Specialists near Vancouver, BC

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DreiTageWach
Posts: 11
Joined: Wed Sep 25, 2019 8:15 pm

Specialists near Vancouver, BC

Post by DreiTageWach »

Dear Community,

I moved to Vancouver in 2019 and unfortunately I wasn't able to find a proper family doctor here since no one seems to be taking new patients. So I've been getting my prescriptions (pramipexole and gabapentin) from walk-in clinics, but now I need to talk to someone who is actually somewhat knowledgeable about RLS because I am having problems with augmentation.

Can anyone here recommend a specialist (or even just a good GP) in BC? What I would really like to talk about in particular are iron infusions.

Many thanks!

ViewsAskew
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Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Specialists near Vancouver, BC

Post by ViewsAskew »

I hope you find someone. There is another member who is in that general area and she hasn't had any luck, yet. I think she is reticent to really push for what she needs, though, and sometimes we find that you have to be OK with more than a gentle tap.
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.

badnights
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Joined: Tue Mar 10, 2009 4:20 pm
Location: Northwest Territories, Canada

Re: Specialists near Vancouver, BC

Post by badnights »

What Ann says is true. I am sure there are people there who can help you, but finding them will be the trick. The doctor who can treat augmented WED/RLS might be a neurologist who specializes in movement disorders, a pulmonologist who got interested in sleep disorders because of the effect of breathing disorders like sleep apnea, a psychiatrist who got interested in sleep because so many psychiatric problems are associated with poor sleep, or a GP who became interested enough to learn something about it.

Once you find somebody to be your GP, you have to be able to stand up for yourself, as Ann was saying. You have to know more than the doctor, so you can show her/him what you've learned and thereby give a hint to her what she needs to study up on. And if it's a bad fit, after you've done your best, for example if the doctor insists on raising your dose of a dopamine agonist, then don't do what you know is wrong, and somehow find another doctor to try with.

At this point you have to make finding a doctor a priority in your life. Would it be possible for you to get outside the city and see if you can get a doctor in one of the outlying towns? Also, UBC has a Dept of Medicine and 11 affiliated "clinical campuses" around the province (https://www.med.ubc.ca/about/campuses/); these are teaching clinics or teaching hospitals. Some are specialized in an area that would not be useful to you but some are general; Vancouver General is one. Sometimes you have better luck with doctors at a teaching hospital. You'll have to hunt around for either a neurology, psychiatry or pulmonology department in the hospital, and a doctor who knows or is willing to learn what WED/RLS is.

You can go through withdrawal from a DA without a doctor. If it gets too bad trying to find a doctor, you might choose that route rather than let the augmentation get worse. But so much better to have a good doctor at your back.
Beth - Wishing you a restful sleep tonight
Click for info on WED/RLS AUGMENTATION & IRON
I am a volunteer moderator. My posts are not medical advice. My posts do not reflect RLS Foundation opinion.

suspar
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Mar 08, 2021 6:36 pm

Re: Specialists near Vancouver, BC

Post by suspar »

I live in Victoria BC ( a ferry ride from Vancouver),and would like to find a doctor in Victoria knowledgeable about RLS .Any ideas? Thanks.

ViewsAskew
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Posts: 16571
Joined: Thu Oct 28, 2004 6:37 am
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Specialists near Vancouver, BC

Post by ViewsAskew »

These threads - I feel so badly when I see them. SO many of us without competent doctors to see so many of us. Then, I think of moving when I retire...and honestly cannot imagine who would take care of me.

Suspar, hope you find someone.
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.

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