Neurologists deal with a wide range of symptoms related to the nervous system. They can help with conditions such as headaches, dizziness and muscle spasms, or even more serious disorders like brain tumours and stroke. If you think you may have a neurological problem, you should book a neurology consultation as soon as possible.
During the consultation, you’ll discuss your medical history and describe your symptoms. Your neurologist will then carry out a detailed analysis of your body and perform any relevant tests to determine the cause of your condition. This will typically include tests to measure blood pressure, visual acuity and hearing, electroencephalograms (EEG), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and electromyography (EMG) where the doctor will stimulate nerves and muscles to see how they respond.
In addition to this, your neurologist may also recommend a variety of other diagnostic procedures. These might include blood tests to check for a certain type of clotting disorder, or an electrocardiogram (EKG) which can detect abnormal heart rhythms. In more severe cases, your neurologist might suggest carrying out an invasive test where they will take a biopsy from your muscles or nerves to see if the tissue has any signs of disease.
Once they’ve determined the cause of your symptoms, your neurologist will advise you on what the best course of treatment is. This will be based on their expert knowledge of the latest research, which is combined with their clinical experience. They will discuss your options, including medication, surgery and other non-surgical therapies. They will also talk to you about your personal preferences and lifestyle, and how these might affect the treatment they suggest.
While it is not necessary to bring a list of your symptoms with you to your neurologist, it is helpful to have one. This can help you keep track of all the things you want to tell them and ensure that your neurologist has the most complete picture of your health when they meet with you. Make sure to write down your most important symptoms in order of priority so that you don’t forget anything or leave out any of your key concerns. It’s also a good idea to try and keep a diary of your symptoms in the lead up to your appointment, so that you have all the evidence to hand. Get to know more on this at https://universalneurocare.com/.
As a general rule, doctors have a greater epistemic right than patients to know about biomedical treatments and, therefore, their view of what should be done generally carries more weight than a patient’s. However, they should be careful not to cross the line into recommending, which conveys a view of what a patient ought to do, rather than simply informing them about the available options. The neurologist in Extract 5 does this by first receiving the minimal token of acceptance from the patient, a period intoned ‘okay’ (lines 13-16), before shifting the topic to consideration of another symptom, her difficulty with fatigue (lines 17-24). The neurologist thus shifts from doing recommending to doing option-listing.
Our practice is at:
Universal Neurological Care, P.A.
8823 San Jose Blvd Ste. 209, Jacksonville, FL 32217
(904) 404-7044