Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with specialists

Do you know any good allied health specialists in Brisbane?

mjao — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 03:30:03 -0800

I may as well kill 5 birds with one stone. I need (/want) a dietician, an acupuncturist, a dermatologist, an allergist, and a remedial or shiatsu masseur. Know any good ones? Brisbane, Australia. (Yes—I am trying to make the most of my health insurance.) Notes:

I live in the Indooroopilly area, but I don't mind travelling.
I don't have any particularly major health problems, I'd just like to take care of a few mild-moderate issues as well as improve/maintain my health in certain areas.
It'd be wonderful to know why you are making your recommendation, if you are so inclined. (e.g., is the doctor super clever, really nice, or surprisingly affordable?)

Where do I go for this annoying hearing problem?

gracious floor — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:54:21 -0800

Not-My-Doctors on MeFi: Where do I go with this hearing issue? I've experienced slight hearing loss for about the past five years. It has bothered me in the past, but only recently have I noticed how much my hearing has been affected. Having just aquired a decent health insurance plan, I'd like to use my benefits to get this checked out. But where do I go? I've never had a "family doctor" and have only occasionally seen doctors at in-and-out clinics.
If it helps- within the past two months I've had several shooting pains around the aforementioned ear. These have only been recent- in the entire time that the hearing has been an issue, there hasn't been pain. Also: my mother has the same hearing problem (i.e., loss of hearing for seemingly no reason) and a doctor told her there was nothing to be done. I am a female, 23 years old.

So: do I go to a regular doctor to get a referral to a specialist, or can I bypass that and get help quicker?

Any advice appreciated, I don't do this often. Thank you!

What kind of specialist do I need?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 11:40:52 -0800

What kind of specialist do I need for my jaw/headache problem? From an early age, my jaw has had no real set "bite". I've had to really strain and concentrate to keep my mouth closed and my lips together. I have to pull my lower jaw back about a centimeter and slightly to the left to create a chewing surface. Because my jaws are relatively narrow, I've often bitten my tongue, and had a bit of a speech impediment growing up (and still stumble when tired). Sometimes food or spittle escapes. Jaw moves back and forth into several different positions all the time, and pops continually and quite audibly. At night I feel like I can't sleep and swallow my saliva at the same time; in fact, I was recently diagnosed with a severe case of Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome last year. The real issue this creates has been chronic serious pain in the head and neck area.
I did have braces for about 18 months when I was much younger; when they came off at age 13, orthodontist told parents that my bite problems (which weren't resolved at all by the braces) that I could end up "looking deformed" as I reached maturity. Due to family dynamics and attitudes towards health care, this became a running joke and not much else. Just like clockwork, at age 17, about the time my facial bones reached full maturity, jaw clicking and chronic pain in face, head and neck area began.
I waited for years to see if this would "resolve itself", and then had it dismissed as psychosomatic, and now I am trying to get it addressed properly. I just got back from an oral surgeon who spent 2 minutes looking at my face, had me bite down on a stick, and said that "nothing was wrong with my jay" based on that inspection. Before that, based on the advice of my sleep specialist, I saw an ENT, who said that because I didn't have any bite mark scars on my tongue, that meant my jaw was fine. What kind of doctor am I actually looking for to run the right kind of tests?
Complicating factor: I currently have only medical insurance, not dental. Orthodontics are not possible (again) in the short term--they would only be covered in the context of a medically necessary surgery. I really just need the pain to stop. I've been down several dead ends with this now and just need to know where to go next.

email is at throwawayaccount12345@gmail.com

"Hmm, that's very interesting...or not."

booksandlibretti — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 20:57:31 -0800

How do you get a doctor's attention? I'm having lots of problems with my branemeats. (Briefly: A few years ago, I scored an 800 on the SAT Verbal and today I can't think of the word "pencil"; I'm sleeping about 14-18 hours a day and am always desperate for more; I have a constant medium-level headache. None of this is caused by depression, Munchausen's, or hypochondria. I've had all brain-related tests short of a spinal tap, but the only test with an abnormality was a PET scan, which showed "severely decreased metabolism in the temporal lobe.")

Anyway, I originally went to my GP, who was very sympathetic. I've since been referred to a neurologist (awful), a neuropsychologist (nice), an ENT (neutral), a dentist (neutral), and still more specialists. All of them have said "Yes, this is definitely a real problem," but once the basics were ruled out, all suddenly became disinterested -- to the point where they aren't returning calls because they have nothing to say.

I've had doctors tell me that if I were a child, I'd get the attention I need because I'd be a "cause." Unfortunately, I'm 19 and a very busy college student who is not used to being stupid. I'd be down with taking medical leave next semester or next year if I thought anything would be done with this time off.

To sum up: I have brain problems that need attention, and although most of the specialists I've seen are sympathetic, none are actually interested enough to really help. How do I get my doctors to work towards a diagnosis?