Posted by jerrympls on December 3, 2005, at 2:43:06
In reply to Anyone know of a PDoc in LA for VNS Therapy?, posted by juanantoniod on December 3, 2005, at 2:27:41
> Hello all,
>
> This is an update on my progress in getting VNS Therapy. Briefly, I need to find a psychiatrist in LA that prescribes and works with this therapy, and a surgeon who will implant the device. If anyone has any names, please post them and I will be emailed when you post. If you're not comfortable posting a name and number, please post with that and I will respond to your post with my direct email address.
>
> To bring you up to date, I am considering VNS Therapy for my long term depression. I read the book, Out of the Black Hole, and decided that I probably wanted the therapy. However, I had not yet received the information package from Cyberonics, which includes a video.
>
> I received the package yesterday. While reviewing the video with my partner, about half way through he said, "You're getting that. I don't need to see any more. You need that." This was good to hear because he is more objective about these things than I am. The video and information basically confirmed what I had thought after reading the books and viewing the satellite broadcast online. It also reminded me that the treatment takes up to 6 months to a year to start working. This is fine with me.
>
> So, I saw my psychiatrist today and I am very disappointed. Although he said he supports me getting VNS and would affirm my chronic depression and lack of efficacy of many antidepressant medications, he did not want to participate in the prescribing or management of VNS. I really thought that he would have wanted to learn this new therapy and be on the cutting edge. Had I known he did not, I wouldn’t have waited all this time to see him before seeking other options.
>
> Although I have an email in to my case manager at Cyberonics, if I could get ANY leads on psychiatrists or surgeons in the Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills, Glendale, and Pasadena, before Monday, I could get a head start on finding a doctor.
>
> Any help is appreciated. Thanks for your support.
>
> AntonioIf I may say - I was involved in the FDA study for VNS - about your doctor not wanting to take part in the treatment part of the VNS is probably a good thing because he's not qualified to do so. You need to find a doctor who knows how to administer the treatment, etc. It involves a computer and a wand that reads and sets the settings within the device. Only someone knowledgeable in this would be right. There are many setting variables and it can take a while to fine tune them to you. If you need help finding a qualified doc. call Cyberonics - they can help a lot.
Jerry
poster:jerrympls
thread:574518
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051126/msgs/584863.html