RLS specialist in the Seattle area

[sleepless-in-seattle]

Does anyone out there know of an RLS specialist in the Seattle area? I've been seeing Dr. Mark Buchfuhrer in Downey, CA for the past several years and am very satisfied with him. But I would like to find someone closer to home so I don't have to get on an airplane during this pandemic.

[SueJohnson]

Have you asked Dr. Buchfuhrer?

[sleepless-in-seattle in reply to SueJohnson]

Yes I did and unfortunately he doesn't know of anyone in the Pacific Northwest that is a specialist in RLS.

[LanaCSR]

I thought he does virtual visits after the first in-person one? Would that be an option for you?

[sleepless-in-seattle in reply to LanaCSR]

I've done virtual visits with him in the past but apparently he needs to see the patient in person every so often (I think it's every 2 years). I believe it's a licensing requirement for prescribing an opioid.

[LanaCSR in reply to sleepless-in-seattle]

Oh, that's good to know! I was under the impression he only needed to see an out-of-state patient once in person the first visit but could do virtual visits the rest of the time. I was considering making an appointment with him, but I live in South Carolina and it would be too much of a hardship for me to take the time off of work to fly over there and possibly have to stay in a hotel overnight, not to mention my insurance wouldn't cover his fees since he's out of state. *sigh*

[sleepless-in-seattle in reply to LanaCSR]

I believe there are some excellent RLS specialists on the East Coast. I don't remember all their names but the RLS foundation would be a good resource to find them. John W. Winkleman at the Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine in Boston is one. Here's the link: sleep.hms.harvard.edu/facul...

[LanaCSR in reply to sleepless-in-seattle]

Boston is still very far, though, since I live in SC. 😟 I tried to find one in SC through the RLS Foundation, but no luck. 😮‍💨 My neurologist that I have now who is GREAT and has truly helped me is in a neighboring state to SC, and I had to travel 10+ hours in one day by car for my first visit with him. Thankfully, he has allowed me to do my follow-up visits virtually, but I still have to be in the same state as his office during the virtual visit. So I can't do my virtual visits from home, but my drive to and from a location within state lines of his office is about half of what it would be if I had to travel all the way to his office to see him in person. So I am thankful for that! But he is AWESOME!! He has almost completely gotten rid of my RLS symptoms since I started seeing him two years ago. So it is worth it to me to travel even for my follow-up visits to satisfy his requirement of being within his state lines. I just am amazed that there aren't any good RLS doctors in my state or even in my town. I feel sure there probably are, but I have tried three different doctors in my area, and none of them came even close to getting rid of my RLS symptoms like this neurologist I'm seeing now has. And one of those three doctors I was seeing near me is a neurologist and he basically told me he exhausted all the things he could think of to try to help me, that I was a "difficult case", and basically just wrote me off. 😢

[sleepless-in-seattle in reply to LanaCSR]

I know what you mean. In a town as big and as progressive as Seattle one would think that you could find a specialist in RLS. Dr. Buchfuhrer is the closest and I'm so thankful I found him. He helped me out of the torture of augmentation from pramipexole and I've been stable for the last two years. I'm glad you found help. RLS is such a horrible disease. I hope they find a cure soon. Both of my daughters suffer from it also.

[LanaCSR in reply to sleepless-in-seattle]

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that both of your daughters have RLS, too! I HATE this RLS! I'm so glad you are stable even though you've had to travel all the way to California to get treatment. I hope your daughters find help, as well. Take care, my friend. It has been nice chatting with you!

[sleepless-in-seattle in reply to LanaCSR]

Thank you and I wish you the best in your fight against this terrible syndrome.