Thursday, April 21, 2005

A word about doctors

If you have Meniere's Disease your care should be coordinated by a Neurotologist. This is a special type of Ear Nose and Throat doctor who specializes in neurological and ear disorders.

I feel very strongly this is what you should do. Even if you have to travel and can only see them once in a blue moon, you should see a neurotologist. Not a regular ENT, certainly not just your primary care physician - nope - you should see a neurotologist. There are a number of resources on the web to help you find one. Start with my links post below.

I can recommend through personal experience the following two doctors:
Dr David Wilson - Portland, Oregon
Dr Jennifer Derebery, Los Angeles, CA
Second hand I've heard nice things about Dr. Black in Portland, OR as well.

If I experience more doc's and feel I can recommend them, I will post their information.

Why do I like these docs? Because they are neurotologists who are very, very familiar with Meniere's and deal with it every day. Dr Wilson is very up on the latest research in the field and Dr Derebery is actually leading and doing research in the field. I guarantee most regular ENT's do not have this background.

They both LISTEN! Dr Wilson especially will take a lot of time with you if you need it. Dr Derebery is often pressed for time, but if I ask a question or need further explanation, she stays and provides it with no complaints. I've gone out of my way to be very educated on this topic. And although I am a layperson I can put a doc through their paces with my questions. Both of these folks don't mind, and answer quickly and authoritavely with answers that reflect their opinions of the latest info out there. I also bring my wife with me to these appointments. She is a Registered Nurse and works in a complex clinical setting at a major hospital. She agrees with my opinion of these docs.

I have had a few experiences with traditional ENT's who were not this way at all and were complete jerks to me. I won't name them here, but they weren't neurotoligists anyway, and I think I've established my opinion on that!