Dr Amen or neurologist

[babytay]

I have checked out Dr Amen sight and called the clinic to see what they offer. I see where it takes 4 days and they give you details on exactly what they find. Well I know they are very experienced with Adhd but they gave me the price and they said they wont take insurance. It is also very far away from us I am in Illinois.

I was told that if my sons Doctor will refer him to a neurologist the insurance will cover the visit. So I am wondering if a visit to a neurologist would be similar to going to see Dr. Amen. Has anyone here tried to take their child to a neurologist for adhd?

[finnmom]

Hi Babytay
I´am not the best one to answer to you, since I live in an other country, but here it take´s neurologist to prescripe med´s, and neuropsychologist to make the dx at the first place. As I have read in here, it´s quite common in U.S too, to have an neurologist´s opinion and mayby an EEG and so on...
Marja

[ohmama]

babytay,
Since your insurance will cover a neurologist you should definitely go see what he has to say. If you are not satisfied and have done all you can, the Amen Clinic will always be there.

Of course I'm sure if you've read any of Dr. Amen's books you know it is far different than any exam or checklist of symptoms you would get from a neurologist. I walked away from there knowing more than I wanted to.

If you can afford it and have given everything else a try first then that might be the time to make the trip out here. I wish I lived closer to the clinic, you could stay with me.

Another thought.... If you could get your SPECT scans done there in Illinois you could have Dr. Amen read the scans and communicate the information back to you. I think he charges something like $300. to read the scans? I could be wrong about the price but you could get the details from calling the clinic or look at his site www.amenclinic.com You may even get your insurance company to cover the scan cost? I know someone in Canada was doing this. I haven't heard back from him so don't know how it went.

[catatonic]

Babytay,
We have a neurologist involved with my son's diagnosis and treatment. He at least is relatively open-minded, in that he suggested dietary changes prior to any other form of treatment and doesn't pooh-pooh the changes made by the Feingold diet and supplements. However, he is still very much caught up in the "traditional" model of ADHD, as it appears most MD's are. I know that had I desired it, I could have pushed the meds issue during our first visit and walked out with a prescription. The fact that my boy has not yet required medication is NOT due to any real contribution from the medical establishment.

However, it still remains highly advisable to consult a neurologist. At a minimum, he can order an MRI which will detect any brain abnormalities that may be contributing to the ADHD. Also an EEG to look for seizure disorders etc. And he can take a look at blood work for any obvious problems. Even if no real help comes from the whole process, you will at least have ruled out a number of easily solved problems that might be causing symptoms.

This is very, very different from what is done at the Amen clinic. I know that I asked our neurologist about Dr. Amen's SPECT method and he was quite down on it, calling it unproven and asking where were his published results? Where were the pictures of PET scans taken AFTER treatment showing any indication that anything at all had been changed in the brain.

I'm not saying I agree with him, just that these were questions he raised. This may be why insurance companies will not pay for a visit to the Amen Clinic.

I remain on the fence on this one. While I think those are valid questions that I'd like to have the answers to, I also think Dr. Amen's methods make an awful lot of sense. In fact, I used his "brainplace" checklist on the various types of ADHD to help in my decision to give tyrosine to my boy.

OhMama, I didn't realize Dr. Amen would read scans provided by a different doctor. Does his fee cover any treatment recommendations or other professional support, do you know? If insurance covered a SPECT scan, the $300 fee just might fall into the "acceptable risk" category. A $3,000 visit doesn't even come close. For that amount, I'd pretty much want a guarantee!!!

[HooDunnit]

When I have reviewed the topic of SPECT scans on the internet, I have found that most of what I could find to read about them seemed to be written by the Amen clinic itself. I had difficulty finding support for them from the rest of the research and medical community. So I find what catatonic's neurologist said to be of interest. I also would have to sit on the fence on that one.

