Neurology Appointment Review
My appointment went really well and I’m really glad that I was able to see a neurologist that had seen me before back in MD. My new neurologist was a grad student of my former neurologist and getting to see a familiar face is comforting. She was really happy to hear that I had been able to continue taking the tecfidera over the past year and I feel really lucky that both my former neurologist and the PCP that I had found in Seattle were both willing to get me the prescription until my new neurologist could take over. She told me how the MS Center at UW differed from the Neurology Clinic at Johns Hopkins and how they were able to do a lot more things in house at the Center where Hopkins had to write more referrals to other kinds of providers.
One of the things we spent a lot of time talking about at the appointment was my balance and depression. Over the past several months I’ve been feeling unsteady on my feet and using my cane more. Thankfully I haven’t had a fall yet, but I’ve come close a few times. I told her about how I’ve skipped running errands on days where I have felt unsteady, so my neurologist took care of all the paperwork for me to get a disabled parking placard. It was her suggestion not my request, I told her I wouldn’t really have thought of asking for that because I don’t need it all the time. But if I’m going to take some of my own advice that I give out, it’s better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. I also had to tell her about why I just quit my full time job and she suggested an appointment with their vocational therapist. After a bit more discussion and explaining that it was more to do with issues of private insurance she suggested speaking with a social worker.
There’s a lot of testing to catch up on. They were able to do blood work there at the appointment so that’s one less appointment to make and get to. I’ve got to get an MRI scheduled, which thankfully I can get done where I’m at and I don’t have to drive up to Seattle again to get it done. They’ve also scheduled me for cognitive testing which is going to mean another trip up to Seattle and I was warned it takes 2-4 hours. They also scheduled me for a phone appointment with a neuro-psychologist and that’s going to happen this Friday. She also wants me to see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible and I’ve got to upload some paperwork from my last ophthalmology appointment. So, I got to cross one big thing off of my to-do list by getting in to see the neurologist but a whole lot of little tasks have gotten added to my list.
The MS Center at UW also provides educational services through Zoom and there are actually some classes/discussions that I’m interested in checking out. There are also a bunch of research opportunities for me to check out and see if I want to participate. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to join many of the research studies because I’m not living nearby anymore but hopefully there’s at least one or two that I can join. I really like being able to contribute to science, especially if it is going to help other people.
