Hi, I think some people misunderstood me, I meant that I get scared sometimes asking my doctor things and sometimes I forget so I am asking people if you feel the same and feel like you are getting rushed out of the room and that is why most of us are on this website is to get answers. I just wanted to see how many people get pushed away from their doctors. Thanks Margaret.

. may be if more docs were like him ppl would not need to come here to find the answers they need ...

want to comment on this...for thelast 2 years I have wonderul neurology practice and I have a great GP allof him give me the respect of an educated patient butno matter how good a Dr is they can't truly know MS unless they have it. Self empowerment includes good drs reasearch and others in same sitiuation.

Margaret - Your point is well taken. I think we all ask our doctors, but as all the promotional hype says "Be an educated patient". I think basically we all have to take care of ourselves, we know our bodies. So, we need to listen to our bodies, do research, ask questions of our doctors and others. Open discussion helps educate us all so that we can make informed choices. And yes, a large majority of us have had bad experiences with doctors. But, as it has been stated on these boards before, doctor's merely practice medicine. They too are human and fallible.

I am sympathetic with those who want to know if what they have sounds like MS or not. I can tell them yes or no , but I also tell them, they need to see their doc and have them check for it and other diseases that mimic MS. I don't try to dx anyone just give my advice and knnowledge, and caring hugs to all who need it...
Hugs
Morgaine

Particularly when it comes to meds ask your pharmacist. Doctors only know the crap the sales reps tell them. Pharmacist have studied drugs much more.

*but as for why ask here... my BIL's MS clinic is nearly impossible to get through to.

Hi Maggie...I think a lot of us, me and probably most Americans included, have a distrust, if not hatred, of doctors after years of misdiagnosis and run-arounds. At 18, I had a doctor tell me that my vision problems, burners, numbness, and headaches were migraine, he was going to flag my file because I was wasting his time. In the ER at 25 for severe pain that lasted for two weeks, I was told that "they couldn't help me" and I had to "live with it". Then after I finally had the MRI and got a neuro referral, he told me that "apparently some MS patients think heat bothers them" and specifically not call him if I had a exacerbation, because I since I had MS, I was going to have them and he didn't need to know about it. Every time you call the advice nurse here for my HMO, she/he will tell you to come to the ER, spend $50, and be sent home in ten minutes. So, personally, I like the opportunities to compare, converse, query, and support people who are dealing with the same things I am instead of calling those people first. I don't think that I give medical advice, and I definitely wouldn't go out and blindly take it, but I like to think that I'm here to help people with day-to-day living with this crap. xoxoxo

I said it once and I'll say it again...Canada has one of the best medical progrmas in the world and US doesn't...they need to overhaul it and they haven't now as far as asking the doctors....I have asked my neuro for a lot of stuff.....she always says no or i don't know or ignores the question...needless to say doctors are just that doctors...they don't know everything and it is best to look at things for yourself because.....these docs are using people as guinea peas for pharmaceutical companies and really don't care except for the $$$$....but that doesn't go for ALL docs...I only trust 2 right now....wish I could get my neuro to give me LDN instead of her saying not FDA approved....oh did I mention..SHE'S FIRED???? Someones advise on here may have saved my life (golferguy) by letting me know about LDN....works like a charm and only on it for 24 hours....gazorpa.com RULES!!!!!

I just told my partner yesterday that the reason i think i got diagnosed so quickly (3.5 months) was that I do practice medicine and the people i saw, know me and were able to take my subjective and objective data and their knowledge of me and get to the diagnosis quicker (ie: order the spinal tap/LP quicker).
Unfortunately, healthcare in the US has created an environment where docs don't have time to get to know their patient. i thought i was losing it when i first got sick.
By all means, do your research and demand your doc's attention. Also, take advantage of the knowledge that is around you as well