Re: [TMIC] New Neurologist

[JHarper33]

In a message dated 6/27/2006 11:40:44 PM Eastern Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: I do/did wonder why some doctors have their patients have yearly mri's or wonder maybe why some patients are able to have access to yearly mri's.   I think a lot has to do with the way individual neuros think. When I was first diagnosed with TM, either the Avonex type drugs weren't being used for MS yet or at least not widely. When I asked about having a follow-up MRI done, my neuro said it wouldn't really be needed since my symptoms weren't worsening and any results from the MRI wouldn't change how we were treating it (which, again, wouldn't be the case these days, because they could start the Avonex drugs to try to prevent another attack). He had had a patient who felt she had MS and kept pushing for that diagnosis, and he did a follow-up MRI which showed that she did indeed have MS. But when she changed her diagnosis, her insurance dropped her. She called him again begging for him to change the diagnosis back, but of course he couldn't do that. So with that background experience, he was reluctant to give patients an MS diagnosis unless it was just unavoidable, and that rendered follow-up MRIs as unnecessary in his mind unless the patient was having worsening symptoms. We've moved, so I don't see him any more, but he might have changed his stance since there are drugs to help with MS. And I don't know if insurance companies would still do that.   Barbara H.