Disabled people sometimes need to see more doctors than non-disabled people because a lot of the time we have very complex medical issues that require more specialized training than your primary care doctor can give you. When you have Spina Bifida, sometimes you have to see multiple doctors because you can have multiple muscle groups that do not work properly. As a disabled person, I have a lot of doctors, but I don’t have to see every doctor all the time, and most of my doctors I only see for yearly appointments and as needed. People with Spina Bifida can have quite a lot of health problems, but not everyone will need to see a lot of doctors like I do, and it depends on what form you have, because milder forms will have less health issues and likely will not need as many specialists. What specialists do I see as a disabled person? In this post, I am going to talk about a few specialists I see as a disabled person to manage my health problems.
Primary care doctor– As a disabled person I see a lot of specialists that not everyone is going to need but I do also have primary care that everyone should have. A primary care doctor is an expert in general health and is usually the first person you go to if you have concerns about your general health or are ill. Primary doctors are so important for everyone to have because they can do preventative screenings and catch serious illnesses that you may not be having symptoms for. A primary doesn’t treat cancer but if they suspect you might have it, they can order a test to confirm and send you to a more specialized doctor if it comes back positive. As a disabled person, I don’t get sick often, but I do need to have yearly physicals because my insurance requires it, and my primary doctor is the one who prescribes my preventative for migraine and I don’t go I don’t get my meds.
Urologist – If you were to get a UTI, you could go to your primary care doctor and get medication to treat it but because my bladder does not work properly, I don’t go to my primary care when I am having a bladder issue and go to a urologist. A urologist is a specialist that is trained to treat a wide-array of conditions that affect the urinary tract in both men and women and can treat diseases that affect the reproductive system. When I was having a problem with bladder stones my urologist was the one who removed them and found a medication that helped prevent them, and both my stoma’s for my bladder and bowel were created by my urologist. I need a more specialized doctor to manage my bladder issues because I have had a lot of reconstructive surgeries that my primary care doctor doesn’t fully understand. I get yearly scans to check the health of my bladder and kidneys because kidney problems are also common with Spina Bifida. If I were to have a problem with my kidney’s I would likely go to a nephrologist, which is a kidney specialist because although a urologist can diagnose some kidney problems, they are not kidney experts.
Neurosurgeon– A neurosurgeon is a doctor who specializes in the nervous system who treats conditions that affect your brain, spinal cord, and nerves. When you have Hydrocephalus, it is so important that you have a neurosurgeon because they are going to be the ones who can do surgery to repair a shunt that is not working. I have had a condition called Chiari malformation, which is a structural defect where the brain extends into the spinal cord, and I have needed surgery to remove some pressure because it was giving me pain. I have been very fortunate and haven’t needed many shunt surgeries, but I do have a neurosurgeon just in case, because shunt problems are fatal if left untreated, and you never want to be in a situation where it feels like something is wrong but don’t have a doctor to fix it.
Neurologist- A neurologist and neurosurgeon both specialize in the nervous symptoms and treat conditions affecting the brain and spinal cord and the main difference between the two is one operates, and the other one typically doesn’t. At the moment I do not have active seizures, but I have in the past and my neurologist is the person who would treat them. My current neurologist only treats epilepsy but not all neurologists specialize in epilepsy and sometimes their area of expertise is migraine and headache disorders.
Orthotist- As a disabled person, I wear leg braces because I have a mobility issue and they help me walk straighter and make me more stable, so I don’t fall as much. When I need new leg braces, I see an orthotist which is not a doctor but a healthcare professional who is trained to make and fit leg braces.
Orthopedist– If you have ever broken a bone, it is likely that you have gone to an orthopedist to get a cast because these types of doctors are bone experts. As a disabled person, I go to an orthopedist a little more often than most people because I have hip dysplasia and a lot of other mobility issues that most people do not have. I have two orthopedists because one is just a regular orthopedist that I would go to if I broke an arm while the other one is a hip specialist that specifically only treats hip and knee problems. I need an orthopedist to monitor the health of my hip because hip replacements do not last forever and also can’t get scripts for new leg braces without an orthopedist.
Gynecologist- I recently started seeing a gynecologist which is an expert who specializes in treating female reproductive organs and every woman should be getting gynecological exams once a year. I have ovarian cysts that are measured when I have my yearly bladder scan but if I were to start to have problems my urologist wouldn’t treat that because that is something that is usually done by a gynecologist. A gynecologist is so important for every woman to have because they can diagnose pelvic pain, endometriosis, and ovarian cancer. Gynecologists can check areas that we can’t easily see and tell you if your period pain is normal.
Disabled people sometimes will have a primary care doctor and dentist that people without disabilities also have but a lot of the time we have a couple more doctors that not everyone is going to need. Some people with Spina Bifida will have quite a bit of specialists while others will see very few because everyone is different. I see a lot of different types of doctors and sometimes people may think that I live at my doctor’s office, but the reality is I don’t go to the doctor that much, and sometimes I go years without having to go to a specialist appointment. I am pretty sure that I have listed all my specialists, but it is possible I forgot one because I see so many doctors that sometimes I even lose track. I hope you learned something about how many doctors it takes to manage a health condition. What types of specialists do you see? If you liked this post, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends.
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