F*ck you, too

[Eisa]

I don't think I ever wrote about my ill-fated neurology appointments on here, and a recent thread reminded me of him. Unfortunately.

All right, a bit of background. I've had constant, nonstop headaches since about 11. Basically, I have a headache all day, every day. Intensity varies [and sometimes it truly is barely there], but I honestly cannot remember the last time I didn't have a headache.

My parents got me glasses [I'm nearsighted and have astigmatism], fixed my teeth [had an overbite--also have TMJ], etc. These things...helped. But didn't get rid of them at all. I saw a p/t for neck exercises...nothing.

Finally, my doctor referred me to a neurologist when I was 16. As far as I can remember, he wasn't all that bad at first. The problem was how he kept putting me on medications. I think I was on like over 10 medications in a year. Everything from amitriptylene to some kind of heart medication or something. Just throwing drugs at me in an attempt to see if anything worked, but I was never on one drug long enough to ACTUALLY see if it worked. And every time I went there, it seemed I got a new drug and went through the same damn reflex/neurology tests.

Then he wanted me to get an MRI. To get the money for this, my dad had to sell his Westie. To his credit, he has never held that over my head, and he could have. But even without that, I felt REALLY guilty. I still feel guilty, to be honest.

Well...the MRI didn't show anything unusual.

And at that point, he basically told me to my face that he thought I was faking and I might as well not bother coming back if the last drug didn't work.

Thanks for nothing, asshole.

[SilverOrb]

I actually went though something very similar to what you did. Not the amount of meds, but the constant headaches. Eventually (after the 415,000th test) a bargain eyeglass doctor found out that I am VERY light sensitive :| Have you been looked at for that?

[Sapphire Silk]

Doctors don't like to admit it when they don't know what's wrong with people. We're still learning a lot about what causes migraines and how to treat them effectively. He probably got frustrated when he tried all the standard treatments and nothing worked.

That's no excuse to accuse you of faking it.

While people do fake medical problems, the question you have to ask is, what are they seeking to gain by doing so? Usually the answer is access to narcotics (which are the WORST thing you can take for migraines btw), or sympathy from family and friends. But you need more than a difficult treatment course to use the diagnosis of malingering (as one ER doc explained it to me, "The patient doesn't have to prove he is sick. I have to prove he is well.")

Have you ever taken the 'triptans? (Imitrex, Zomig, Relpax and some others)? They are effective at stopping an attack, but create some risks of cardiovascular problems
and are not meant to be taken long term.

Amitryptaline is an anti-depressant that is actually quite effective at controlling chronic pain, usually at a lower dose than is used for depression.

Anytime I speak to my doctor about medications, I ask questions. Why did you choose this particular medication? Is it the best choice for my problem? How long should it take for me to see results? If I don't see results, what is the next step?

The patient needs to play a role in the conversation too, but all too often either comes in with misinformation from unreliable websites, or comes in expecting the doctor to have all the answers.

But medicine is so complicated today, that no doctor has all the answers.

The neuro tests were actually pretty standard for setting a baseline, but with no change in symptoms I don't know that they were necessary on each visit. My neurologist did them on my first visit for treatment of my migraines, and never did them again. Yours probably did them so he'd have something to bill for (doctors don't get reimbursed for actually TALKING to their patients).

Getting the MRI was important and I'm glad you had it done. At least know he's ruled out tumors or other physical problems.

Migraines won't show up on an MRI. They DO show up on a PET scan IF you get to the scanner while having an attack. This seldom happens.