Can anyone in Los Angeles recommend a good doctor?

[iambus]

Hi! I live in Los Angeles and need a good doctor.  I'm looking for both a good general practioner and a neurologist/ms specialist.  I saw an MS specialist at USC who said I don't have MS and all my symptoms were from a herniated disc pressing on my spinal cord so she referred me to a neurosurgeon but he said that most my symptoms aren't from that and said the spinal cord compression isn't that bad (wouldn't any compression on the spinal cord be bad?! *shrugs*) and he thinks I do have an auto-immune disease like MS or something (I've pretty much been tested for everything though and everything is normal).  I had an ortho say my symptoms sound like MS and he referred me to a neurosurgeon and a neurologist but another neurologist said all my symptoms are due to depression and a rheumetologist thinks it's all in my head.  *shrugs* I definitely need to find a good dr since I keep getting bounced around from one dr to another and they all seem to contradict one another.

Any suggestions or referrals would be greatly appreciated :) Thank you :)

[iambus]

Thank you for the responses!

Doll555: I will look into those drs. Thank you for the suggestion! Luckily I live in the valley so I don't think Thousand Oaks is too far. With no traffic I could probably get there in 20-30 mins :)

Samanadevii: Yup, I had an MRI of the brain, c-spine and T-spine and they all came back clear (well for MS, that's how I found out about the herniated disk pressing on my spinal cord).  It was done on a 1.5T.  I wonder if I should go somewhere that has a 3T.  Although I don't really wanna pay money for another MRI when I still owe over $3000 for the last one :/ When I had this MRI done I thought for sure maybe I'd have lessions on my c-spine since I have a lot of sx's that would be related to spinal cord lessions (although I do have cognative probelms as well) but all MRI's were clear :/ *shrugs*

Bandslater: Yeah, I went to  a neurologist at UCLA who said none of my symptoms were neurological (such as dropping things, tripping, numbness and tingling in legs and arms, etc... (all those symptoms ARE neurological).  Missed the hyperflexia in my knees and told me all my symptoms were from depressoin! Wouldn't even let me do an MRI! Ordered blood work because I asked about lupus but then never called back with the results, even after I called an left a message asking about the results!!!  I think I might check out Cedar Sinai.  It;s kinda a pain to get to but that might be one of my next options, although I with I knew which dr to see there.  

I've now seen 7 drs for my problems, 3 of them were kinda rude and just said it was depression or "all in my head" even though I told them I'm not depressed!!! 1 was a quack! and the others seem competant but keep referring me to eachother and are totally contradicting each other! *sigh* If I had a general practioner that was good, they could help me figure out what was wrong and could refer me and keep track of what the drs are saying. Not sure if that made sense lol

[17o_bandslater]

Steer clear of UCLA; someone's teaching psychosomatics to all the residents and interns over there, and the neurology clinic is oversubscribed and understaffed. I've heard Cedars is pretty good.

If you have to go to the ER, go to the UCLA-Santa Monica hospital, or even better, Marina Hospital in Marina del Rey: Best ER doc I've ever had. Say AWAY from Centinela Hospital, and any Freeman Hospital. I'd sooner set my own broken leg than go back to Centinela.

The best GP I had down there was actually an 'anti-aging/weightloss' doc. I think he was good because he was used to practicing solo and a little off the beaten path; he didn't have to answer to the requirements of a group practice. He was willing to treat my then-subclinical thyroid disease (inherited), but didn't let me skate on basic wellness/PCP type issues, blood tests, etc.

If you go this route, you have to be a little diligent: Check for complaints, malpractice suits, etc. But I'll tell ya, if I could remember his name, I'd go back in a heartbeat!

[Sumanadevii]

Just a question..Have you had an MRI of your cervical spine?  I had back pain for years.  It was blamed on just about any back related disorder known to man.  Turns out it was MS.  I only have lesions on the cervical spine and brain stem.

[Doll555]

It would be about a 45 minute drive for you but there are a couple neurologists that specialize in ms in thousand oaks. I like Dr. Dolly Roy. But I have heard dr. Bandari is good as well. Good luck to you.

[Lulu54]

It sure sounds like you are getting the medical run around with all those different opinions.  You might want to consult the MS Consortium for MS specialists in your area - you can find them through mscare.org  

I hope someone from the LA area can step in and help you with a referral or two.  It can be so frustrating to find a good doctor.

best,
Lulu