My mom can't walk, doctor's don't know why

I have already spoken with them central appointment. They recommended a possible hospital to hospital transfer.

that would be ideal. i know someone who did a hospital to hospital transfer. She didn’t need to wait to be discharged. Once the transfer was arranged she was moved from the first hospital to another hospital that had extraordinarily talented specialists well prepared to diagnose and treat her.

that would be ideal. i know someone who did a hospital to hospital transfer. She didn’t need to wait to be discharged. Once the transfer was arranged she was moved from the first hospital to another hospital that had extraordinarily talented specialists well prepared to diagnose and treat her.

Perhaps you want to consider taking your mom to see a “movement disorder specialist”a
Thats a sub speciality of neurology found in academic teaching hospitals and other large progressive medical institutions. Movement disorders run in my family. It took many years to diagnose my father’s movement disorder which turned out to be a non tremor/non-dementia form of parkinson’s. Wishing you and your mom all the best

I asked her doctor but he said that Mayo hospital has a waiting list.

She's going to a rehab facility until I can get her the appointment at Mayo for the outpatient. I pray they can help her.

@ablack2008

Welcome to Mayo Connect, though participation cannot diagnosis your mother condition, we can support and give advice.

Not sure where you located, but a 2nd option is definitely a good idea.

For an appointment at Mayo for 2nd option, your current provider can refer your mother or you can self-refer.

If you would like to refer yourself, start with filling out the intake form or calling the Mayo Clinic location of your preference. Both can be found here: http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

Hope you find an answer for your mother situation.

Hi Laurie,
Does it make a difference (to Medicare) whether I self-refer or have my Dr refer me to Mayo Clinic?

Thank you.
Mary

@ablack2008
I hope you can get answers for your mom soon. It is scary. I am a 54 soon to be 55 year old woman going through perimenopause/menopause with a 15 year old son (single parent). Over the last 8 years, I have gradually gotten worse but especially the last 6-9 months. I also have weakness, dizziness, brain fog, headaches, fatigue, difficulty walking/standing and cannot sit for too long due to pain. I am no longer able to work now and applying for disability hoping to be approved. This has all made me very depressed. What you describe about your mom’s symptoms all sounds neurological and issues with her central nervous system communicating to her peripheral nervous system which is affecting sensory and motor nerves. I have peripheral and small fiber neuropathy and currently going for updated EMGs of upper and lower limbs to check communication of peripheral nerves to my muscles. Has your mom had this testing done? Have they ruled out seizures and mini-strokes? Have they checked for cervical spine compression/flattening of spinal cord which would affect everything below the level?

@msgolfnut

It may depend on type of Medicare insurance and location. Medicare coverage can be confusing, there are so many types of Medicare plans.

Few facts on Medicare and Mayo. Each Mayo locations has different policies on insurance they take. So Rochester, AZ and FL differ on if accept original Medicare or Medicare Advantage policies, so you need to check with location your considering and your mom's insurance policy.

Mayo's page on insurance has more info but does not provide enough detail to answer your questions, it is vague on on what each location will accept:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/billing-insurance/insurance
I am not as familiar about referrals and insurance. If the Mayo location does not take your mom's insurance (you're not in network) sometimes the insurance company make exceptions if provider refers the patient to a specialist that the in-network clinic can not provide.

When you call to make an appointment at Mayo, they will ask about insurance and advice you. If the location does not take your mom's insurance, you can ask if provider does the referral if makes difference.

If your mom has a Medicare Advantage plan, you can call the insurance company ask those questions.

How are you doing being caretaker and having to handle all this?
I was primary person when my mom was sick, and it takes a toll. Make sure your taking care of yourself.

You responded to someone else on the thread but I assume you were asking me.

It's been difficult. I'm trying to keep faith and being positive for her sake, but I cry every night, but crying helps me.

The doctor here thinks he's found the answer. Sleep apnea. Her carbon dioxide was very high.

We've suspected that she has had it for quite a while because she snores and is a bit overweight. But I'm not sure if sleep apnea can suddenly do all of this. Unless there's another part of it that we haven't found. But mom is going to a rehab today and they will give her oxygen each night and we can see if it helps. If not, the doctor wants her to come back.

Mom has never wanted to use a CPAP at night. That's like her worst nightmare. Now she has to if she wants to walk again, according to the doctor. So seeing her depressed and crying over this new development is hard. But there are alternatives to the CPAP if it does fix her. There's a device called inspire which is a mask-less device. So hopefully she can qualify for it. This also is our wakeup call to buckle down and lose weight.