Barry

[babytay]

Thanks for you input guys. I feel that after reading about Dr. Amen and his methods it could be helpful. I am going to look in to Dr. Amen looking over the results my son gets from a neurologist here in Illinois. The $300 for this doesn’t sound to bad. Now $3000 would be hard to handle if it didn’t work for us. I am still in the process of getting a referral from his Doctor so we can see a neurologist here our insurance requires a referral.
I am reading and looking around in books all the time it seems like I am a little obsessed. But I just want to get any info that can help my little one.
I did find a doctor here Dr. Lipton at Rush neurology behavior center. She is a neurologist that deals with lots of Adhd children. It seems promising because they give all kinds of treatment but it is $5000 and it takes a week for evaluation. This doctor also doesn’t accept insurance because insurance doesn’t feel Dr. Lipton's methods are true.
This is just a hard issue to deal with because it seems everything is trial and error. As someone here put it there are no Guarantees and I guess I am used to knowing my results ahead of time.
I wont know if we can see the neurologist until Monday so keep us in your prayers.

[ohmama]

In Dr. Amen's books and on the website there are before and after pictures of brain scans taken on individuals to show the difference/improvement. What a normal brain looks like is no mystery so why should it be so difficult to think there could be a comparison? Further, if you go to him for evaluation and treatment and are not finding improvement he will do the scans over at no charge to try to get to the bottom of it and work another treatment plan. That's as close to a gaurantee as anyone can give. Does a neurologist give this assurance? Or any doctor for that matter? Even one dealing in natural alternatives won't say the treatment will work. They don't have the advantage of seeing inside the brain.

The advantage with the Amen Clinic is in getting the right diagnosis. What is better than getting a look inside the brain? Surely not what "accepted medicine" has to offer. I can't help but wonder why these other doctors want to stick to their $tandard practice and don't want to rock the boat. It must be very comfortable $$. Why should they? Dr. Amen is a pioneer in his field and like all areas of progress there is bound to be controversy.

There are some neurologists who are aware of what Dr. Amen has accomplished and endorse his method. I think if one were to see for themselves from the scans they would get a better understanding that this is not hocus pocus.

I guess it is human nature to doubt, it goes along with fear. I hope it won't keep people away from this avenue of help that is available. We take risks every day. This one is well worth the money.

[AustinsMom]

We wanted to get a SPECT scan and have Dr. Amen overread so tried to set that up in 2002. But the problem is that Dr. Amen has been doing this a long time and his equipment is not the newest on the market, so most clinics who are getting into this since his work have different and newer models of scanners. For him to overread, it has to be done on the same type of scanner. We tried all surrounding states and couldn't find where we could have one done. Several neurologists were very helpful and actually wanted to help so they could talk with Dr. Amen and get the benefit of his experience. So unless things have changed during this last year, it is harder than you'd think to set this up. I was checking in St. Louis, KC, Tulsa, Nashville, Chicago, etc.

We are now thoroughly exploring nutritional strategies, but I'd still love to go to Dr. Amen's clinic or have him look at a ds scan someday. Hope you have success with this babytay. Can't wait to hear.

[ohmama]

Babytae and Austins mom,
If you will go to www.amenclinic.com there is a list under Patient Resources, click on the referal database and you will find other neurologists/psychiatrists, etc. who do the SPECT imaging and follow up treatment. I found one in McHenry, Illinois (approx. 50 miles from Chicago). Another right in Chicago...Dr. Pavel at the university of Illinois Medical Center. Another in Naperville and one in Peoria, Illinois. Just put in the name of your state and you will find some doctors who may be in your area.

Dr. Amen is not the only one doing this. I don't know what these other doctors charge or anything else but if your interested you could make some phone calls. The one I pulled up has a lot of information on his website, see www.brain-spect.com/index.html (this is the one in McHenry, Illinois). Listed under Behavioral Neurology and brain spect links.... one of the referals from Dr. Amen. It may be worth looking into. You wouldn't need Dr. Amen to read the scan if these doctors can do the same.

[catatonic]

Hey OhMama, I think I pushed your buttons on Dr. Amen (again) and I didn't mean to! I didn't mean to imply in any way that Dr. Amen's work is hocus pocus, because I don't think that. I'm also not deluded enough to seriously expect a guarantee from anybody about anything in life. Please forgive me for elevating your blood pressure.

[ohmama]

Cat,
It takes much more than that to elevate me. I appreciate opposite views, especially yours. Makes me think and look into things. If more people would speak so openly we could probably solve problems a lot sooner. You know, it gets things stirred up. I love it.

Who knows, I may even get you to read one of his books?

[babytay]

Oh mama thanks I am going to look into some of these suggestions you have given here today. I will post back and let you all know how it goes.


Thanks