second opinion?

By olde Thursday, November 29, 2007

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Hello,

I have been seeing my PCP for migraine treatment up to now, but I don't really feel like he's giving me the best advice. I have been having problems lately with my vision that I think might be due to the medication he has me on, but when I saw him yesterday, he told me to get my eyes checked. I'd like to get a second opinion and possibly change to a headache specialist, but the only one on my insurance who I have found in town requires a referral from my PCP. I like my PCP and don't want to insult his advice by telling him I want a second opinion, but I really don't feel like I'm getting the best care from him for my migraines. Does anyone have any recommendations? I've never been in this situation before.

Thanks in advance,

-e

Comments (4) | Add comment

nutcracker1

11/29/07 4:35pm

First, I follow your primary doctor's recommendation for getting your eyes checked. You could also ask your pharmacist whether vision problems are possible side effects of your meds, but getting your eyes checked is a good idea anyway.

I've never met your primary doctor, but I think most competent doctors recognize that they can not be experts in everything, and are not threatened when their patients ask to see a specialist. In this context, you could put it that you want to see a headache specialist for this condition; it's a little different than a second opinion. Even if your insurance didn't require a referral, it would be good to keep your primary doctor in the loop. You want all of your doctors working together for your health, not working at cross-purposes!

I hope this helps. Good luck with this. Join us on the discussion forum (by clicking "migraine forums" under the orange Manage bar), and you will find a whole folder devoted to working with doctors. You will have to register separately on the forum page.

Nancy Harris Bonk, Health Guide

11/29/07 6:21pm

Hello, and welcome to MyMigraineConnection.com!

PCP's treat so many people with many conditions they are unable to be experts in any one area. Most PCP's are quite willing to send their patients out to various experts to help them feel better. You aren't insulting him just looking for an expert opinion. We have a list of Patient Recommend Specialists you can see by clicking HERE.

Thank you for creating a SharePost. SharePosts are a form of blogging, and there are many things you can do with them. You can share an experience, suggest something that's helped you, use SharePosts as a Migraine and headache journal, and many other things.

We also have a discussion forum that you may want to check out. Especially if you have questions or are looking for information, you may find the interaction on the forum to be quite helpful. To get to the forum, just look for the orange box marked "Manage" and click on the Migraine Forums link. Because our forums are maintained by a third party, you'll need to register for the forum. You can use the same information you used to create your community log-in if you like. If you want to go directly to the forum, you can click HERE.

Along with your personal "My Home" page and the discussion forum, you'll find links to a great deal of helpful information on the main page of our site, http://www.MyMigraineConnection.com.

If you have any questions, please feel free to post them to the forum or send me a message through my profile.

Welcome again,

Nancy Bonk
MyMigraineConnection.com Expert

PS: If you receive this message from more than one of us, please excuse the overlap. Thanks!

Cindy

11/29/07 7:08pm

As Nancy and Nutcracker clearly pointed out a PCP cannot be a specialist in everything. It is important any spcialist you see keeps the PCP in the loop, but you must see that you get the best and most complete care for yourself. Get the referral.

Good luck.

Cindy

olde

11/29/07 8:52pm

Thank you all for the advice, and especially telling me about the forum! I can't believe I didn't see that. nutcracker1: I get my vision checked yearly, so I'll be doing that soon anyway. The problem I'm having is not blurriness, it's like spots and ghost images, similar to the aura i get sometimes before a migraine attack, but it's all the time. Anyway, thanks for the advice - I'll try to get up the courage to call him tomorrow. I looked up the "recommended specialists" here on the site, but unfortunately there aren't any near me.

Thanks again!
-e

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