misstraci Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Has anyone ever heard of or been to the autonomic/mitral valve prolapse center in Birmingham Alabama? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redoctober Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I just visited a month ago...appointment with Dr. Watkins. Very pleased with my visit...what would you like to know about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misstraci Posted July 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 Hi redoctoberWell, I had a visit here in Atlanta on Monday with a Dr who "supposively" was very knowledgable about dysautonomia and I waited about six weeks to see him. The appointment was very disappointing. He was not the nicest person and seemed to have no new info, ideas, or insights for me. So, I feel like I still haven't had "the" appointment yet to discuss my condition.I was just wondering if the center in Alabama was very helpful, had polite doctors who did tests and took the time. What all do they do at your appointment?Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redoctober Posted July 20, 2011 Report Share Posted July 20, 2011 I live near Atlanta...and have already been down that road. There is NOBODY in Atlanta who is versant in dysautonomia...not even the renowned Piedmont Cardio Groups. Fortunately, I found this out via a very helpful forum member (firewatcher) who lives near ATL as well...so I didn't bother wasting time with any of the local docs.So, I ended up calling the MVP/Dysautonomia center in Birmingham...and was able to get an appointment with Dr. Watkins 2 weeks later. Very good visit...you can find my post from a few weeks back illustrating my experience with the visit. By chance, who did you end up seeing...the Piedmont group, or one of the folks over @ Emory? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bensman Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 I was diagnosed there by Dr. Moore in February. It was a long drive for me, so I am now scheduled at Dr. Grubb's office in August.Let me know if you have any specific questions I can answer about the center. I feel there are pros and cons, depending on your situation, but I am glad that I went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misstraci Posted July 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 redoctober..... yes, i guess there really is no one here in the atlanta area. i called around so many places and spoke to so many people who gave me the "huh?" like i was talking another language. my cardio at piedmont recommended another cardio/ep at piedmont who was suppose to know his stuff, Dr. Dan Dan but I just had a very unpleasant boring visit. I will have to go read your other post, thanks!!!volley9.... where do you live? I think Alabama is close for me but I'm not opposed to flying, traveling to get the best care. I have heard all good things about Dr. Grubb, i was even considering going to him as well. I guess my specific questions would be, because I've been "diagnosed" already and had the tilt table test but do they do further testing? do they just talk to you and prescribe drugs or do they dig deeper to see if other things are going on as well? That's kind of what I hope for, for where ever I end up. I don't want a boring talk visit, i want someone who will do labs, test, etc and help me to understand more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bensman Posted July 21, 2011 Report Share Posted July 21, 2011 From what I've read, they do the same testing with everyone: Echo, TTT, and Stress Test. When I went, I did not have a diagnosis and had not done a TTT. So for me, just getting a diagnosis was worth the trip.The people there were very caring, compassionate, and understand what you are going through. Dr. Moore took a great deal of time with me. She ended up prescribing 3 meds, all of which were intolerable for me. On the flip side, I feel like it is solely a dysautonomia center. For me personally, I feel like POTS is a secondary issue and I want to get to the root cause. They did not offer any "out of the box" testing to see if there were other issues and didn't even mention anything else that I might want to look into. I've had to research it all myself. Dr. Watkins may be different though, as he is the head doc there, I think. (Side Note: Every time I called there (probably 6 times) I got an answering machine and they would call me back. For some reason, it really annoyed me.)I live in Ohio so Dr. Grubb is only a 2 hour trip for me, and I am hoping to get some additional answers. I am also in the process of getting tested for MCAS and hopefully will have the results before making the trip to Dr. Grubb's office.Let me know if you want more details. Best of luck! Kate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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