Something that might be useful when picking a doctor

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Aiken
Posts: 880
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2005 6:53 am

Something that might be useful when picking a doctor

Post by Aiken »

I saw my sleep medicine doctor today to get some neurontin to use while I take a drug holiday. I've decided I like him a lot and I usually take the opportunity just to chat with him about various aspects of RLS, even if they're not quite germane.

One of the things I asked him today was why I seemed to see more people saying they had had bad experiences with neurologists than with sleep doctors. He had a pretty quick answer: Neurologists tend to deal with a lot more people seeking worker's compensation/disability for things like fibromyalgia, which obviously will expose them to a certain number of people faking difficult-to-diagnose diseases in hopes of a free ride. Thus, they may become jaded and cynical. Sleep doctors are usually just dealing with people who want nothing more than to sleep. Thus, they're less likely to look at you sideways when you approach them with something that's hard to quantify or verify.

I'm sure there are plenty of excellent neurologists and some crappy sleep medicine guys, but I still thought it was a good enough tidbit to pass on.

ksxroads
Posts: 645
Joined: Tue Aug 02, 2005 8:19 pm
Location: Kansas

Post by ksxroads »

Agreeable, I believe that some of our problems with finding appropriate diagnosis, treatment and drs is due to the fact of their unfavorable experiences with other patients. It is a good thing to have this wonderful group, so we ourselves do not become jaded and cynical in our search for proper treatment! Thanks for sharing, Hazel
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