Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Support Group
This community is a place where members can discuss current events and weigh in on what's going on in the world.
Anyone's experience with Neuropsych test? Is it worth it, especially for job searching? My first neuro at time of diagnosis offered to write me a Neuropsych Evaluation Order. I was w/o insurance so I could not justify the cost. I told him it does nothing in treatment decision. It is only used to measured decline & I didn't want to pay for it (ie, Doing MS on a shoestring budget :(
I did qualify for SSDI w/o having to claim cognitive functions. So I did not need it for that.
I am RRMS. And I can really, really say the first 2 years were rough, I was incapable of working anything. Now I'm nearing 4 years and with a couple of stable years.
But I'm not certain what I can do; Part time. Do I have to fail a job to find out? Or can Neuropsych evaluation tell me, maybe I would be willing to pay for that. For that info.
I single finger type now. I didn't before MS. With diagnosis, an MS person told me to keep doing what I like to do no matter how different it was, or I would lose it.
I like computers. I was actually in the last 2 semesters of earning a computer science degree when MS hit, rather hard!
I kept typing, although slow. But I didn't lose it. I even used the ADA laws to require the university to provide me with a notetaker when my right hand wasn't working. And I kept typing. Single finger typing. I try to type full handed but I just make too many mistakes...I read it can be from a lack of Propriception Sense-the brains inability to know the position of the body in space. If it's an MS thing, after 4 years, I will probably always type single finger, through no fault of mine....and probably I am not employable for anything using a computer. It less frustration to know, that it's not because I am not trying hard enough.
That's just the typing issue. Not sure I could think programming through. Actually I do think I could do think it through, it would just take me an unemployable amount of time.
Next doc appointment is with new doc, I'm certain I could ask him to write an order for a neuro psych exam. But I'd still have to pay for it. What kind of info have others gotten from it? Anything useful, in part time job searches?
I did qualify for SSDI w/o having to claim cognitive functions. So I did not need it for that.
I am RRMS. And I can really, really say the first 2 years were rough, I was incapable of working anything. Now I'm nearing 4 years and with a couple of stable years.
But I'm not certain what I can do; Part time. Do I have to fail a job to find out? Or can Neuropsych evaluation tell me, maybe I would be willing to pay for that. For that info.
I single finger type now. I didn't before MS. With diagnosis, an MS person told me to keep doing what I like to do no matter how different it was, or I would lose it.
I like computers. I was actually in the last 2 semesters of earning a computer science degree when MS hit, rather hard!
I kept typing, although slow. But I didn't lose it. I even used the ADA laws to require the university to provide me with a notetaker when my right hand wasn't working. And I kept typing. Single finger typing. I try to type full handed but I just make too many mistakes...I read it can be from a lack of Propriception Sense-the brains inability to know the position of the body in space. If it's an MS thing, after 4 years, I will probably always type single finger, through no fault of mine....and probably I am not employable for anything using a computer. It less frustration to know, that it's not because I am not trying hard enough.
That's just the typing issue. Not sure I could think programming through. Actually I do think I could do think it through, it would just take me an unemployable amount of time.
Next doc appointment is with new doc, I'm certain I could ask him to write an order for a neuro psych exam. But I'd still have to pay for it. What kind of info have others gotten from it? Anything useful, in part time job searches?
The test will tell you the thinking, cognitive problems you have. I never got any training after the test.
$2,200.00.
kellygrn, can I ask why you did this after you retired? What was the purpose for it then?
And MEL26, that was going to be my project for today, to find out how much it cost....I'm sure just the anxiety of the cost will make my cognitive issues worse!!
I know the clinic I go to does it & I looked up on the web the person who does it, but I was thinking of going to a alternat clinic, in case I ever had to release all my medical records from that clinic.
I'm on SSDI, of course I am hopeful the results will prove I am rather intelligent!
If I pay for it, I guess I expect the results to be skewed to show that. I did a search of neuro psych test's after I posted this & 1 woman was told not to drive fast speed(highways) because her reaction time was too slow. Since my attack/diagnosis, I have not felt comfortable driving anything but residential, low traffic, straight/ not curvey roads. I wonder if the test would show why I won't do it.I was so unsteady when I went to a standard 8 yeard DL renewal, the DMV refused to renew it. It took me 3 years to get it back with active involvement of doc. I thought that 3 years lapse of driving from not having a renewed DL, was what made driving difficult for me now. It might be worth the $ for peace of mind. But I have stop think "what peace of mind will I get: if I find there is a reason I am doing this or find a reason that there is no reason I should be doing this?" It's a lot of $, for peace of mind..
