Wanted one GREAT Doc in Melbourne Australia

[Brooke Slattery]

Hello Again!


Does anyone know of a great Dr in Melbourne Australia?

I was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis five years ago and now recently with SLE Lupus. My main problem is that we dont know which is causing what symptoms and the Doc I am currently under has absolutely no idea what to do. I found a GREAT Doc in Brisbane and even went and saw him whilst I was doing some work up there but there has to be a Doc in Melbourne that can help. One other Doctor I found works out of the same hospital as the current Dr so he was not really willing to go against something that his colleague had said.

This man is driving me crazy as he treats me like I am an idiot and it is doing my head in!

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Brooke

[Lily]

Hi Brooke,

The Doc you are currently seeing is definitely not experienced enough to handle your case from what you have told me, he's only a consultant, probably quite young and inexperienced. Seeing as you have two conditions, Sarcoidosis and Lupus (both still fairly rare diseases in the grand scheme of things) diagnosed you need to see someone more experienced.

I presume you were diagnosed by someone who investigated it throughly to come to the conclusion you have both conditions? Did you mention you were diagnosed in Ireland? I feel your best option at this stage is to see an Immunologist. The Lupus Association number I gave you will give you a list of current docs, just ask if their specialty is Immunology or Rheumatology.

Either way it would be preferable to see someone who is a Professor at one of the major teaching hospitals and therefore has plenty of experience with both diseases. If you are going by Medicare bulk billing then you end up with who they stick you with, which may not always be best for you. In this case your consultant. That is no barrier to trying through the hospital system to get a more experienced doc, but you may have to pay the gap on medicare. Some of the Professors will have private clinics within the hospital (mine does) and some also practice outside of the hospital system, and some do both. Dr. Tim Godfrey who I mentioned in another post trained with Dr. Hughes in London and should know his stuff, but as far as Sarcoidosis goes then he may not be the best choice as he is a Rheumy.

If you are changing specialties then you should go straight to the top of the Immunology ladder. Find out who it is and they will be able to give you a consult, make sure its not another consultant, insist on someone more experienced, you may still be able to get a Professor, but you may have to wait a bit longer for your initial appointment.

In Australia people do see Rheumatologists for Lupus but if your case is not straight forward or you just want more thorough individual care then an Immunologist is who you should see. Some Rheumatologists are well versed in both your conditions I'm sure, but an Immunologist would be much better I feel. The 3 top docs in Sydney for Lupus and associated diseases are all Immunologists. There's really only one of the top docs who is a Rheumatolgist.

Hope this helps and I know I'm rehashing some of what I've said to you in pm's but thought in case anyone else is reading this who doesnt normally post they may benefit.

I'm a little unsure what you mean about finding that other doctor and him being unwilling to go against your current doctor. Was it your GP who said that? We often feel that might be the case, but in reality this cant be done, and if you approached them directly then they cant refuse. Of course your GP may try and refuse a referral which you will need, but ethically they cant, but if need be you go to another GP after you have found a decent specialist you would like to see and get a referral from them. If you request another doctor then usually one is provided, everyone is entitled to a second opinion in this country and its your health and your life, you just have to take charge.

Good luck style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/clover.gif and let us know how you get along.

love
Lily