Looking for a neurologist.

[4WheelinMama]

Wondering if anybody knows a good neurologist? We are becoming unhappy with the neurologist we are taking our daughter too. We can't seem to get a same day call back when we have an important issue with my daughter Absence seizures.

[jentz]

Wondering if anybody knows a good neurologist? We are becoming unhappy with the neurologist we are taking our daughter too. We can't seem to get a same day call back when we have an important issue with my daughter Absence seizures.

All neurologists I have seen are referrals only from my family doc,I cant call a specialist directly and get a appointment.If your expecting instant or even daily call backs.I believe your looking for something rarly done these days.These guys/gals are extremly busy and call backs are (for me anyway)done by his 1st nurse.next day at the soonest! Even after surgery!!Unless I state emergency then I'll be told Hospital for emergencies!

[HOF#13]

All neurologists I have seen are referrals only from my family doc,I cant call a specialist directly and get a appointment.If your expecting instant or even daily call backs.I believe your looking for something rarly done these days.These guys/gals are extremly busy and call backs are (for me anyway)done by his 1st nurse.next day at the soonest! Even after surgery!!Unless I state emergency then I'll be told Hospital for emergencies!

Which is really sad. I doubt these Dr's are sooo much busier than the rest of us during our work days. Yea, I know they are busy, but so is everyone else. Some Dr's appear to have the impression that they are doing us a favor, so it's not a real big deal if they leave you sitting in a waiting room for 30 extra minutes, or do not get back to you in a timely manner. It's not like they do not get paid very well for the services they provide. All we really expect is some polite & timely customer service.

As to the original poster, sorry I do not know of a good neurologist. However, I wish you good luck in finding one that you are happy with, and best wishes for your daughter.

[LightningBG]

Which is really sad. I doubt these Dr's are sooo much busier than the rest of us during our work days. Yea, I know they are busy, but so is everyone else. Some Dr's appear to have the impression that they are doing us a favor, so it's not a real big deal if they leave you sitting in a waiting room for 30 extra minutes, or do not get back to you in a timely manner. It's not like they do not get paid very well for the services they provide. All we really expect is some polite & timely customer service.

Ya know they could be in surgery or working with other patients. Maybe you are in the waiting room for 30 minutes, because they are busy taking phone calls....

4WM, what area of the state are you in?

[HOF#13]

Ya know they could be in surgery or working with other patients. Maybe you are in the waiting room for 30 minutes, because they are busy taking phone calls....

4WM, what area of the state are you in?

Maybe some of the time they are...We can agree to disagree though.

[jaymevb]

What part of the state are you in and how old is your daughter?

there are two sides to the doctors being late problem. doctors are busy, the neurologist i worked under works 5 days a week 7-5:30 with no breaks and is on call all of the time. even then he is booked out for a few months for non-emergent problems. either doctors can book lighter schedules and sit around without caring what happens to those that can't be seen or they want to help and meet the demand by overbooking. there's usually a few cancels or no shows that make up the extra time. if you want to be seen on time, make an early morning or first thing after lunch appointment. also, never be late b/c you've then pushed back everyone behind you.

next time a doctor spends time with you for a complicated problem, remember that there's someone in the waiting room [PoorWordUsage] off it's taking so much time. it's really a no win situation. either you cut off and neglect the complicated patients to run on time or make people wait.

[jaymevb]

apparently the word for urinating is a bad word on this forum, i'm really not cussing

[PierBridge]

I don't think it's asking to much to have a doctor, Nurse or employee call back in a reasonable fairly quick time frame.

I Hope all turns out well for you and your daughter 4WheelinMama!

[fishinchicks]

A lot really depends on your location, and the age of your daughter as others have said. We have a good relationship with our daughter's neurologist at Mayo, but more importantly, we have a good relationship with her MS nurse. The nurse is able to respond a lot faster, and if it is something that needs immediate attention, she is able to go talk to him and give us an answer.

I have a niece that was just diagnosed with MS in December, and she really loves her neuro. She goes to a clinic in the Cities.

One other thing...most neurologists that we have met have specialties. They may see other patients with other issues, but it may not be where they excel. That could make a difference in their attitude.

[jaymevb]

i'm not defending bad medicine or in any way trivializing patient's concerns. i'm just saying that not all doctors are bad and it isn't the glamorous, posh lifestyle everyone thinks it is.

to answer the question, Dr Nelson in willmar is great. He was a pharmacist before medical school so he knows drugs better than most. i don't think he sees many pediatric cases though.

