Hi, my name is Keith Clatworthy I’m 66 yrs old and live on the Isle of Wight. Around four months ago I started to develop a tremor in my right hand, very slight at first, but since then has developed quite a bit. I visited my GP and he said he suspected Parkinson’s as I can’t swing my arm whilst walking and it trembles at rest. He has referred me on to a Neurologist to confirm his initial diagnosis, but I was horrified to get an appointment for eleven months time!!! (November 2023).
Surely this can’t be right. What time is reasonable to expect to have to wait for your initial consultation? It has left me feeling very anxious.
Also, is it too early to inform the DVLC and my car insurance company as I am assuming that my GP’s diagnosis is just provisional until confirmed by a neurologist?
Hello and welcome to our forum, @Gecko. The members are a friendly bunch and should be along shortly to chat with you about this. I’m sorry to hear that when you finally have some answers, you can’t have the diagnosis confirmed for such a long time. Have you been given any other support or medication? It’s only natural that you feel anxious and I hope you discover ways to stay centred and more relaxed while you wait. There are some ideas on this page,.
In the meantime, our helpline advisers can answer any questions you might have and offer you some support. You can reach them on 0808 800 0303. You can read more about the DLVA here. Our members will also be able to talk about what might be different while you don’t have a confirmed diagnosis.
That is an awful long time to wait could you perhaps ask your GP to push it for you.
My husband who is 54 was in a similar situation as you last year when awaiting for an appointment to have the GP"s diagnosis confirmed. In the end my husband booked a private appointment as he was so fed up of waiting. To give you an idea on cost for that it was £250 for a 30 minute appointment. Well worth the money in the end as the consultant diagnosed him withing the first 10 mins.
Good luck really hope you can get some answers soon.
Thanks for the replies, I think in the new year I’ll spend the money and go private. Seems the whole health system is beginning to lean that way. I have to say the Isle of Wight is particularly poorly served by the NHS. 150,000 residents and one small hospital and a handful of Doctors.
NHS is at breaking point. If you can pay to speed things up do, however, knowing any sooner will not make any difference going forward if it is PD. Try not to worry. If I were you, I’d wait before notifying DVLA or anybody else. Sally
I’ve had a quivering right Arm/hand rest tremor for over 2 years probably longer. Took a year to see locum GP due to lockdown and after some medicine changes didn’t work saw a Neurologist privately a few months ago who seemed convinced it was Idiopathic PD but recommended a DaTScan to rule out Parkinson’s syndrome due to long term medication as withdrawal is not straightforward. For a private DaTScan I was quoted over a years wait at nearest City and several months at next nearest so it could take up to a year even going privately. I was wondering whether you can get these scans done quicker abroad, but that seems a longshot
It seems waiting is part of the game and many people with IPD take many years after showing tremor symptoms to get diagnosed and treatment.
