Question:
If my doctor didn't voluntarily explain this in great detail, including
translating it into crystal clear layman's terms, explaining the implications,
laying out treatment options, discussing the risks of treatment and
non-treatment, and generally kissing my butt, I'd 1) RUN to another doctor and
2) report this technodweeb to the state medical board. Afte all, guess who s/he
works for? YOU!
Sure, you could research it on the web for months, and MAYBE figure it out. But I doubt it; that's why radiologists are about the highest-paid physicians out there.
This doc is more interested in medicine than in you, and what good is s/he?
Answer:
As part of our practice, we have both a Dizziness & Balance Disorders Center
and a Tinnitus & Loudness Sensitivity Center. For patients seen in the
Dizziness center, we try to discourage referring docs from doing an MRI.
Dizziness almost, almost, almost always is not caused by something that can
be visualized in an MRI. Therefore, it is a waste of time and money. If
there is an acoustic neuroma, it usually does not cause dizziness because
the growth of the tumor is very slow, so that the central vestibular system
can adapt to the physiologic changes caused by the pressure of the tumor.
And when the MRI is negative, you still don't know what is causing the
dizziness or what can be done about it.
People with chronic dizziness or imbalance would be better served by seeing
a practice that has some expertise in dizziness and provides various kinds
of treatment, both medical or vestibular therapy.
