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I’m seeing two neurologist at once through a VA referral which one do you get rid of?

A MyEpilepsyTeam Member asked a question 💭
Juneau, AK

I was seeing a Veterans Affairs referral to a neurology center up in Northern Alaska, the referral place gave me a referral back to Veterans Affairs to the Portland neurology center and now they still wanna be part of it but I can’t see two neurologist at once and I’m pretty interested in hearing what the Portland neurology has to say about my situation. They actually have treatment programs and medicine for people if it’s PNES and they have a program if it’s epilepsy. One of the VA providers at… read more

October 12
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Reactions
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

I would select which one is closest or easiest to the Neurological Clinic

October 12
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

Is one of the doctors actually a an epilepsy doctor? I am grateful that there is a clinic in Edmonton that just has epileptologists in the Kaye Clinic. All assessments, treatment and surgeries .

October 14
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

Hi I'm really sorry for replying now only, but I don't go into my emails
regularly, but all I can say is, consider yourself very lucky for seeing
two neurologist at the same time.

It so extremely Bad and Sad here in South Africa to see a normal doctor
what about a neurologist.
I wish I can see a neurologist to sit and talk about my epilepsy conditions.

Can you please tell me if you guys have Phenobarbitone 30mg at your
hospitals,clinics or pharmacy's cause here in South Africa we don't receive
Phenobarbitone anymore.

If anyone can tell me or what to chat with me about it my contact number is
(Phone number can only be seen by the question and answer creators)

Thankyou in advance,
Anton Human.

---------- Forwarded message ---------

3 days ago
A MyEpilepsyTeam Member

Hi I'm really sorry for replying now only, but I don't go into my emails
regularly, but all I can say is, consider yourself very lucky for seeing
two neurologist at the same time.

It so extremely Bad and Sad here in South Africa to see a normal doctor
what about a neurologist.
I wish I can see a neurologist to sit and talk about my epilepsy conditions.

Can you please tell me if you guys have Phenobarbitone 30mg at your
hospitals,clinics or pharmacy's cause here in South Africa we don't receive
Phenobarbitone anymore.

If anyone can tell me or what to chat with me about it my contact number is
(Phone number can only be seen by the question and answer creators)

Thankyou in advance,
Anton Human.

3 days ago
MyEpilepsyTeam

What a frustrating and exhausting situation — and it's completely understandable to feel overwhelmed when different providers are pulling in different directions, especially with findings as significant as frontal lobe lesions and left hippocampal sclerosis on your MRI.

Given everything shared here, transitioning your Show Full Answer

What a frustrating and exhausting situation — and it's completely understandable to feel overwhelmed when different providers are pulling in different directions, especially with findings as significant as frontal lobe lesions and left hippocampal sclerosis on your MRI.

Given everything shared here, transitioning your primary care to the Portland VA neurology center sounds like the stronger path forward. Here's why that makes sense: - Portland has dedicated treatment programs for both epilepsy and PNES, meaning they're equipped to help regardless of which direction the diagnosis goes
- They're already receiving your full history, which is exactly what a good diagnostic workup requires
- A fresh, thorough evaluation from a team that isn't already anchored to a prior conclusion gives the best chance at an accurate diagnosis
- Left hippocampal sclerosis is a well-recognized structural finding associated with epilepsy — that alone warrants serious, specialized follow-up When transitioning, it's worth asking the Portland team to formally request all prior EEG recordings, MRI imaging, and clinical notes from the Alaska providers. Having everything in one place helps avoid gaps.

It's also completely reasonable to ask Portland to be your single point of contact going forward. Coordinating care through one team — especially one with the resources Portland appears to have — is far less likely to result in conflicting opinions or things falling through the cracks. One important thing to push for early: if a definitive diagnosis hasn't been confirmed yet, video EEG monitoring is considered the gold standard for distinguishing epilepsy from PNES. Given the structural findings on your MRI and your childhood seizure history, that kind of monitoring could be a critical next step.

Don't be afraid to advocate loudly for yourself here. Bringing a written list of questions and your full history to every Portland appointment will help make sure nothing important gets missed.

October 12

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