david
it seems hardly worth saying and i guess you have done it but...
i found that getting the dr's visit proforma from janets list and
reorganising it so that all one's symptoms and idiosyncrasies are written
down clearly and concisely is such a help
i faxed it to the doctor a few days before hand and got my family to look at
it and comment on my observations and suggestions
you have such a complicated profile you may forget some of the important
details which will help the doctor
i found i didnt have much to say after i had spent the time getting the
information and strange doings down on paper so i could listen to the doctor
and assist with his questions as well as ask my own
judy


>From: davidmeigs <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Apt. with Dr Ballard (long)
>Date: Sat, 29 Jul 2000 01:57:44 -0700
>
>Juanita, (and u all)
>
>I just got to meet you guys in person one of these days!  My appointment is
>aug. 7th. in the early afternoon.  I am looking forward to it.  I plan to
>write down one or two (hundred) questions to ask.  Sometimes its like I am
>loosing what's left of my mind.  I hope I can manage to communicate with
>him
>better than I have with my neuro.
>
>My tremors are not too frequent, so I think most people have a hard time
>seeing that there is somthing wrong with me at all.  I can be feeling like
>I
>was hit by a honey bucket falling from the sky, and look ok to others.
>
>I hope Dr. Ballard is one of those with a true gift to see, listen,
>understand, and explain.  I have seen so many different docs over the last
>dozen years for symptoms that I think were precursors to what I am now
>going
>through.  Most of them seemed to think that I was just a nut.
>
>I had a doc a few years back that suggested to me that I may have PD, I
>thought he was a nut!  My insurance then was a company that lost it's
>contract with our employer, so I had to search for a new doc.  I think he
>would have found nailed the dx down if he had more time.
>
>I remember having people come into my office for counseling that were very
>needy.  People that often felt like human trash, unlovable in their own
>eyes.  Life was viewed through glasses that continually reminded them of
>their own faults, failures, and fears.  What they needed was just someone
>that REALLY cared about them.  Someone that could walk them through to the
>other side, one baby step at a time.  People with these kinds of needs take
>a long time.
>
>I wish for someone with the patience to see me to the other side.  I hope
>Dr. Ballard and I connect.  I hope that he is one of those with a special
>gift for what he does.  I also hope he tells ME what HE THINKS, straight
>up,
>& no B. S.
>
>David Meigs  aka: Pappy
>[log in to unmask]

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