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Finding a doctor


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Dear All,

 

This will be my last post before I take it easy.  There was a thread about a test for benzo damage, and what came of that thread, was the need to be heard and believed, and I sent part of this in a PM to a buddy and thought others might find it useful.

 

I think there is growing knowledge in the neurological community that our situation is real, and while protracted damage is still pretty rare, the epidemic of those dependent on benzos whose eventual illness is pending soon is enormous, and is going to be hitting hard as more people reach tolerance and are left with the residual damage.

 

I think finding a neurologist with whom you can work can be very helpful.  It took me a long time to find mine, and he has been a valuable sounding board for ideas.  And for the record, he believed me from the day we met.

 

To optimize your chances of finding a good doctor I recommend the following:

 

First, you need to find a doctor who is a real scientist.  The difference between a "regular" doctor and one who is a scientist is the scientists believe in research and that treatment for illnesses evolve.  Sadly, these are rare.  To find one, look to your insurance provider or google neurologists in your area.  Get a list of 10 or so.  Real scientists do research and publish papers, so go to ResearchGate.net.  If you type in his/her last name it will show you all of the research in which that doctor was involved.  If it shows him on many papers, you have your doc.  If it does not, try the next doc on the list and keep looking.

 

Once you have your doc make an appointment and bring a copy of these two papers:

 

https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jjp/81/1/81_1_1/_article

https://sci-hub.tw/https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/PL00005172

 

Bring the papers and talk about the evolution of your damage, your benzo and other med use, and development of health issues and "triggers."  The evolution of my triggers has taught me as much about our condition as any paper or text I have read.

 

Lastly, there is now a medical diagnosis code (ICD) for what we have.  The ICD code is:

F13.232 -  Sedative, hypnotic or anxiolytic dependence with withdrawal with perceptual disturbance.

 

The "right" doctor will see the papers, your history, and he will believe you.  It will actually be a very good sign if he says something like, "I have never seen that ICD code before, but it is very interesting."

 

As we the benzo damaged learn more, the "right" doctor may be able to help each of us personally with our own brand of damage.

 

I hope that helps anyone.

 

I'll be back.  It might be a while, but I'll be back.

 

Ramcon1

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I hope this might help people in the US.

 

I am lucky, I found a doctor who has gone through benzo hell herself. And on top of that is a person, who believes in learning, research and that what we know today, has to be reviewed tomorrow.

 

Took me 10 years to find her. And of course, insurance does not cover that so I have to pay everything out of my pocket, but this is nothing new. But hell, - what a relief to talk to an informed and intelligent doctor. Who absolutely knows what I am talking about and has more than one degree in more than one field. Simply love her.

 

I think you can find out quickly if the person in front of you is a learner and discoverer or if he or she is ego-driven and wants to operate on the same level they once graduated. It is the interest in his or her eyes, when you talk about your symptoms. It is simply the opposite happening in their eyes as if you are sitting in front of someone useless. I always felt like the eyes were closing down when I talked with those people. With good people, no matter what field it is, you will notice the little flame in they eyes and then they will ask you questions and you will see, how much they know.

 

 

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