why do I always end up with crappy neurologists?
This problem was settled already (got a new neurologist) but I figured I'd just share. TWO SHITTY STORIES IN ONE!
I get migraines. I went to see my normal doctor about this but she hastily told me to start keeping a headache journal and come back later, and basically shooed me out of the office after I spent half an hour waiting to see her.
I brought this up with my mom, and at first she did nothing about it but since my migraines were getting more frequent and causing me to miss school due to holysonofafish awfulness, she called up my doctor and got the number of a neurologist.
Eventually an appointment was made with this neurologist. My dad brought me, and we talked to her. She prescribed Excedrin, and throughout the whole appointment emphasized the fact that I CANNOT MISS SCHOOL due to migraines. [Even though sometimes I can't really so much as roll out of bed in the morning without my vision going white and falling over.] She decided that my headaches were completely due to a lack of sleep (anybody with knowledge in this field would know that migraines are caused by MULTIPLE TRIGGERS, not just one) and prescribed some medication to help me sleep since I'm a bit of an insomniac. I figured, "fair enough; I'll try sleeping on a decent schedule and see what happens."
[NOTE: Excedrin includes caffeine. This is bad, because it means that once the caffeine wears off my headache will be worse than the headache I took excedrin to cure. My dad found this out by reading a book about migraines.]
A few months go by. I'm getting a lot of sleep now but my headaches are becoming more and more frequent and yes, I'm missing school for it.
So my mom goes with me to see this doctor this time. We get into the doctor's office and she asks me what's going on. I tell her the migraines are becoming increasingly frequent. She asks, "you're not missing school for this, are you?" and I say yes.
She then flies into a rage. "How are your grades in school?" I guesstimate my grades. She follows up with a rant something along the lines of:
"School is sacred! You canNOT miss school! I have two children your age, and there are two reasons they are allowed to miss school: a severed limb, and DEATH. YOU CANNOT MISS SCHOOL. PROMISE ME YOU WILL NOT MISS SCHOOL!"
My mom and I protest by pointing out that I'm not even physically ABLE to leave the house due to the pain and dizziness my migraines cause. She ignores us and demands I promise that I'm not going to miss school, which I do because I just want to get the hell out of her office since telling her I'm GOING to miss school since she's not helping me won't get me anywhere.
So my mom manages to get a note from her to send to my school.
My school district is awful.
After missing 10 days of school, every absence must be accompanied by a doctor's written excuse. So after I missed 10 days my parents would get doctor's notes written by my normal doctor, since she knows what's going on.
School stopped BELIEVING these notes. !?!?! Vp of my school dragged my parents into a meeting. I had missed maybe 14 days at this point?
I don't know what happened beyond then tbh, but I know it's been resolved. I got a new neurologist who has been very helpful and have tried several things (often to no avail, but still) to ease my headaches. Just in time for the end of the year, my parents straightened things out with my school, and my counselor is going to find me time to meet with the school psychologist, who went through the same thing in high school that I'm experiencing now.
TL;DR: normal doctor brushes me off. I see a neurologist recommended by my doctor, who flat-out insists that my headaches are related to a lack of sleep. Nothing she did for me helped so I go for a second appointment, where she yells at me for missing school and doesn't really help at all. Still sticks to her 'not enough sleep' theory even though that problem was solved.
EDIT :: thank you all so much for your concern. <3 I deal with a lot of crap at school because people don't understand why I'm absent so much so I get accused of skipping school, and it's really nice to know that not everyone's ignorant like that.
I have gotten the question "have you gotten an MRI?" repeatedly and figured I'd answer here that I have indeed, and no abnormalities were found with the scan.
I get migraines. I went to see my normal doctor about this but she hastily told me to start keeping a headache journal and come back later, and basically shooed me out of the office after I spent half an hour waiting to see her.
I brought this up with my mom, and at first she did nothing about it but since my migraines were getting more frequent and causing me to miss school due to holysonofafish awfulness, she called up my doctor and got the number of a neurologist.
Eventually an appointment was made with this neurologist. My dad brought me, and we talked to her. She prescribed Excedrin, and throughout the whole appointment emphasized the fact that I CANNOT MISS SCHOOL due to migraines. [Even though sometimes I can't really so much as roll out of bed in the morning without my vision going white and falling over.] She decided that my headaches were completely due to a lack of sleep (anybody with knowledge in this field would know that migraines are caused by MULTIPLE TRIGGERS, not just one) and prescribed some medication to help me sleep since I'm a bit of an insomniac. I figured, "fair enough; I'll try sleeping on a decent schedule and see what happens."
[NOTE: Excedrin includes caffeine. This is bad, because it means that once the caffeine wears off my headache will be worse than the headache I took excedrin to cure. My dad found this out by reading a book about migraines.]
A few months go by. I'm getting a lot of sleep now but my headaches are becoming more and more frequent and yes, I'm missing school for it.
So my mom goes with me to see this doctor this time. We get into the doctor's office and she asks me what's going on. I tell her the migraines are becoming increasingly frequent. She asks, "you're not missing school for this, are you?" and I say yes.
She then flies into a rage. "How are your grades in school?" I guesstimate my grades. She follows up with a rant something along the lines of:
"School is sacred! You canNOT miss school! I have two children your age, and there are two reasons they are allowed to miss school: a severed limb, and DEATH. YOU CANNOT MISS SCHOOL. PROMISE ME YOU WILL NOT MISS SCHOOL!"
My mom and I protest by pointing out that I'm not even physically ABLE to leave the house due to the pain and dizziness my migraines cause. She ignores us and demands I promise that I'm not going to miss school, which I do because I just want to get the hell out of her office since telling her I'm GOING to miss school since she's not helping me won't get me anywhere.
So my mom manages to get a note from her to send to my school.
My school district is awful.
After missing 10 days of school, every absence must be accompanied by a doctor's written excuse. So after I missed 10 days my parents would get doctor's notes written by my normal doctor, since she knows what's going on.
School stopped BELIEVING these notes. !?!?! Vp of my school dragged my parents into a meeting. I had missed maybe 14 days at this point?
I don't know what happened beyond then tbh, but I know it's been resolved. I got a new neurologist who has been very helpful and have tried several things (often to no avail, but still) to ease my headaches. Just in time for the end of the year, my parents straightened things out with my school, and my counselor is going to find me time to meet with the school psychologist, who went through the same thing in high school that I'm experiencing now.
TL;DR: normal doctor brushes me off. I see a neurologist recommended by my doctor, who flat-out insists that my headaches are related to a lack of sleep. Nothing she did for me helped so I go for a second appointment, where she yells at me for missing school and doesn't really help at all. Still sticks to her 'not enough sleep' theory even though that problem was solved.
EDIT :: thank you all so much for your concern. <3 I deal with a lot of crap at school because people don't understand why I'm absent so much so I get accused of skipping school, and it's really nice to know that not everyone's ignorant like that.
I have gotten the question "have you gotten an MRI?" repeatedly and figured I'd answer here that I have indeed, and no abnormalities were found with the scan.