Getting a New Neuro without Insurance

[Wendywen74]

Hi:) My Name is Wendy. I haven't been diagnosed with Ms yet, but have been following this board for a while. Anyway, I live in Hawaii (Oahu) and my husband is Air Force, so we have insurance and I have been seeing a Neuro at the military hospital here for almost 6 months now for occipital neuralgia, right leg weakness, and carpel tunnel in both wrists (had emg). My question is about wanting to get another opinion on various things, and trying to find a Neuro here on the island. I know some of you do not have insurance and have to pay out of pocket, and although I don't want to pay out of pocket, I am willing to do so to get a different Neuro. Can anyone tell me how I go about booking an appt. With one? I called one last week and they said I needed a referral to even make an appt. Im just wondering how people without insurance get appts. Without A referral or insurance? Also, would a first time appt. Be hundreds of dollars for just a basic appt. To maybe review my mri's and review my symptoms? Sorry for the long post, but I just feel like I'm going in circles under my current Neuro office, and just want to go try a different one. Thanks in advance for your time:)

[Wendywen74]

Thank you for responding:) I think if I lived anywhere else, chances are I WOULD be seeing a civilian Neuro. The problem is that Here in Hawaii (island of Oahu) we have the big military hospital with basically every specialist, and any referral you get from your primary doctor here automatically gets sent to Tripler (the military hospital). The only referral I have had that wasn't at Tripler was a dermatology appt. I'm guessing it's cheaper for the military insurance to send you to a military hospital. Last week I told my primary dr. That I wanted a different endo that was NOT at Tripler and she had no problem putting the referral in for "an out of network" referral, but she did tell me that tricare has the final "say" so it might not get approved but she would try....I checked the insurance web site tonight, and even though it's been a week, it's still not on there, so I'm thinking it might not get approved...it's just a really annoying system here and luckily you didn't have that experience...

[Wendywen74]

Thank you shell:) You guys are helping just by sharing what you all go through on a day to day basis and I dont feel alone in this scary journey having all of you here:)

[Wendywen74]

Thanks Bob for replying.back:) I was told that my brain MRI was normal. My old Neuro was military and retiring said legs had (hyper reflexes?) or something like that, but more in the right one, which is the one that keeps getting weak off and on over the last year and a half. Also, he keep flicking my middle fingers and noting how my (I think thumb?) or another finger kept moving......I'm not really sure what that meant....also he did a test where I had to tell him when I saw his fingers become double when he held them up and out to the upper corners of my eyes...I told him they were double several times, and I guess that was not normal based on his reaction....anyway, my head was in so much pain last night and my leg was feeling weak, and the ER doc asked me if I had ever heard of something called Multiple Sclerosis. He went and looked at my MRI from back in january, and said he didnt see any lesions, but said it may be "that it's so early in the disease process, they might not be showing yet"....he also said I should consider switching neuros from the new Neuro I was assigned to at the military hospital after my other one retired and possibly get another opinion. Anyway, my leg is freaking me out because it is twitching all over and feels like it's going to buckle...a month ago I was driving to one of my dr. Appts and my leg kept spasming and every time I needed to put my foot on the break, it was too weak and I had to put my car in park at every red light....but then it was fine for the past month once again up until almost the last 2 weeks.

[HVAC]

When I was a Navy dependent I was referred to civilian Neurologists many times by Navy Doctors.

[sllowe]

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for following, and for jumping in with us.

Shouldn't be a big deal to get your current doctor to write that referral to the neuro you called. Just call the office staff, tell them you are going for a 2nd opinion and you need a referral to doctor so and so.

They should have no problem writing it up for you and you can make the appt. with the new doc.

You are doing the right thing w/the 2nd opinion. Any good doctor wouldn't mind you doing this.

Nice to have you here - and hope we can help,
~Shell

[COBOB]

Hi Wendy and welcome to the forum.

Rather than paying out of pocket, how about calling Radiology and asking if you can have a Neuroradiologst review the MRI with you?  The other thing you could do is make an appointment with Physical Medicine and be seen by a Physiatrist.  

Carpal Tunnel is unrelated to any CNS issues, and occipital neuralgia, is not typically considered a CNS disease symptom, since the occipital nerve is a spinal root nerve that exits at C2 and is normally considered a peripheral neuralgia.  

So that leaves the symptom of right leg weakness.  This could be evaluated by a Physiatrist and if it was felt to be of a neurological cause could result in a referral back to Neurology with additional documentation.

If I can ask, what were the results of the MRI?  As I said, the only symptom, so far, that might really point to a CNS issue is the right leg weakness.  When they did the neuro exam, were the reflexes and other exam results normal?

Bob