I'm happy to report that the neurology appointment was... fine. My neuro exam was much the same as it has been for the last few appointments; my doctor was pleased that I'm doing well on the Copaxone and was glad to hear I wasn't feeling suicidal anymore as a result of the Avonex. Yes, I'm left with some residual sensory stuff but I don't have any real loss of function or disability. So all is well from an MS perspective. For the moment, at any rate.

Of course, my main goal in going to this appointment was to talk with him about the crazy-ass scheduling secretary he has and the $25 she charged me for sending me 10 pages of records when I'd asked for one measly piece of paper. So I told him the whole saga about how I'd called to ask for a copy of my most recent test results, how Miss Scheduling Secretary (henceforth to be known as Miss S.S.) was snippy and unhelpful and chided me for not having a fax machine.

What was interesting was that even while agreeing with me that the charge and her behavior were excessively unreasonable he went on to say - in nearly the same breath - that he is running a business and that requests for lots of patient records take time and resources to process and - by the way - his office is under-staffed and Miss S.S. was overwhelmed. He actually suggested I send them a self-addressed stamped envelope and have them mail the results back to me.

!!!

Blink.

Blink. Blink.

My mom jumped in at that point to reiterate how unreasonable Miss S.S.'s behavior was, while I sat there gaping at him. I'm sure I looked like I'd lost all my senses, but in reality I was trying to decide whether to remind him of the fact that his office staffing problems and Miss S.S.'s workload were NOT MY PROBLEM and, frankly, there really are few things I care less about.

In the end, he promised to talk with Miss S.S. about her attitude and then walked out with me and told her to remove the charge from my account. Not that I had any intention of paying it; my victory here - however small - was in having told him about the issues and having him agree with me.

My next appointment with him is scheduled for late January: I guess I have between now and then to see if I can find another neurologist I like better. I mean, I get that he's running a business and that there are some costs that must be passed on to the patient. But there are other things that fall under the heading of "the cost of doing business." Treating your patients reasonably and providing them with the information they need is one of those things, in my mind.

Oddly, he made it sound like this charging thing was a "standard" practice, but if that's the case I must either be quite sheltered or... well, I don't know what. I have never, ever run across this kind of thing before. (Have any of you?)

Still, I'm satisfied for the moment. Zee: 1, Miss S.S.: 0