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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 21 of 21. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by Dinah on October 21, 2003, at 10:45:48
I'm nervous about the headache specialist tomorrow. I'm afraid I'm not "sick" enough to merit a specialist. I'm afraid they'll think I'm a hypochondriac. I'm afraid they'll tell me to lose weight and have a more regular sleep cycle and go away.
They're going to do a complete workup, including a psychophysiologist. I guess I'd better tell my therapist. I'm afraid of what they'll think, what they'll want to know, that they might want to be able to talk to my therapist. There are things about me that my therapist knows, and that may even have something to do with headaches, that I don't want to be on my record and that I don't want these people to know. I don't want a letter from my insurance company like the one I got about diabetes. :(
Oh well, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. All I probably need to worry about tomorrow is that they won't consider that I need a specialist and that I will feel like a big idiot.
Posted by fallsfall on October 21, 2003, at 10:59:49
In reply to I'm nervous, posted by Dinah on October 21, 2003, at 10:45:48
If you don't need a specialist, then your internist wouldn't have referred you to one.
If, by any chance, you don't belong there, then it is the internist who should be embarrassed, not you.
Posted by justyourlaugh on October 21, 2003, at 11:06:18
In reply to I'm nervous, posted by Dinah on October 21, 2003, at 10:45:48
dinah,,
feel good about taking care of "you"
get it done,
mabe you"ll get some sugar pills!mmmm sugar..
:)
j
Posted by Susan J on October 21, 2003, at 11:13:05
In reply to I'm nervous, posted by Dinah on October 21, 2003, at 10:45:48
Hi, Dinah,
> I'm nervous about the headache specialist tomorrow. I'm afraid I'm not "sick" enough to merit a specialist. I'm afraid they'll think I'm a hypochondriac. I'm afraid they'll tell me to lose weight and have a more regular sleep cycle and go away.
<<I agree with Fallsfall. They wouldn't have referred you to a specialist if it weren't warranted. And it's better to have a condition ruled out by a specialist who deals with this stuff every day than an internist who's just not quite sure....
>There are things about me that my therapist knows, and that may even have something to do with headaches, that I don't want to be on my record and that I don't want these people to know. I don't want a letter from my insurance company like the one I got about diabetes. :(
<<What'd the insurance company say about diabetes? Don't tell me they're not covering it? :-(> Oh well, I guess I'm getting ahead of myself. All I probably need to worry about tomorrow is that they won't consider that I need a specialist and that I will feel like a big idiot.
<<It's normal to be nervous about seeing a new doc or for a new condition. Hang in there. Please don't feel like an idiot. Nobody knows your health better than you! And if seeing a specialist at the minimum puts you a little more at east about your own health, then it was *entirely* worth it!All I know is I rarely get sick with colds/flu/and stuff. One year, I had a low-grade cold that just wouldn't go away for over a month! I kept begging my doc for an antibiotic, but they said since I had no fever and no green mucous (sorry!), that I didn't have a bacterial infection and didn't need antibiotics. I finally got another doc to give me antibiotics, and whaddaya know? Symptoms gone in 3 days!
Dinah, really, *you* know yourself the best and you are entitled to the very best health care there is. Period. :-)
I'll be thinking of ya....
Susan
Posted by NikkiT2 on October 21, 2003, at 13:54:14
In reply to I'm nervous, posted by Dinah on October 21, 2003, at 10:45:48
Good like Dinah..
I understand your feelings that you don't think you're sick enough for this appointment.. but, its somuch better to be safe than sorry isn't hun..
Sending you strength
Nikki x
Posted by deirdrehbrt on October 21, 2003, at 21:22:28
In reply to Re: I'm nervous » Dinah, posted by NikkiT2 on October 21, 2003, at 13:54:14
Dinah,
I can only echo what everyone else has been saying here. If your primary care physician could have handled your headaches adequately, then you wouldn't have been referred. You need the help of a specialist, and you shouldn't feel guilty.
I wish you luck with the new doc.
Dee.
Posted by Emme on October 21, 2003, at 22:11:16
In reply to I'm nervous, posted by Dinah on October 21, 2003, at 10:45:48
Hey, it's your right to be thorough and cover all the bases. You're the one suffering. The other posters are right - your primary care physician sent you because he/she thought it was warranted. I don't think they'll think you are a hypochondriac. You're just someone with a thorough,cautious physician.
I was once seen by my internist and she sent me straight to a dermatologist who sqeezed me in on 10 minutes notice because we thought I was getting a rash from Lamictal. The dermatologist took one look at me and said "It's a sunburn!" :) But she was quite nice about it. (this was before I actually did get rashes from Lamictal.)
Okay, not nearly the same magnitude as what you are going through. But all you need to think about tomorrow is that you have a legitimate problem and deserve their best expertise.
Good luck. I hope all goes well.
