My Dr. is short with explaining anything.

[doggie]

He placed me on patches and said I'll see you in 3 months. I lose my voice and choke, explained my issues and he did not even respond! Do many of you have Dr.s such as mine?

[maryalice]

I had the same problem with my doctor. My suggestion is that you see if you can find a Movement Disorder Specialist in your area. I found one by contacting my local Parkinson's support group and asking for a recommendation. At the very least get a new doctor. There's no reason you should be treated that way. Blessings.

[gettome in reply to maryalice]

I fully agree with you, I also found a Dr. thru PD. who was better than my original dr.

[Crbee3]

Find another Dr,

[Hidden]

I sympathise with with anyone with a lousy doctor.

Changing a doctor might be easier in the US, but here in The UK it is very difficult.

Normally, if one was going to buy a product one would do research on its durability etc etc.

One cannot do much research on a potential GP as to his abilities or his experience in certain fields.

.

[Brooke]

It is so important to be able to communcate with your Dr. and treated with respect I had the same problem,researched and found a wonderful movement

Specialist. As for the patch,I was on the Neuro patch. I started with 2 mg and went up to 8. Finally I told my Dr. This drug is so expensive and I really do not see any difference. She weaned me off of it and I feel much better. Bottm line.........you know your body better than anyone. SPEAK UP FOR YOURSELF.

[Espo]

Over the years (I am age 77) I have had a few such doctors, and I fired them all.

. "Life is too short to drink bad wine!"

[zegal]

my own doctor is quiet good although in the 3 years i have been here only seen her twice i have heard so many horror story's about doctors one poor man went to doc with pain in chest told he had a virus the man died next day with pneumonia my brothers doctor told him it was old age i wrote him letter telling what i thought and i was right its the start of Parkinson

[IamIsaid2NooneThere]

I live in the UK and as 'oldtylke' pointed out it's not easy changing doctors over here. My one is not able to grasp what I am trying to get across to him, even though I do this mainly through my wife. Sometimes it seems I'm not even in the same room. In the early days I did weekly graphs of my movements and changing conditions and kept daily reports and he thanked me and said he would file them. However, I didn't feel this improved anything in the long term. I see my doctor every 3 months (can be 4 months, too). I appreciate tne fact he has a very hard job and there's far too many patients for doctors in a populated area, but I am serously thinking of changing my doctor for a new one, despite the difficulty in doing this.

[Hikoi in reply to IamIsaid2NooneThere]

This is from the NHS site but it isn't always this easy if you live in an area with few GPs.

"If you want to change your GP, visit the GP surgery you want to join and ask them to register you as a patient.

You don’t have to tell your current GP that you want to change. However, if you do, it could speed up the process of transferring your medical records.

You don’t have to tell the new GP surgery why you want to change either.

You’ll need to fill in a registration form. A request will then be made to your current GP for your medical records to be transferred to the new GP surgery."

[wifeofparky]

We had similar issues with my husband's first neuro. Through our support group I found an excellent Movement Disorder Specialist. We were much happier after that. He explained everything in detail and if we had a problem, he called us himself.

[soup]

In the UK we have excellent Pakinson's Disease Nurse Specialists in most areas. These are trained to talk to people about their drugs and concerns in plain English.

I believe it everybody's right to change a consultant in the UK but you do have to go through your GP. The Parkinson's nurses will not tell you who is a good consultant but they might be willing to tell you who has a Parkinson's specialism.

Have a chat to other people in support groups in your area and find out what their experiences are. They may not be the most medically qualified people to tell you what you should do but they will know a thing or two about bedside manner.

The patient should be at the centre of their treatment. Have a look at this:

youtube.com/watch?v=LnDWt10...(Not working as expected?)

[Hidden]

The video that Soup sent is very good. It addresses the patient / dr. relationship and acknowledges that dr.s need to communicate and work more together with the patient. However, IMO, I believe that it is not enough. I think the medical system and healthcare is out dated, especially in treating illnesses such as Parkinson's. More and more, it is evident that the dr.s are helpless and lack more information to treat Parkinson's effectively. They are not treating the whole patient, and are not equiped to handle illnesses that need to be treated with alternative methods such as through diet and exercise. I think Parkinson's patients need a TEAM of drs. who can collaborate, listen to what the patients have to say,, and together treat the patients wholly. The patient on the other hand also needs to take responsibility for themselves, and empower themselves to heal.Yes, we know our own bodies and our own symptoms more than others We can't and shouldn't expect the dr.s to wave a magic wand and pull out that coveted prescription pad, and let them experiment with our bodies and then watch how we, the guinea pigs respond. The only people who are going to get better with this ritual is the pharmaceutical companies. In the end, if we want to get a nandle on our future outcome, we have to be responsible for our own future. The newest and latest developement is always going to be 10 years down the road before it can be applied to us....they're always going to be tested so far on lab. rats only still. NOW, is when we want relief, and NOW is when we can do something about it - and WE are the only ones who can do something.......... NOW...Go to a movement specialist, see a nutritionist, do your own research, take qi gong classes, yoga classes, get moving, eat better, detox,.. feel better..........NOW. Can you really afford to wait for the medical system to change, or waste time complaining about our drs.?? I can't.

[Brooke in reply to Hidden]

I agrree with you. We cannot just sit back and wait and do what we are told.

We know our bodies and how we feel better than anyone. If we are given a med

that doesnt work for us we need to speak up. What works for one person does

not always work for the next. Research has tried many drugs over the years,maybe

drugs are not the cure. It may be something else ......eg...food allergy,nutrition,exercise etc. Whatever we do we cannot stop fighting.

[eh110575]

I fired my Movement Disorder Researcher and Specialist Neuro doctor who also works at a major University teaching hospital for that exact reason. He did not need me or any other patients and was so arrogant.