Dr. Alexander Robert Spitzer MD
Neurologist | Neurology
PO Box 2005 Mackinac Island MI, 49757Rating
4/5
About
Dr. A. Robert Spitzer practices Neurology from Mackinac Island, MI. Dr. Spitzer studies, evaluates, diagnoses, and treats conditions that affect the nervous system. His current practice provides telemedicine consultations.
Board Certification
Psychiatry and NeurologyAmerican Board of Psychiatry and NeurologyABPN- Clinical Neurophysiology
Provider Details
Dr. Alexander Robert Spitzer MD's Expert Contributions
Can neuropathy cause my feet to itch
yes READ MORE
Ask about my case
I don't think this is a neurological disease. The neurological symptoms sound like they might reflect a sleep disturbance with poor sleep. But overall, a possible suspect is an autoimmune disease that is at the core of all this. These are very hard to diagnose. They can even cause immune damage to the brain and nerves - autoimmune neuropathy and encephalitis. This can't be diagnosed without some very specialized testing. You may want to start at an academic center, or especially with w rheumatologist who is highly skilled at autoimmune diseases. READ MORE
Hydrocephalus
As general answer with shunt failures, they do not suddenly kill people. In fact, if the shunt fails, sometimes the problems are so slow coming = READ MORE
Neurological problem?
This sounds like it could be Tourettes. There are more and more medications available to help control or reduce symptoms of Tourette's. I suggest you can see a psychiatrist who is familiar with Tourettes, or a neurologist specializing in movement disorders (which include tic disorder. Of course, I could not give a specific diagnosis or treatment without a direct consultation. This information is only an approximate guide to help you find some help. If this is Tourettes, it is not psychological, it is neurological (a brain problem). But many specialists who treat this are trained in psychiatry and are familiar with the neurology of the condition. READ MORE
Am I having Seizures?
You are having recurring spells of some sort. Since these are recurring, the question is, do you have epilepsy? Are these seizures? As you correctly stated, however, there are some other answers about what can cause these symptoms. There are multiple conditions that cause paroxysmal disorders, conditions that cause episodic spells. Among other possibilities, this might include migraines, sleep disorders, panic attacks, and autonomic nervous system problems. Whether there is a cardiac cause needs to be addressed by your cardiologist. The serious one is whether these are seizures. If they are seizures, you are at risk of injury, it is dangerous to drive or engage in other activities that would put you or others in danger if you have a period of altered consciousness. Note that any cause of altered consciousness, including sleep attacks and heart rhythm changes, could cause danger as well. There is no easy way to be sure. It is necessary to try to record or provoke the spells, while doing electroencephalographic (EEG, brain wave) recordings. This may include prolonged ambulatory recording or recording in an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit. If you have a severe spell and end up in the emergency department, there is a blood test that is sometimes helpful. If it is not epilepsy, as proven by recordings that show normal brain activity during the spells, then it is still important to consider the other causes, for the reasons listed above. In short, seeing a qualified specialist and going through an investigation is needed. In order not to put people on medicine for a lifetime, we rarely put people on seizure medicine unless there is a very strong suspicion or proof of seizures. If a patient has epilepsy, they do need medications. Some of the investigations may require referral to more specialized experts (see list above) or an academic center. READ MORE
Memory loss
There are several possible answers, but the first concern is the possibility of a night-time seizure. This needs a consult with a neurologist, she testing including brain imaging and electrical testing, and may require more episodes to make the diagnosis certain. The question of was it a seizure (and is it the beginning of epilepsy, recurring seizures) is significant because if epilepsy is developing it might require a lifetime of medication to control it. On the other hand, jumping in and overdiagnosing it can lead to a lifetime of wrong treatments, stigma, and trouble with driving, jobs, etc. So the question is very important READ MORE
Seizure
After a first seizure, it is recommended to see a neurologist. There is a standard approach to dealing with this. One seizure alone is not a diagnosis of epilepsy. There is appropriate testing, and a discussion of treatment needs to occur. Each case requires an individual assessment. READ MORE
Headaches for 2 days