If you are really fearful and spending a lot of time worrying, I think it might be helpful for you to know EXACTLY what difficulties you are having and how to do "work arounds".
I went to an MS presentation by a local NMSS group last June called "Cognition & MS", which was presented by Dr. Darcy Cox, formerly of the University of San Francisco (she is moving to a position in Canada - go figure!). Here are some of my notes (there was also a pamphlet handed out so I have used some of that also)
DEPRESSION: (Dr. Cox spoke about this first, so will pass it on)
-Autoimmune disease = increased risk of depression (neurochemistry findings)
-20% of people w/MS suffer from depression
-50% of people w/MS will suffer from depression in their lifetime
-depression may worsen if not treated, but is also one of the more treatable symptoms of MS.
-term for a symptom of depression: anhedonia = lack of enjoyment
-depression vs. grief = grief hurts, depression disconnects, grief can be worked through, depression cannot.
-most recent research finds no relationship between interferon meds & new onset depression (interferon gamma for Hepatitus-C does increase risk)
COGNITION & MS:
Areas of neuropsycological functions impacted by MS:
-speed of processing
-attention & concentration
-language
-memory (recall, taking longer to memorize things)
-visual/spatial processing & memory (getting lost driving; right-left confusion; problems assembling things from diagram/instructions; difficulty in understanding how machines work, i.e., cell phone, microwave, VCR,; trouble judging differences between objects like when parking a car;trouble visualizing an object from a verbal description of it)
-executive functioning (this means multi-tasking, decision-making, organizing & communicating information)
From the pamphlet: "Only a few decades ago cognitive impairment was considered rare in MS. We now know that 50-65% of people w/MS have some cognitive problems. While most symptoms are mild to moderate, they can have a significant impact on a person's ability to function comfortably."
-presentation for Alzheimers & MS are VERY different
-cognitive impairment "waxes and wanes"
-steroids can cause cognitive impairment
Factors that impact cognitive function:
-Sleep
-Depression
-Fatigue
-MS
Brain atrophy (shrinking): all brains experience atrophy, the rate of shrinkage is faster w/MS sufferers. CRABs protect against atrophy.
Do you think you are having cognitive problems? It is important to determine what is causing the cognitive impairment; is it fatigue? Is it sleep disorder? Is it depression?
To determine whether you are experiencing cognitive problems, you can have a neuropsychological testing assessment. Problem: expensive, time consuming (takes approx. 8 hrs), emotional.
CBT = Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
This therapy helps you manage your anxiety and adaptive coping skills, for example:
Appraising the problem --> controllable?-->problem focused strategy--> less stress
Appraising the problem -->not controllable?-->emotional focused strategy--> less stress
The important aspect of CBT is that it reduces the stress you feel when experiencing a cognitive issue. The more you notice your cognitive problems, the more it happens-- because stress aggravates the symptoms.
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There are a couple of really good articles in the Positive MS Support Group that you might find helpful too. Come on over & join, we'd love to have you.
The local SocSec office requested that my wife get one as part of her disability case, and the doctor did virtually none of the standard tests they used when the Dr.'s diagnosed her with RRMS.
Then he wrote up a bogus denial report that said "she might recover and no longer have the disease within the next twelve months.". He didn't say "recover function", according to his report she was supposed to somehow spontaneously get rid of an lifelong auto-immune disease. That would be great but....
Anyway, I guess what I am saying is be careful where SocSec is concerned because we've been in the 2-3 year hold hell for getting an appeal through because a house doc misused both the methodology and results of the tests.
Heartspeaker -that's what I am afraid of. That's the risk to any benifit I may recieve.
But with your wife's struggle with MS, I did want to point out the new law that had been passed in Congres on June 23, 2008. It should help you. I will copy a post someone wrote on anothetr MS site, might be useful info to you. I hope it is!
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The House passed a major civil rights bill on Wednesday [June 25, 2008] that would expand protections for people with disabilities and overturn several Supreme Court decisions issued in the last decade
The bill, approved 402-17, would make it easier for workers to prove discrimination. It would explicitly relax some stringent standards set by the court and says that disability is to be "construed broadly," to cover more physical and mental impairments.
Lawmakers said Wednesday that people with epilepsy, diabetes, cancer, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis and other ailments had been improperly denied protection because their conditions could be controlled by medication or were in remission.
In deciding whether a person is disabled, the bill says, courts should generally not consider the effects of "mitigating measures" like prescription drugs, hearing aids and artificial limbs. Moreover, it adds, "an impairment that is episodic or in remission is a disability if it would substantially limit a major life activity when active."
The Senate is expected to pass a similar bi-partisan measure.
My note: This is a major breakthrough for all of us