Emme
Posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 7:09:27
In reply to Re: I'm nervous » Dinah, posted by Emme on October 21, 2003, at 22:11:16
Thanks for your good wishes guys. At least I don't have long to be nervous.
The problem is that I'm largely self referring myself there. I asked my internist for a referral and she obliged, thinking it was a good idea bwcause i hate meds (since most migraine medications have psych implications) and this place offers both medication and other types of treatment (biofeedback, lifestyle assessment). So I don't know how much my internist felt she needed additional input, because it was my idea.
And wish me extra good luck, because I had my first OCD related panic attack in a long time last night due to some legitimate real life events and my OCD fears arising from them. I got the panic under control but woke up at 4 this morning and couldn't get back to sleep till just a while ago. So now I'm having Immodium for breakfast with a swig of Pepto and my head hurts as well. :(
Oh well, so they're going to see me at my most neurotic. Perhaps just as well.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Posted by Penny on October 22, 2003, at 8:18:42
In reply to Re: I'm nervous » Emme, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 7:09:27
deep breaths...
it will be okay...
I can nearly guarantee that you aren't the first person who has referred yourself so-to-speak to the headache docs. Hey - I asked my gp for referrals to the headache clinic (which she gave me) and to the sleep clinic (which she gave me). Ended up not going to the headache clinic b/c my headaches went away (though I had one last night!), but had my sleep study only to find out that I *don't* have a *real* sleep disorder. Joy.
Anyway, if headaches are a problem for you, and it sounds like they are, then that's all that you need to qualify. If they are interfering with your quality of life, and it sounds like they are, then it behooves you to see what the headache doc has to say.
And won't it be fantastic if the treatment that doc recommends ends up helping with some of your other problems (for example, if you end up doing biofeedback - that can be helpful for IBS and other things as well).
This is an opportunity for you, Dinah.
And even though you asked your internist for the referral, she wouldn't have given it to you if she didn't think you could benefit from it.
Good luck at your appointment.
P
Posted by judy1 on October 22, 2003, at 10:11:19
In reply to I'm nervous, posted by Dinah on October 21, 2003, at 10:45:48
Posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
In reply to How did your appt. go? (nm) » Dinah, posted by judy1 on October 22, 2003, at 10:11:19
Got prescription for some triptan, told not to take the barbiturate prescribed by my internist, and approved for biofeedback. Oh, and I'm doubling my Depakote to see if that reduces frequency.
No one laughed. My neurology exam went fine. I apparently have a sensitive nervous system (could've told them that myself), because of some response to a reflex test with my middle finger. And apparently some pulse in my right eye is really really visible. But all that's ok and nothing to worry about. "Just" migraines with aura (and sometimes without).
I think I'm in good hands here. I go back in two months. I sure hope I can remember to keep the headache diary. I can start today. The light they shone in my eye gave me a headache. :)
Posted by Susan J on October 22, 2003, at 13:01:38
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
Glad your appointment went so well!
I don't know much about feedback, but I have 2 friends with migranes who've done it and they say it really helps!
Susan
Posted by Nansun58 on October 22, 2003, at 13:18:33
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
Just stoped by to say Ithink it's great that your appointment went so well.
Posted by oeps7 on October 22, 2003, at 13:23:04
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Nansun58 on October 22, 2003, at 13:18:33
^ ^
( (
<>
<>
glad things went well.
Mary
Posted by NikkiT2 on October 22, 2003, at 14:05:12
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
I'm so pleased it went well..
Keep us updated with it all
Nikki x
Posted by Emme on October 22, 2003, at 14:16:12
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
Posted by fallsfall on October 22, 2003, at 16:13:50
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
Well, I always knew you were sensitive (but I didn't know you were nervous...).
I'm glad you went, and they didn't throw you out, and they had some suggestions for you. Sounds really good.
Posted by Penny on October 23, 2003, at 9:26:41
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
How are you feeling today? I'm so glad the visit went well.
P
Posted by Dinah on October 23, 2003, at 10:28:33
In reply to Re: Went great!! » Dinah, posted by Penny on October 23, 2003, at 9:26:41
I've had a mild headache and nausea since they shined the light in my eye. As a headache clinic they aim to please. :))
But not bad enough to bother medicating, other than some Pepto. The extra depakote doesn't seem to have bothered me.
Posted by Dinah on October 23, 2003, at 10:29:20
In reply to Re: Actually, posted by Dinah on October 23, 2003, at 10:28:33
Posted by Liligoth on October 26, 2003, at 21:19:14
In reply to Re: Went great!!, posted by Dinah on October 22, 2003, at 12:57:47
have you tried nortriptyline for your headaches? it's a tricyclic antidepressant with very low side effects & has completely cured my headaches. Someone else mentioned it on the med board too last week.
This is the end of the thread.
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