small stroke (a TIA) in January, and my new Primary Care today told me that she can see on my MRI a partial blockage in my carotid artery. So I'm thinking: great. I have finally found a good Primary Care doc.

But then I asked her about RLS, and she told me that most cases of RLS are caused by low calcium. And that is honestly one I hadn't heard before. I've been dealing with this lousy disease for a good fifty years; calcium is a new one for me.

But I thought I'd come on here and ask. Can anyone blame their RLS on low calcium? And if not, what should I do? At this point I think my most dangerous medical condition is clearly a risk of stroke, and this doctor seems more alert to that than any of the other ones I've seen so far. So should I give her up and keep looking for a Primary Care who knows something about RLS? Or maybe I should try to educate her?

[Rustsmith]

My suggestion is that you should try to educate her. Hopefully, she will be receptive. Because she doesn't deal with treating RLS all the time, hopefully her memory is just a bit faulty and that she should have said iron instead of calcium.

My suggestion would be to print out a copy of this publication, highlight a short bit, such as the section that talks about iron deficiency, and then hand it to her at your next appointment and ask what she thinks. Hopefully she will be willing to learn and will ask to keep the printout so that she can study it more completely.

https://www.mayoclinicproceedings.org/a ... 0/fulltext

[jul2873]

Thanks, Steve. That is an excellent suggestion. Except I think I'll drop reading material at her office and ask her staff to give it to her. Then she'd have time to read it. I'll let you know.

[Polar Bear]

Just to say that I managed to educate a PCP and it worked brilliantly. I used the publications from this site and I also used the Clinical Management of Restless Legs Syndrome, Second Edition, (available on Amazon) which ended up covered in pencil notations and stickers. He was so willing he came onto this site. It was a sad day when he left the medical practice.

[ViewsAskew]

Just to say that I managed to educate a PCP and it worked brilliantly. I used the publications from this site and I also used the Clinical Management of Restless Legs Syndrome, Second Edition, (available on Amazon) which ended up covered in pencil notations and stickers. He was so willing he came onto this site. It was a sad day when he left the medical practice.

I educated one and he left also - so depressing!