[fishinchicks]

+1

Dr Nelson in Willmar was the neuro that diagnosed our daughter with MS at the age of 13. Her case was a little more aggressive for his comfort level, so he referred her to the Mayo. He is currently my husband's neuro.

[jeffreyd]

I know you are not close to Chicago but Dr. Jeffrey Franks basically saved my brother in laws life. He had sudden cardiac arrest on May 13 2010 had cpr done on him for 45 min and was brought back. He has anoxic brain injury however Dr. Franks drove to Geneva from downtown Chicago to evaluate him a few days after his incident. This was all done simply by my wife getting his email from his HSOforum and within 30 min he responded back via phone. I would think he would at least be able to give you some info on the best person in your area. Good luck. Jeff

[CAMAN]

Hey 4wheelinmama, I checked with my girlfriend and she has many suggestions for a you. If you are only looking for a general pediatric neurologist Dr Lawrence Burstein at Noran Clinic is perfect for you. If you would like a Neurologist who specializes in epilepsy try Dr Beattie at MINCEP she is great with kids and returns calls in a timely manner.

She also stated that even if you get a referral, going to MN Epilepsy Group in St Paul is probably a bad idea if you want timely phone calls and being able to get ahold of a doctor. They are notoriously profit driven, over scheduling their doctors and running the place like a quick lube. Phone calls get pushed to the back for importance.

[hopeforfish]

I just started seeing Dr Horowitz with the Minneapolis Clinic of Neurology he is awesome and had all the time in the world for me. But I have only seen him the one time.

Hope

[walleyeking19]

I went to Dr. White at MinCep. I would strongly recommend him. I went there for 2 years before we switched insurance companies and had to find a new doctor.

[Rodbldr4fun]

I recently had two discs removed and two vertebrae fused in my neck. I waited two weeks for the doctor to call me back to schedule surgery. After surgery I had to be in a neck brace, couldn't drive, lift, or even turn my head. A month later while in the neck brace, my wife and I waited 4 hours in the waiting room to see him. After 2 1/2 months of living like a shut-in in the neck brace, I was scheduled to see his PA to get it removed on a Monday. My wife had to take the day off to drive me the 50 miles one way. They left me a voice mail at 1:00 on the Friday before, canceling my appointment and didn't even leave me a number to call back. It took me 4 calls that afternoon to get someone to help me get another appointment so I could get on with my life.

It is one thing to be caring about your patients. It is entirely another to treat them like cattle in their pens.

[RebelSS]

After working at Mayo for 32 years, and having him do 3 spinal sugeries on me, Try W. Richard Marsh, in Rochester. He's rated one of the best...check him out om the internet. A terrific guy...after my last surgery, after I got home, he stopped by to see how I was doing..3 times. A house call!!!!!

[jaymevb]

After working at Mayo for 32 years, and having him do 3 spinal sugeries on me, Try W. Richard Marsh, in Rochester. He's rated one of the best...check him out om the internet. A terrific guy...after my last surgery, after I got home, he stopped by to see how I was doing..3 times. A house call!!!!!

neurologist and neuro surgery are very different things, but glad to hear things worked out for you

[4WheelinMama]

Thanks everyone for your help and comments we are still thinking and trying to decide on what we are going to do. You all gave us a lot to think about both pro and con.

[harvey lee]

I had seziure issues for many years and was to about every clinic in the metro.

I then decided to go to the Mayo clinic and in approx 2 months I went under the knife for a frontal lobotmy at St Mary's in Rochester.

The neurologist I saw was Dr William Karnes but I doubt that he would still be there as my surgery was 28 years ago.

Mayo has a great center for people with any type of siezure issue and they had programs there that noone else at that time had offered.

I know that if I needed to get ahold of the Doc and he could not answer the phone, the nurse would talk to him and I would get a call back that day almost every time.

The Mayo Clinic is awesome to say the least. Nothing but the best to say about the 10 plus years I went there or for the surgery for that matter.

I sure hope you can find a place that can address your issues. These siezures can sure cause issues for anyone during thier life.

[CAMAN]

Harvey, I doubt you got a spike driven through your eye socket 28 years ago, Labotomys were outlawed in the 60's. I think what you are refering to is a Frontal Lobectomy, which is the removal of all or part of the frontal lobe. Glad to hear it all went well for you though.

[harvey lee]

You hit the nail on the head CAMAN.

My mistake on the wording.