I Saw My Family Doctor Today
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ViewsAskew
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That is awful when that happens! Good luck with the doc. It's terrible to be awake that like.
Ann - Take what you need, leave the rest
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
Managing Your RLS
Opinions presented by Discussion Board Moderators are personal in nature and do not, in any way, represent the opinion of the RLS Foundation, and are not medical advice.
That's brutal Andy, I take Lyrica and the same thing kind of happened to me last night. It usually makes me fuzzy and tired but last night I tossed around for almost two hours feeling all jittery and awake. It's not a fun feeling. Good luck with the narcotics. I'm going to a new doctor today so we'll see if she'll be willing to prescribe them too. I hope we both find relief. Hang in there.
The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun
Thanks Ann & B.Lee. BLee, I hope your new doctor visit went well today so that you can find the relief you're seeking and deserve. Let us know how it went. I know it's kind of late today, but for many of us it's easier to go online than to think about going to bed...this sucks. It always has, and always will...Not you guys, but the disease! At least we can take consolation in the reality that we're not alone in this, and that eventually some researcher or somebody will figure out the basis for RLS and PLMS and all the stuff that goes with them, and then come up with a CURE. Doesn't that have a great ring to it! I'll be pushing 60 in 18 months, and though I'm not a religious fanatic, I'd really like to be able to sit still to read a bible...or a magazine...or ANYTHING without my legs going goofy. I know this belongs in another section of this forum, but it'd be really great to be totally aware of the person I'm in bed with (my wife, guys, my wife), and not be under the influence of this or that medication to control my legs. Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait for the day when this disease will be a thing of the past. In the meantime, I hope that this evening and night you all get a chance to sleep well. ---Andy
Andy,
Thanks so much for your well wishes but unfortunately I was slapped by my doctor with the worse case scenario. It was a nightmare. You can read about the whole visit in the "newbie" post. I feel defeated but I'm mustering positive energy and I am determined to find a good doctor. Good luck to you and thank you again.
Thanks so much for your well wishes but unfortunately I was slapped by my doctor with the worse case scenario. It was a nightmare. You can read about the whole visit in the "newbie" post. I feel defeated but I'm mustering positive energy and I am determined to find a good doctor. Good luck to you and thank you again.
The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun
Andy,
I'm not sure where in Illinois you're located but I'm in the northwest suburbs and my doctor search is leaving me drained and depressed. If you like your doctor do you think he would mind a referal from you? I'm currently considering Ann's family doctor who is an hour and a half away. At this point I'm willing to drive if the doctor is helpful and willing and not afraid of narcotics. I dont know how you'd feel about someone else here seeking treatment from him but if you would be comfy with that and think he would be ok with it I would consider giving him a call. I would love for people from Illinois who are happy with their doctors to give me recommendations so I could try them. I've contacted a family doctor and a specialist near me and have had negetive experiences with both so I'll consider anything at this point. I just thought I'd throw it out there and if you would be uncomfortable with it for any reason I completely understand and won't mention it again. Thanks Andy. I hope you're feeling well today : )
I'm not sure where in Illinois you're located but I'm in the northwest suburbs and my doctor search is leaving me drained and depressed. If you like your doctor do you think he would mind a referal from you? I'm currently considering Ann's family doctor who is an hour and a half away. At this point I'm willing to drive if the doctor is helpful and willing and not afraid of narcotics. I dont know how you'd feel about someone else here seeking treatment from him but if you would be comfy with that and think he would be ok with it I would consider giving him a call. I would love for people from Illinois who are happy with their doctors to give me recommendations so I could try them. I've contacted a family doctor and a specialist near me and have had negetive experiences with both so I'll consider anything at this point. I just thought I'd throw it out there and if you would be uncomfortable with it for any reason I completely understand and won't mention it again. Thanks Andy. I hope you're feeling well today : )
