If any of you are patients of Dr. J in NC and have had a SPECT scan, I'd like to know where you got it. I am in Roanoke, VA and seeing a llmd in CA who has ordered a SPECT scan. I don't want to go to Columbia U. in NYC because Charlotte is only 3 hours away.
If you have a name and contact no., I would appreciate it. Thanks.
tj
Posted by ConnieMc (Member # 191) on :
Hey!
Email me about this if you want - I have a horror story to tell about my SPECT scan.
I was referred to Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte by Dr. J. I was taken to a dark room, an injection port was put into my arm, I had to lie there quietly for 30 min. Then they came in and gave an injection, then had to lie in the quiet dark for another 30 minutes. Problem is I was told this was to get my brain "quiet" and unstimulated. A phone in the room kept ringing the entire time. I told them about this and they said "oh well". I was told this would take about an hour longer. Well, 5 hours later, I finally left. They kept moving me from machine to machine. This is multi-millian dollar equipment, mind you, and they could not get it to work. I ended up having it done on an older machine.
It came out negative. No surprise to me, since it was such a comedy of errors.
But that's not all ...
I received a bill for $34,600. Yes, $34,600. The customer service people were not helpful at all and refused to look into it, saying that us what I owed. It took me a year to get it straightened out. Five certified letters, at least 10 phone calls later, and numerous calls to my health insurance company (who agreed something was not right and even made a few phone calls on my behalf) later, I only owed $50. I was turned in to a collection agency. Noone from Presbyterian would talk with me about it and I was close to hiring an attorney.
But get this ... They had charged me for the contrast injection 38 times. But funny thing they could not see this? I demanded an itemized copy of my bill, and received it 10 months after the scan, after numerous contacts with them. And there it was. Their mistake.
I had to get very ugly to finally get this resolved. No apologies from them, though.
Far as I know, Dr. J is still referring to that hospital. There's no other choice for that type of scan. But you won't catch me ever going there again, unless I just happen to be on death's door and no other choice.
I have no idea what other facilities do these scans. I know someone in the Raleigh area who could not locate one, so they are definitely few and far between. Have you tried Richmond? Medical College of VA?
I was going to just email you with this, but decided that maybe others might be interested to know how I was treated by this hospital.
Posted by Linda LD (Member # 6663) on :
Lots of hospitals in K-town--especiall UT
L
Posted by tjtighe (Member # 4057) on :
WOW! Thanks, Connie. Don't think I'll go there.
tj
Posted by 8man12 (Member # 7664) on :
I think a spect scan,can tell possible lyme,BUT even on the Columbia site it states it cannot diagnose lyme.
Posted by jloisu (Member # 7538) on :
tjtighe,
Yeah, but a SPECT is another piece of the puzzle. Nothing can tell you for sure you have lyme, not even a lyme test, so at this point you have to build up a pile of things that all point towards a possible diagnosis (i.e. lyme), and a SPECT is another piece of the puzzle.
Posted by HOPE4290 (Member # 7926) on :
We drove 8 hours to have my daughter's SPECT scan done at Columbia in NYC. It was worth it. While it did not diagnose lyme it did show alot of problems with blood flow and a problem with part of her cortex as a result, so it firmed up the reasoning for IV abx. We opted to go to a facility that was at least used to doing scans for illnesses like this. Her MRI was normal but I understand it may be interpretted differently if a LLMD looked at it.
The horror story of that bill made my skin crawl. I am glad you perservered to get it resolved.
Posted by jloisu (Member # 7538) on :
I've had two MRIs in the past year that were both normal (only show structure, not function) but my SPECT was so bad the radiologist said in the remarks it appeared I had had trauma to my brain, but based on my diagnosis, it was vasculitis due to lyme.
Yeah, get the SPECT. It may scare the heck out of you, but better to know than to not know.
Hey Hope! Email me and let me know how your daughter is doing!
Posted by Bothrops (Member # 7393) on :
ConnieNC, you just decribed half of the hospitals in this country. They all make mistakes like yours frequantly.
Posted by duke77 (Member # 5051) on :
I would skip the SPECT scan. What benefit are you going to get out of it. You already know you have Lyme and even if it is positive there is nothing they can do. I have heard horror stories of people with positive WB etc. get a SPECT scan and it turned out negative. This can lead the insurance companies to refuse payment because the SPECT scan was negative.
Posted by SuZ-Q (Member # 5903) on :
We went to L.G. Hospital in Rke. Don't make the same mistake. Our doctor wanted us to go to Columbia - wish we had. Do you happen to know if there is any type of local Lyme support group. We live nearby. Thanks, Suzy
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