Actual Transcript Of An Appointment With A Neurologist

I've come to realize that no doctor on the planet will ever come close to being as amazing as my family doctor. So much so that this morning I wrote and mailed a card to her office thanking her for being such a kind, compassionate, open-minded and friendly doctor. I'm unlikely to ever come across a doctor like her again, as evidenced by this 'specialist' that I saw yesterday (a neurologist who specializes in migraines specifically).

Why is it that the more expertise you have in the medical field, the more arrogant and unbelievably rude you are? I'd classify this guy as socially inept - he had no people skills to speak of, let alone ones that would qualify him for dispensing medical advice, and he was incredibly dismissive and rude. He actively sighed and scoffed while I spoke and had zero interest in my case, and hadn't even GLANCED at the referral notes on his desk when I walked in.

People wonder why more and more patients are looking to Ayurvedic or alternative therapies for their afflictions - it's because those practioners profess to actually CARE why you're there and examine your life as a whole, trying to get to the root of the cause, instead of just dispensing medication the way traditional doctors do (as evidenced below, it's often without any sort of guidance or explanation - scary).

Here's a transcript (to memory) of my appointment with the doctor yesterday. His rating on www.ratemds.com is 2.7/5, but I doubt he even deserves that. The positive reviews for him on that site have clearly been planted there by him or his staff.

Also please note that the elapsed time of the appointment was about five minutes.

Appointment time: 4:30pm ET
Call time: 5:30pm ET

Time: 5:30pm ET

Doctor: So what’s up?

Me: Well, I’m assuming you have some notes from my family doctor. I’ve had migraines for 7 years, about once a month, but in the past few months they’ve been more frequent. In May I had what my doctor thinks was a stroke, or ‘transient ischemic attack’. And now with my migraines I have new and unusual symptoms that are scary…

Doctor: …like?

Me: Well, aura, for one. And with vomiting, fainting, visual disturbances like hallucinations, flickering, blurred or loss of vision, phantom smells, numbness…

Doctor: where?

Me: In my face and hands.

Doctor: Well that’s pretty common. It’s a sign of classic migraine. [sighs] So what do you want me to do about it?

Me: Um, I don’t know…my doctor referred me to you since you’re a migraine specialist. Shouldn’t YOU be telling ME what I should do next?

[doctor grabs a blood pressure cuff, puts it on my arm, goes to look for stethoscope, doesn’t find it, removes the cuff without having taken my blood pressure and sits down]

Doctor: Well, a lot of times migraines are actually caused by a tiny hole in the heart. The condition is called patent foramen ovale. If you take [drug name] or have this surgical procedure done, there’s a good chance it’ll stop the migraines. We’re doing a trial right now if you’re interested.

Me: Heart surgery?? Don’t you have to confirm a diagnosis first?

Doctor: [change of subject] Which drugs are you taking now?

Me: I’ve been taking beta blockers for a week now, and Maxalt when I get a migraine.

Doctor: Are the beta blockers working?

Me: Well I’ve only been taking the drugs for five days. I doubt they’d be working by now.

Doctor [mumbling/rambling]: Maxalt is part of the triptan family. Their function is attributed to their binding to serotonin receptors in cranial blood vessels and subsequent inhibition of pro-inflammatory neuropeptide release. Anything else?

Me: Well I’ve also started acupunc—

Doctor: Doesn’t work. [starts writing prescription]

Me: Well I just started it.

Doctor: It's pointless. I want you to keep a headache diary [hands a printed calendar to me].

Me: I already keep a diary.

Doctor: What kind?

Me: food, migraine and menstrual cyc—

Doctor: [scoffs]

Me: …anyway. Yes.

Doctor: We should locate your triggers.

Me: With all due respect I’ve had migraines for almost a decade. I know my triggers by now and I certainly know how to keep a diary.

Doctor: Sometimes when you take an anti-inflammatory with your prescription it works better. Try it out and if it gets worse, call me for a followup. [hands me an illegible prescription]

Me: Are you going to tell me what this prescription is for?

Doctor: They’ll tell you at the pharmacy. [stands up, leaves and walks in to see next patient]

Time: 5:35pm ET