The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun
B.Lee,
My family doctor's name is Robert Czepiel, and is located in Naperville at the intersection of 95th Street and Book Road.This intersection is roughly 1 mile east of Route 59, and 5 miles south of the Westbrook Fox Valley Mall...or maybe more simply put, my doctor is located about 8 miles from the intersection of I-88 and Route 59. I have had him as my family doctor for a little more than a year, and although he has referred me to a couple of neurologists to try and help me with my sleep problems related to peripheral neuropathy and RLS/PLMS, my first meeting with him to ask him if he would be willing to help me with my condition was on September 22 of this year. After I described my complete or partial treatment failures with sleep hygiene, physical therapy, dopamine agonists, neurontin, and clonazepam, and suggested to him that maybe pain killers might help, he agreed to help me. I'm currently taking the 50mg of tramadol each night, and it seems to be working for my nightime symptoms so far. My doctor said that if a 2 week trial of tramadol didn't work, we'd try something else. I'm being very careful with what I'm asking him to do for me (as far as narcotics) since he doesn't profess to be an RLS expert. He DOES seem to be knowledgeable about primary causes of secondary RLS (deficiencies, celiac disease, neuropathy, etc.), and so he might have more knowledge about our problems than many other doctors. I'd be happy to ask him if he'd work with you, but as far as his willingness to prescribe narcotics to a new patient, I can't say for sure. If I understand it, you don't have insurance right now, and so getting reviewed by an insurance company's treatment review committee wouldn't be a factor. And did I read one of your comments here that you've not tried Requip yet, and that you'd like to try it? I don't think that a script for a non-narcotic like Requip, Mirapex or Lyrica would be a problem with him at all. If you'd like, I can ask about these things. Let me know. If you want to call my doctor's office directly, their number is 630-646-6920. There are two doctors, a nurse practioner, and a physician's assistant. You might want to talk with the N.P. first...her name is Michele Flanagan, and she's been really helpful to me when Dr. Czepiel isn't available. BTW, sorry for your local family practice doctors not working out...I've asked around for recommendations to a really special doctor, but I haven't found someone who says their doctor is out of the ordinary, or who knows about RLS...most of the people I know, except through this forum, don't have personal experience with the disease, and so haven't sought out a doctor to treat it. Well, I hope your day is going well, and that you find a good doctor soon. ---Andy
My family doctor's name is Robert Czepiel, and is located in Naperville at the intersection of 95th Street and Book Road.This intersection is roughly 1 mile east of Route 59, and 5 miles south of the Westbrook Fox Valley Mall...or maybe more simply put, my doctor is located about 8 miles from the intersection of I-88 and Route 59. I have had him as my family doctor for a little more than a year, and although he has referred me to a couple of neurologists to try and help me with my sleep problems related to peripheral neuropathy and RLS/PLMS, my first meeting with him to ask him if he would be willing to help me with my condition was on September 22 of this year. After I described my complete or partial treatment failures with sleep hygiene, physical therapy, dopamine agonists, neurontin, and clonazepam, and suggested to him that maybe pain killers might help, he agreed to help me. I'm currently taking the 50mg of tramadol each night, and it seems to be working for my nightime symptoms so far. My doctor said that if a 2 week trial of tramadol didn't work, we'd try something else. I'm being very careful with what I'm asking him to do for me (as far as narcotics) since he doesn't profess to be an RLS expert. He DOES seem to be knowledgeable about primary causes of secondary RLS (deficiencies, celiac disease, neuropathy, etc.), and so he might have more knowledge about our problems than many other doctors. I'd be happy to ask him if he'd work with you, but as far as his willingness to prescribe narcotics to a new patient, I can't say for sure. If I understand it, you don't have insurance right now, and so getting reviewed by an insurance company's treatment review committee wouldn't be a factor. And did I read one of your comments here that you've not tried Requip yet, and that you'd like to try it? I don't think that a script for a non-narcotic like Requip, Mirapex or Lyrica would be a problem with him at all. If you'd like, I can ask about these things. Let me know. If you want to call my doctor's office directly, their number is 630-646-6920. There are two doctors, a nurse practioner, and a physician's assistant. You might want to talk with the N.P. first...her name is Michele Flanagan, and she's been really helpful to me when Dr. Czepiel isn't available. BTW, sorry for your local family practice doctors not working out...I've asked around for recommendations to a really special doctor, but I haven't found someone who says their doctor is out of the ordinary, or who knows about RLS...most of the people I know, except through this forum, don't have personal experience with the disease, and so haven't sought out a doctor to treat it. Well, I hope your day is going well, and that you find a good doctor soon. ---Andy
