My visit to Dr. Weinshenker at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota was a pleasant and very beneficial experience. I felt that my travel coming out of state from Washington was well worth the missed work and travel expense due to the exemplary time, attention and care I received, especially in comparison to my prior experiences with my neurologist in Washington. During my review of Dr. Weinshenker, I feel that it is appropriate, in order to highlight the merits of his work, to likewise provide contrast. Thus, I have entailed some information on my previous experiences outside of the Mayo Clinic.
To begin, during my initial visit to Dr. Weinshenker, I provided a detailed, written, chronological outline of the symptoms (dates) that I had been experiencing for the past 3 plus months. I greatly appreciated that he not only looked over my outline, but he also personally went through it with me. He approached my outline so seriously as to thoroughly go item-by-item, asking… me questions and taking notes after reviewing each incident/symptom that I had recorded. During my previous experiences outside of the Mayo Clinic, my outlines were largely ignored, there was minimal dialogue between the doctor and myself and this resulted in feelings of going unheard and thus feeling open to a possible misdiagnosis or no diagnosis.
Next, Dr. Weinshenker did a very extensive physical neurological exam. I had previously undergone such an exam performed by my neurologist in Washington and noticed that Dr. Weinshenkerâ??s exam included at least a third more components to his testing than my other neurologistâ??s. Further, I appreciated that Dr. Weishenker took the time to explain some of what he was looking for regarding to his verification or lack thereof concerning a diagnosis that had previously been made to me before my visit to Mayo. He explained key terms, for example, spasticity, which when looked up on-line often results in generalized definitions that may quickly cause a nonmedical person to jump to conclusions about self-diagnosis. During my physical, Dr. Weinshenker communicated in depth as to what he was checking for and was open and willing to calmly, not quickly, answer my questions in terms that a nonmedical person could understand.
After all of this, Dr. Weinshenker sat down with me and was about ready to deliver his results. At this point, he had: looked at recent MRIâ??s as well as a recent diagnosis conducted out of state; extensively gone over my medical record/outline; and performed an inclusive exam. Before discussing his results, Dr. Weinshenker asked me why I had come to the Mayo Clinic. The opportunity to discuss my reasoning was very important to me as a patient. There is therapy to releasing our concerns and worry of abnormal or poor health, especially when we as patients may worry that our doctors question us. This feeling can often arise because as nonmedical people it can be intimidating and difficult to explain our symptoms in relatable terms to medical specialists and for me, this feeling had been further heightened by my past experience of not having felt listened to or engaged with by my other doctor concerning my ongoing symptoms.
After sincerely listening to my reasoning for arriving to Mayo, Dr. Weinshenker went on to explain that he did not believe I actually had the spinal condition of Syringomyelia which I had been diagnosed with by my neurologist in Washington state. He explained why and even specifically showed me my MRI images and why according to my imaging, I did not have one of the classic signs in the cerebellum area of my brain. He further said that in his physical exam, specifically when testing with hot and cold sensations (which my other doctor had not performed) that my ability to feel hot and cold sensations in my chest and back as well as my lack of spasticity led to his ruling out of the condition. As well, he explained that he was baffled as to why my other doctor had not performed an axial imagery of my thoracic area of my back while taking my last MRI and that there could not be any 100% diagnosis or lack thereof without the axial component. Thus, he ordered me this MRI to be done at the Mayo Clinic, which ultimately did indeed confirm Dr. Weinshenkerâ??s initial belief that I did not have Syringomyelia.
In addition, Dr. Weinshenker did diagnosis me with Fibromyalgia. He had done a tender point physical test and after reviewing my medical background he concluded that my widespread symptoms of pain were indicative of Fibromyalgia. He said that neurologists can diagnosis Fibromyalgia and that there is recent study into a possible link between the condition and the central nervous system. Further, he took time to explain a good amount about Fibromyalgia even stressing that with stretching, regular light exercise like walking or swimming, a healthy diet and good sleep that within a year it would be possible to go into remission. He also ordered me visits to a physical therapist at Mayo to specifically tailor some stretches for me to help manage the condition and he ordered me to attend a fibromyalgia class offered for free at Mayo. (There is a 2 to 3 day program as well that is close to $1600, I couldnâ??t attend due to timing, but I would say the class was excellent and provided CDs, DVDs, and booklets).
In conclusion, my experience with Dr. Weinshenker was what every patient hopes that they experience during a time of worry and uncertainty. I felt listened to and concerned for by a medical professional with years of education/expertise in his field that was able to relate to his patients in a way that was not condescending or rushed. Due to his expert knowledge, I had a diagnosis reversed that could have caused me a lifetime of worry as well as money wasted on getting MRIs ever
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