Migraine

I saw her Wednesday, and I'm very encouraged. She was running WAY behind, but she came in at lunchtime, introduced herself, and told me to get some lunch. My appointment was at 10:45, and it was about 3 when I saw her, but she spent about an hour and a half with me. Meticulous medical history, lots of ideas about prevention and acute treatments.

I don't know what results I'll have, but I have great confidence in her.

I managed NOT to give myself a migraine attack on the trip up there, even when my plane was 2 1/2 hours late leaving Jackson, giving me a 20-minute connection in Dallas, with a concourse change. OJ has nothing on me.

Gretchen in Mississippi

That's great, gwp.

Gretchen, that's great that your appointment went well! Please keep us posted on how it goes, ok?

Gretchen,

Glad your appointment went well. I've spoken with Dr. Brandes several times, and she's always been very nice.

Great news, Gretchen.

I don't think OJ has much on anybody these days

Congeratulations on finding a good doctor to work with!

Way to go on finding a great doc and making the trip (airplane & all)! Glad it was smooth for you!

Kelly

Well, Gretchen. Running WAY behind is her speciatly. Nothing else. I saw her too . . .several times. Each time WAY behind. I waited in her office for FOUR hours the first time I saw her. When she finally came in to see me she did that classic detailed medical history bit. . .and then pretty much ignored my medical history and prescribed her latest research piece. . .

I had blood work done. . but no other tests run.

She did a muscle injection to relieve tension in my shoulder muscle . . TERRIBLE. I cried the entire way to the car. . I couldn't use my arm at all the whole day and then next day that pain was so severe it actually triggered a series of migraines.

Upon arriving at my next visit, which I waited in the lobby for a hour. . this time I was seeing Dr. Atkins. . . I paid my unexpected charge of $75 for my trigger point injections from my last visit, that she didn't tell me about. Dr. Atkins did not do anything new. . did not tell me anything new and wasted a lot of new time with me. . .

After this, I begain receiving letters from their office threatening to send my "account" to a debt collection agency for the $75 I owed them - the SAME $75 I had paid in office. I called and left messages for the billing department for Patricia. I called during business hours, I called after hours and left messages with their services. No resolution. I FINALLY spoke with her. "They had filed it under misc. and there it was! Their mistake! So sorry! Hope it didn't really go to debt collection!" When I asked her if she could make sure of it. . she said they just said that so they could get their money. I was honestly disgusted. I told her to let the office know that I would never be returnig and I was throughly dissatisfied with their service and have never been so unhappy in my life with the overall care of a facility. She didn't care. She said she'd let Dr. Brandes know.

A week later, I get a bill for a "No Show" charge. $50. Apparently, Our Patricia failed to let the office know that I would not be returning. So, I called and talked to the young man at the receptionist desk. He went through this big production about finding the specific date that was missed. And then we could proceed. And he said, "Now was was your question about the appointment you failed to show for?" Hello?!?! What a jerk! I told him first of all, that appointment was to be cancelled per my request to Patricia. And he cut me off and said he would leave a message for her and she'd have to call me back to handle it. End of story. He had heard enough. I was again disgusted. So I let him know that they could expect for the no show charge to never be paid because it was not justified. That Patricia could call me back if she deemed it necessary but I had nothing more to say.

I saw Dr. Brandes for a few years before I moved from her area.

Obviously, not everyone has the same experience with doctors. As I think I've seen Teri say, no doctor is right for every patient.

As for waiting, yep, I've waited in her office. On the flip side, she's taken me in when I had NO appointment and given me great treatment to keep me out of the ER. I KNOW doing that made her run behind with her other patients. So, I never cared HOW long I had to wait.

Yes, there were some charges I had to pay because my insurance didn't pay it. It's not up to the doctors to know what our insurance pays. That's OUR responsibility.

With moving, I've now see three migraine specialists and two so-called specialists. With the real specialists, I've always had to wait because they're great doctors who won't turn away a patient who's in an emergency situtation. Nor did they ever leave my appointment until they'd answered every question. The two so-called specialists were almost always on time. Of course, the NEVER answered all my questions and ALWAYS told me to just go go the ER if I needed help. Yeah, right. Now which would we rather do? Go go the ER and be treated like subhuman crap, or see our own doctors and get help with dignity and respect?