It is impossible to answer that sort of question in this forum. The usual way to deal with this would be to go to your primary care doctor. If your primary care doctor is unavailable, doctors will usually have a coverage system that can refer you to another doctor. Other options include a walk-in clinic, which can often deal with headache problems. It is entirely up to the patient to decide if they need to go to the emergency room. Two days of headache in someone with a previous headache history is usually not a brain tumor. But you have to decide your level of fear or concern. If your primary care doctor is concerned, they may refer your to a neurologist. A referral is not for emergencies - those are handled as described above. Referrals are for chronic problems. READ MORE
Headaches
Unfortunately, there is still no proven treatment to fix a concussion. There are a few that help symptoms, and might speed up the recovery of symptoms a bit. Those are best discussed with the neurologist at the upcoming December visit. READ MORE
Tiny bit of numbness
I can try to give a general answer. During hip surgery, the surgeon has to move things around, including a big nerve called the sciatic nerve. Like anything that gets moved or stretched, it could have a very trivial (not important) amount of bruising that gives a tiny bit of numbness. This is only a concern if there is enough of a problem that you have weakness, and cannot stand or walk. I did not hear in your question that you have any problem of that kind. Therefore, it is most likely not a significant issue. But you do mention another very important problem. You mentioned sitting around all day thinking about it, and being afraid. This is most often due to another problem, called obsessive-compulsive disorder with generalized anxiety disorder. Patients who have that can benefit greatly and feel much better with a medication called imipramine. This medication has a long track record of working for those symptoms. Note that I am giving you some general answers. To be more precise you might need to see your doctor. But I am specifically suggesting, based = READ MORE
What is the cause of long term joint pain?
It seems your doctors have done the initial correct steps. You did not mention it, but I assume the rheumatologist also did blood tests to assess for rheumatological diseases, that were negative. There are two additional categories that should be considered as a cause for the pain. 1) neuropathy - nerve pain. These can be symptoms of small fiber neuropathy with autonomic neuropathy (both variations of the same thing). These can often be autoimmune. The neuropathy would be under the general heading of but there are different variations of that heading which include small fiber neuropathy and autonomic neuropathy. I mention CISP, because there is a recognized overlap syndrome of CIDP and MS occurring in the same patient. This is an autoimmune disease in which part of the same disease affects the nerves (CIDP), and part affects the brain (MS). Diagnosing this required some sophisticated nerve tests, and antibody tests. It is treatable, and would change the MS treatment as well. 2) sleep disruption. It is well recognized that sleep disruption can cause severe generalized pain, sometimes labeled fibromyalgia. This was noted in my earlier papers some years ago, but has recently been confirmed in a study published about year ago: https://n.neurology.org/content/97/1/e23
Does a neurologist treat diabetic neuropathy?
Neurologists will treat various forms of neuropathy. But if the neuropathy is definitely due to diabetes, the main treatment is to treat diabetes itself. This is done by the Primary Care Provider (PCP) rather than the neurologist. The role of a neurologist in this case would be to assess the neuropathy, especially if it is very severe, causes severe pain, or muscle weakness. In those cases, the role of the neurologist is to check for other possible causes. Sometimes, the reason the symptoms are severe is that there is a second problem going on with the nerves. READ MORE
Is child epilepsy curable?
A lot more information will be needed. Some childhood epilepsy goes into remission during the teenage years. Some types are permanent. Some types get better in the teenage years, then recur later. Some are due to unsuspected brain damage. Some are genetic. There are many medications, and which one is best for a particular child depends on the individual case. This is definitely a case that needs to be managed specifically by a qualified pediatric neurologist. READ MORE
What kind of tests are done for headaches?
There are no standard tests. An assessment starts with a history and examination by a qualified specialist. READ MORE
Expert Publications
Data provided by the National Library of Medicine- A retrospective review of the sleep characteristics in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
- Treatment of the narcoleptiform sleep disorder in chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia with sodium oxybate.
- Reclassification of clinical sleep disorders using traditional models of syndromic, neuroanatomic, pathophysiological and etiological diagnosis.
Awards
- FAAN (Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology) 2019 American Academy of Neurology
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