Re: Does a specialist REALLY help?

August 22, 2002

Just read the " shooting the messenger " thread. I guess that answers my ? a

little...

I have been on vacation - so I was behind on reading the recent posts.

[ ] Does a " specialist " REALLY help?

My son has his first appt. with a " specialist " on Sept. 30. (Dr.

Megson). As the time approaches, I can't help but wonder if after this visit I

will finally feel " satisfied " - that my questions have been answered. For his

diagnosis, the dev. ped . charged my ins. co. $325 to listen to me describe

Jake, what he knows, what he does - & they in turn checked him out physically

-measured his head, watched him walk up a couple of stairs, etc . But as far as

answering my questions regarding supplements, vitamins, enzymes, & nutrition I

received NOTHING to go on. A total waste of my time and my son's for having to

sit in that 8X8 cell block of an exam room!! I want honest opinions: Is it

better just to do this on my own ? I have learned so much from you parents on

this list that I feel like it can't get any better!! The information on this

list has been a jewel in the rough for me!! I'm just re-evalu

Wanting honest opinions,

August 22, 2002

,

Your question has been on my mind as well, because we have a long

awaited appointment with our SECOND DAN doctor in October (which our

insurance will not pay for, of course).

We wasted a lot of time and energy on our first DAN doctor. He did a

lot of things I now know were dead wrong, like writing us a

prescription for Nystatin (in a sucrose base), and having us give it

to our son, with no discussion at all about limiting our son's sugar

intake, or supplementing with probiotics. Whenever I questioned one

of this doctor's directives, he told me I had to " trust him " because

he too had been " burned " by traditional medicine.

My current thinking is that the right specialist can be helpful,

particularly in helping to obtain the important lab tests that can

(hopefully) prevent this process from being a " needle in a haystack "

search for answers, and instead make it more tailored to each child.

However, I think you will get the most out of it if you are as

prepared as possible for each visit, and have your own game plan in

mind to discuss with the doctor. If the doctor convinces you that

another plan is better, fine, but at least this way you will know

that someone is being a driving force in helping your child get

better.

By the way, I have been reading Children With Starving Brains, and I

think it is an excellent overview of these issues, and great

preparation for our next foray into the " DAN " process.

Good luck!

> My son has his first appt. with a " specialist " on Sept. 30. (Dr.

Megson). As the time approaches, I can't help but wonder if

after this visit I will finally feel " satisfied " - that my questions

have been answered. For his diagnosis, the dev. ped . charged my

ins. co. $325 to listen to me describe Jake, what he knows, what he

does - & they in turn checked him out physically -measured his head,

watched him walk up a couple of stairs, etc . But as far as

answering my questions regarding supplements, vitamins, enzymes, &

nutrition I received NOTHING to go on. A total waste of my time

and my son's for having to sit in that 8X8 cell block of an exam

room!! I want honest opinions: Is it better just to do this on my

own ? I have learned so much from you parents on this list that I

feel like it can't get any better!! The information on this list has

been a jewel in the rough for me!! I'm just re-evaluating the

impending Dr. visit and thinking about HOW MUCH $ they will charge me

and wondering if I'll just be better off doing it myself !

>

> Wanting honest opinions,

>

August 23, 2002

Well, Dr Megson is certainly a doctor to see with

respect to the route you've chosen for helping your

son. I don't think you'll be wasting your time. In

fact I've been watching for the outcome of your visit.

This isn't an easy thing. It isn't even easy to

describe. I've been to my share of doctors and

specialists, and I'm starting to get a feel for what

is useful and what isn't.

I wish we could see Dr Megson for my son. Please

share what you learn there.

--- fstatum@... wrote:

> My son has his first appt. with a " specialist " on

> Sept. 30. (Dr. Megson)....

__________________________________________________

August 23, 2002

>>> I'm just re-evaluating the impending Dr. visit and thinking

about HOW MUCH $ they will charge me and wondering if I'll just be

better off doing it myself !

I don't think you are any better off or worse off going to a DAN

doctor compared to any other doctor. They can be just as good

or " bad " for you. Dr. Megson has a " good " reputation though, from

the limited replies from people who have been to see her. Her

specialty is the vitamin A protocol which has been helpful to some

but not others, but I would gather she also has some experience with

nutrition in general because of this.

My " best " most helpful doctor was a regularly trained neurologist -

not even a pediatric specialist. She " specialized " in head pain (of

all things) and this is what led us to her. She very concisely

summed up in our first few visits the entire neurological " issue "

from a practical point of view. Advised on many of the nutritional

and alternative avenues all without having the " DAN " tag. She did

not charge us out of pocket for anything, have us run a billion

expensive tests, and even advised on how we could save $$ on future

visits. It kind of comes down to the individual person, not even the

specialty or tag credentials, to me. I did learn a LOT on the

internet and from others doing it myself, but I would NOT have found

out about the med that helped us immensely, or a few other things

just by that route, or going to recommended autism doctors. I have

also wasted a ton of money on alternative things too. It seemed that

I could " try " many more traditional doctors and therapies without

much expense until we hit one that worked. To " try " the alternative

doctors and therapies is immensely more expensive because everything

is out of pocket.

So we benefitted some from both traditional and alternative,

behavioral and biological therapies. This is just how it worked out

for us.

.

August 23, 2002

> My son has his first appt. with a " specialist " on Sept. 30. (Dr.

Megson).

She is one of the better ones. Some people believe she is one of the

best ones. I think you will learn good information from her.

>>I want honest

opinions: Is it better just to do this on my own ? I have learned so

much from you parents on this list that I feel like it can't get any

better!! The information on this list has been a jewel in the rough

for me!! I'm just re-evaluating the impending Dr. visit and thinking

about HOW MUCH $ they will charge me and wondering if I'll just be

better off doing it myself !

If you can see Megson, I would do it. You might not learn as much as

you want, but she is good. I would be surprised if you came out of it

believing it was a waste of your time.

http://www.megson.com/

This does not mean you might disagree with what she might tell you,

but I believe you will learn good information.

Dana