Jade, I'm sorry you had a bad experience, but you are way off base in saying that nothing is her specialty but running behind. And, I doubt that she prescribed her latest research piece. Her research is so advanced that much of it not even to the prescribing stages yet. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm sorry that you had such a bad time, but I think it's way overboard to make the statements you made at the end of your post. Good luck in finding someone who can help you. It's not always easy.

Louisa,

I agree. I was hasty in saying that. I guess I am just feeling let down. I just felt like it wasn't unique to me, if you know what I mean? I felt like she didn't address some of my issues that I know contribute to my migraines and prescribed medication instead of getting to the root of my problems. I realized I didn't explain that.

I also understand that insurance varies what they will pay. I know that is my responsibility. I guess I learned that next time I will ask before accepting a treatment what the potential costs to me will be. That is my lesson learned.

In general, I really just did not feel like my case mattered. I like to think that it is important to a doctor to help their patient, too. I just didn't feel that way. I had to cancel an appointment one day because I was suffering so badly from a migraine and I was chastised for giving 24 hours notice - why wasn't I encouraged to come in so that I could be helped? You are saying you were seen to avoid ER visits and taken in with no appointment. . . I just feel like my experience was so very different. I was on the phone with their office begging not to be in trouble for not being able to be there because I was so ill with a migraine and they were acting like they could not relate.

I went into my first appointment so encouraged because I had heard so many great things about her clinic and treatment and I know that a lot of my disappointment comes from that, so I do apologize for coming across so strongly. I am just truly disappointed. And it is tiresome looking for the total package. It is hard feeling like you've found it and then feeling let down. (not to mention getting migraines from just stressing out about taking care of it all!!!)

So, please! I hope you understand where I'm coming from! If you know of anyone in the Nashville area, I'm scoping the market!

Jade

Jade --

I'm SO sorry your experience with Dr. Brandes was so awful. I'm having a great experience. I guess I don't mind the wait. I'm there from out of town, and I spend the night the day of my appt, and I don't have anything else to do in Nashville.

She prescribed Lyrica and changed my Effexor to Cymbalta. Also MagOxide. At my last appt, she added verapamil. Those are all meds I've heard others on the forums who take them, so I know they weren't a research drug. I'm feeling MUCH better. My daily pain is down to a 1 or 2. I'm not waking up with a headache every day. Anything 4 and above is responding pretty well to a Imitrex/Naproxen combo.

I'm SO encouraged. I haven't felt this good in years. Literally. My last good preventive, Nardil, stopped working in late December, 1999. What a way to welcome the Millennium!

I hope you find your best specialist soon! Do you see a local headache doc to call in an emergency? My primary care doc insists that I keep seeing my local guy so that I'll have someone who knows me if I have an acute problem. He treats lots of migraine patients and is the one who referred me to Dr. Brandes. He's stuck with me and not given up.

Gretchen in Mississippi

Hey Guys,

I have been with Dr. Brandes for a year now, and must agree that running w-a-a-a-a-y behind does seem to be a specialty. I've spent over 4 hours waiting after a 4-hour drive. But she's the first doctor I've ever seen who has helped me at all.

With Dr. Brandes, I have had some moderate success, but I've had horrible side effects, and lately return of headaches, just like always. I have seen her nurse practicioner Susan Roberson a few times, and I have to say I am not at all impressed with her. She seems to have her own agenda in an appointment, and if I bring up something different, she just ignores it. Is it just me? Has anyone else seen her?

So, given the only moderate success, and poor satisfaction with Nurse Orberson, I am beginning to have my doubts, but I'm not sure when to give up on a doctor. I am also a little suspicious now that I read that, Gretchen, your treatment seems to be VERY similar to mine. Does she just have a set regimen for her paitents? I certainly understand that I cannot expect miracles. I also know that everyone is different, but do any of you have advice on when to bail out? Like if you're not feeling satisfied with your doctor in 5 years, for goodness sake look for another one!

But here I need some advice. I spent 10 years in constant pain; I went to every neurologist in East Tennessee at first, but then I just gave up. I just kept seeing a GP who knew nothing about migraine that I didn't tell him. Obviously, I don't know when to say, "This is not acceptable!"

Of course, If I leave Dr. Brandes, I feel like a lost puppy. I don't know where to go. The other recommended Tennessee doctors are farther away. One is in Memphis (out of the question without flying-- I haven't flown; I'm positive I couldn't take the pressure changes, the stress, and the cramped conditions- I'm ocholophobic); the other one is about 6 hours at least. So I would try North Carolina next, I think (I live almost on the NC/TN border), but again do I find someone better or worse?

"Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know."

Tracey