I need help knowing what to do next. When my husband was released from rehab, they had made a 9am appt for him with a neuroligist in the hospital he had stroke intervention in – 1.5 hours away. I would have to gotten him up at 6am, got help to drive him 1.5 hours away, sat in the waiting rm for an hour, had the appt for an hour, then drive home 1.5 hours - with a man who could barely sit up and in Depends - that's like 6 hours! My husband was in bad shape, and not really able to handle a trip like that, that's why the rehab dr ordered 100 days of inhome therapy, which he is still doing.. I also had other misgivings:
1. At no time did a doctor in that hospital EVER come in and tell me the results of any test/mri
2. as soon as rehab was over, they wanted him to order a heart monitor and wear it 21 days, but it was ok to NOT do anything for the month he was in rehab?
3. he was released from rehab with no blood thinner, and when I asked why, I was informed because he had a bleeder, a shocking discovery, since I only knew about the blood clots. I suspect this bleeder came from their wonderful stroke intervention of doing an angio type thing in his brain. I can only wonder if he might not be totally disabled if I had refused this surgery and just took the clot busting drug he got in ER.
4. The STD disability has ran my butt off making me run to the doctor with him constantly, to make sure he had STILL had the disabling stroke, so I really haven’t had a chance to get him to a follow up neurologist appt due to fighting the good fight with insurance and STD people. Now the LTD & Soc Sec Dis. is already starting asking for things. But he is now in better condition. Before, he really couldn’t go out but to the fam doc 5 min away, as he was not well, and even that was a production.
-So, just what do the neurologist actually do for the patient if you make it to one of them? Or is it a matter of just them having info for their statistics? Yea, if you think I sound sarcastic and bitter, you read me right.
Last edited by Sandy Caregiver; 06-29-2012 at 09:27 PM.
Hi Sandy
I cant remember if I answered this question for you on another one of your posts so please forgive me if I have.
Is it worth going to see a neurologist?? Well thats the million dollar question isnt it. My first neuroligist I had wasnt worth the chair he was sitting on. I asked for a second opinion and the next fellow was really good. Very knowledgable, helped answer a lot of questions and gave me a better understanding of what I was going through. He gave me a very good examination and an assesment of what stroke I had and what damage it had done and why things were the way they were. He was great. I guess I would say yes it is important. They can order more tests, they can explain in detail what tests have been done and the results. They can be very helpful with questions you have.
Hope this helps
God Bless Mulchie
Personally I believe going to the neurologist simply helps you build your case against STD & SSDI that your husband really is disabled because of the stroke. It is a pure shame that people suffering with strokes have to endure so much and wait so long for these earned benefits to kick in. Really, just how hard is it to determine if a stroke survivor is disabled. Thankfully your husband has you fighting the the good fight for him as frustrating as it can get. Believe me it is not a good feeling being a stroke survivor living alone without support and dealing with these ya-hoos.
I'm now one year since my strokes and my left side is still shot. My wife couldn't handle the stroke stuff and took it out on me. Finally she and her kid left after stripping me of my resources leaving me here in a RV to fend for myself. She said she was sorry she left me in the condition I was in but knew I would work it out. It sounds bad but it was a relief for me and gave me strength. I am in my initial stages with SSA and can't see how or why they might deny me. As I understand 85 percent of the cases are denied but that does happen to me, I am not going to show any mercy on them. My doctor's nurse advised me of that, never give up.
Also, don't give up on your husband either, you can't change the past but you can look forward to a brighter future as he heals and he will heal!
The following user gives a hug of support to Terry6632: Mulchie (07-05-2012)
Sandy how are you and hubby doing? I was going through some posts today and I wondered how you both were doing? Do you feel like giving us an update?
God Bless Mulchie
