If I recall when I was first diagnosed with epilepsy I ask the neuro if I would grow out of it. He said "NO"

@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member , If you haven’t already, you might go to www.google.com or the Neurologist’s office website & read up on the history of the adult Neurologist you’ll be seeing. A lot of the discussion might be about your history of seizures & the types of seizures you’ve had & the current types & maybe the medication you’ve taken & your current medication. If there’s any medication that didn’t work for you let them know. When I was looking for an adult Neurologist, one asked me if I was aware that long term use of Depakote could possibly cause osteoporosis & I said no & so he had me do a bone density test & that showed that I have osteopenia in my left hip & he recommended that I take Vitamin D & my current Neurologist has me taking Vitamin D as well. Your new Neurologist might want to do an EEG or something to see if they can see what’s going on, etc. In 2019 just before I began seeing my current Neurologist, I was temporarily seeing a Neurological nurse practitioner & she had me do a 3 day at home EEG & then when we first saw my current Neurologist she said she wanted to do a 3 to 5 day in hospital video EEG & my Mom was like “she just had one” but my Neurologist explained that this would be an in hospital video EEG & they would take me off my medicine, etc. Though I didn’t have any seizures while doing the in hospital EEG, they said that while I slept the EEG showed mostly Focalized seizure activity but some Generalized seizure activity. So that type of test can help give your Neurologist more info rather than the regular EEG. You could ask about side effects of meds & if you’ve had problems with a certain side effect from different meds, then you could ask if it might upset your stomach or whatever kind of past issues you’ve had. Good luck & always keep in mind, if you don’t like that doctor, don’t hesitate to keep looking for one you’re happy with. Your friend in Austin, Texas, Becky

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@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member , I don’t know about where you live but here in the United States we have Pediatric Neurologist & the word Pediatric refers to a child or children. So a Pediatric Neurologist treats children or young people. We loved my Pediatric Neurologist & he saw me till I was in my late 20’s & he finally said that I had to start seeing an Adult Neurologist because if something were to happen to me & I had to go to the hospital, he wouldn’t be able to help me because he’s a Pediatric Neurologist & I’m an adult. So I had to go searching for an adult Neurologist. Your friend in Texas, Becky

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JannetteHuertas, I was already being treated by an ‘adult’ neurologist when my seizures appeared after the traumatic brain injury. But in terms of compatibility and concentration, I would ask where he/she studied, and when, and then if they have a special type of seizures they are particularly interested in. Give the first Dr the benefit of the doubt for a few months. If you start to be disappointed, I would look up other Epileptologists in your area, maybe on Google or some other search engine, and use type of epilepsy as a way to categorize them (some are trained for children; some for adults with another chronic illness like MS or Dementia, and some even get special training for TBI survivors. There are answers out there, we just have to look for them. But you’re right to bring a list of questions, and don’t let them cut short your asking them!! I wish you all the best!

I had a bad start when I had to switch from St. Louis Children's Hospital to Wohl Clinic. The neurologists there were a big step backwards as far as help. I tried a local neurologist and he wasn't any better. Then I was given a newspaper article by a co-worker that told me about an epileptologist in St. Louis. He showed a lot more concern right off the bat. He had me set up for tests (four of them if I remeber right). We discussed the test results. He explained his suggestions of medication change. He just made me feel a lot more secure from his actions.

He had most of my questions answered before I could ask. I kept a close, respectable relationship with the neuro which made it easier to ask questions and listen to his positive and negative observations. One thing we didn't agree about was my surgery. He thought I had enough control of my seizures. I told him the current amount of control was not enough. Eventually after 3-4 times I called his office, he agreed to surgery which led to total control of seizures.

I say just think about your biggest problems and ask what they can do to help. Remember to keep the right attitude so they'll take what you say seriously and be right there when you need help.