Thanks so much for all of the info Andy!! I would definitely consider seeing your doctor as he's reasonably close to me. I am uninsured so I can't afford to see neurologists or sleep docs at this time. (They cost 200-400 bucks to walk in the door uninsured!) I'm currently taking lortab/dilaudid and Lyrica and my doctor is working on getting a sample starter kit of requip for me so that I can begin that and drop the Lyrica (hasn't been the miracle I hoped for). My doctor cannot continue treating me for very long because he's a podiatrist and shouldn't really be treating rls. So I'm not looking for a doctor who I can just walk in and demand narcotics from but I am currently being treated and that includes narcotics which are the most effective tool thus far. So, I'm looking for a regular family doc with family doc office visit prices who will allow me to maintain the treatment I'm on while working with me to try newer drugs or change things around like rls'ers usually end up needing to do. I would bring my med bottles in and all of my info and have a consultation so he could really get a feel for what's going on with me and what I've been doing and we could talk about what to do from there. If you want to mention me to him to see if he seems ok with it or cringes at another rls patient I'd sure appreciate it. It's always worth a consultation. I just can't seem to find a family doctor who will touch me without getting a million tests done by a million specialists first and I just can't afford it and the tests for the main causes of secondary rls I would think any doctor could do. I seriously doubt I have secondary rls as 3 relatives including my father have it and i've had symptoms most of my life. Maybe that's something to mention as well. Thanks a bunch Andy and we'll see what happens. In the meantime I'm still calling around so if I find a gem I will definitely let you know. fyi -I live about ten minutes west of O'hare. Have a great evening 
The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun
B.Lee,
I just talked with the receptionist at Dr. Czepiel's office, and she said that uninsured patients are welcome. The first consultation is more expensive, due to the extra time it takes, and by what, if any tests need to be done. Followup visits cost less since the relatively lengthy first consultation covers the patient's history and current problems. I asked about the cost of the original consultation, and they said it would cost $156-$300, depending on what needed to be done. I didn't ask about possible narcotics prescriptions since you could probably handle that more effectively than I could, and might want to defer that until the first visit. I don't know if the cost is within your budget, or if not knowing if he'd prescribe narcotics for you to continue your current treatment is an uncertainty that you don't want to take a chance on. I hope that whatever decision you make works out for you. If I can help in any way, let me know. If you want to e-mail me, feel free. ---Andy
I just talked with the receptionist at Dr. Czepiel's office, and she said that uninsured patients are welcome. The first consultation is more expensive, due to the extra time it takes, and by what, if any tests need to be done. Followup visits cost less since the relatively lengthy first consultation covers the patient's history and current problems. I asked about the cost of the original consultation, and they said it would cost $156-$300, depending on what needed to be done. I didn't ask about possible narcotics prescriptions since you could probably handle that more effectively than I could, and might want to defer that until the first visit. I don't know if the cost is within your budget, or if not knowing if he'd prescribe narcotics for you to continue your current treatment is an uncertainty that you don't want to take a chance on. I hope that whatever decision you make works out for you. If I can help in any way, let me know. If you want to e-mail me, feel free. ---Andy
You're a sweetheart for looking into it Andy. Thank you so much. Did you happen to mention to the receptionist or anyone that it was an RLS issue? If not - no sweat. I'm just wondering as some doctors seem to be freaked out by rls. It sounds good and I will consider giving them a call. Thanks again. I really appreciate it.
The light of a good character surpasseth the light of the sun