Heiferly Posted May 13, 2009 Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 My cardiologist decided to give me a referral to get an autonomic workup at Cleveland Clinic. How do they decide what tests they are going to run? Is there a set battery of tests they do on POTS patients? Or does my doctor need to specify what tests he is referring me to have performed? Or does CC decide what they think needs to be done? Is it all decided in advance, or do they possibly add more tests while you're there depending on how things go? I just want to make sure this is all set up properly before my family makes the trek to cart me up there, and I don't think my doctor's office has any experience scheduling these so I'm a little apprehensive. If I call to confirm once the appointment is made for me, are there specific tests I should make sure they've lined up? One thing that my doctors here have not addressed at all is my skin pain. Does the autonomic clinic there test for small fiber neuropathy?Sorry to ask a million questions. I just want to be sure that I make the best use of this opportunity to get more sophisticated testing than what I've had locally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiferly Posted May 13, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2009 I got a call from my doctor's office saying that I have an appointment with a Dr. Jaeger at 3 PM. That sounds suspiciously late for a full day of testing ... do they insist upon you coming out for an intake appointment first (and thus having to make more than one trip)? Is anyone familiar with this Dr. Jaeger? I asked her when she called what she had scheduled for that day and she said she didn't know; I wish I could say I'm surprised to hear that they accomplished the feat of scheduling me for an appointment without knowing WHAT they were scheduling. *Sigh.* I'll try calling Cleveland tomorrow to find out from their end what ended up getting scheduled. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babettess Posted May 14, 2009 Report Share Posted May 14, 2009 Call Dr. Jaeger's office DIRECTLY and ask what tests need to be ordered or you will be making more than one trip. I saw Dr. Jagear on March 2 and had to return to CC for my testing on Mar 26 & 27. He said I should have called his office directly to see about scheduling the tests. I still do not have the letter with my recommendations from CC yet. I have my test results but they con't mean much without the doctor's recommendations. PM me if you would like more info.Babette Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heiferly Posted May 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 15, 2009 Because my appointment was scheduled for 3 PM and I have to see the doctor before any tests can be performed, they said they won't be able to schedule any testing for the same day. So they will schedule them all for another visit and I will have to drive out another time. Oh well, at least I got a definite answer so I knew whether or not to stop meds. (I was particularly concerned because I just started Provigil yesterday and figure I'll have to go off that because it is accentuating my tachycardia and will skew test results.)For anyone considering going to Cleveland Clinic for testing, I should add that Patty, Dr. Jaeger's secretary, has been extremely kind and helpful over the phone. If I could choose a model for how I wish every Dr.'s secretary would treat me as a patient, she would definitely be it. To be quite honest, so long as the people there continue to treat me with such respect and kindness, I'll gladly overlook a few inconveniences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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