Question Title: Appt. with Dr. Mitsumoto

I have an upcoming appt. with Dr. Mitsumoto(actually with his Fellow first).
I will be in Cleveland over the holidays and have a limited time schedule. I
want to be certain I am seeing the right type of Doctor and not wasting the Doctors
time. My purpose for the visit is for a second opinion regarding an ongoing
back problem which at this point in undiagnosed after the following tests
(MRI (2-lumbar &1 thoracic), bone scan, EMG, plain film X-Rays (flexion & extension,
CT abdomen) In Ft. Wayne all I have seen are Orthopedics and Physiatrists.
My pain has been and continues to be in the lower part of my back on the right
side with a pain that moves daily from my groin to my hip to my calf. All
these pains seem to be positional in nature, lying on back seems to alleviate
almost all of these pains (this leads me to believe it's disc related). My Doctors say my symptoms don't follow a pattern like
anything they have seen before. The primary pain is back pain and an epidural
injection does give me relief, but they say its definitely not discogenic.
As far as the Doctors in Ft. Wayne are concerned they are finished with me and
can only suggest a Pain clinic if I still have pain.

So, do you feel Dr. Mitsumoto can help, or would I be better off with one of your Physiatrists?
I will bring a copy of all my tests and
films however do you generally like to repeat these tests. All have been
taken over the last 8 months. According to my Physiatrists their is nothing
wrong with me that they can surgically fix. However I am the who went from an athletic, active person
to someone who can't lift his children and for the life of me I can't relate
it to anything.

Please advise, also, if Dr. Mitsumotos Fellow has access to this web site I would
like to start a dialog, (outside this Forum if necessary) in preparation
of my Dec 23 visit.

Thank you,

Ron

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Dr Mitsumoto is a neuromuscular diseases specialist. That is, he concentrates on illnesses affecting nerves, muscle, and nerve-muscle junction. He is a a recognized expert in ALS. He knows a whole lot about neuropathy, myasthenia gravis, and related diseases. He sees many patients with general neurologic problems such as degenerative disc disease or processes affecting the spinal cord. He also sees patients with diseases affecting the brain per se, though that is not his primary specialty.

None of the neurologists are exactly pain specialists. We can help many people with pain of one sort or another, but in complex pain cases, we often refer to pain management clinics.

The primary purposes of a visit with a neurologist here would be to establish a diagnosis, if possible, and to determine treatment, if possible. If your diagnosis is firmly established and is not neurologic, then a pain management specialist is more appropriate. If you are not sure, then a visit with a neurologist (such as Dr Mitsumoto) can help you be sure the basic neurologic evaluation has been covered, even if you're told that a pain specialist would be the next step.

I hope this helps. CCF MD mdf.