Has anyone seen David Strain or William Weir

Hi

I thinking about seeing an ME/CFS consultant privately these two names came up. Has anyone tried them and if so, can they tell me anything about them? Or any other suggestions (and why?) I can't travel so would need to be by video.

Thanks.

 

Hi @Simon M
I had a face to face appointment with Dr Weir last year. I don't know if he does video consultations, it would be worth ringing his London office number to find out. I went because I had a specific need for an authoritative medical report. He also had good general management advice to offer. For me the consultation was very worthwhile. But I think it's important to have a clear sense of exactly what you want to get out of any such appointment. Happy to give more details via DM.

 

Hi @Simon M I did see one of them & had good experiences. But I agree it’s important to be clear what you want to get out of it - they can’t prescribe (or properly assess which ones you need) medication for pain, migraines, PoTS, dizziness etc, as you’d need to see a cardiologist / pain specialist / neurologist etc for each of those, so for proper symptomatic relief & help with any symptoms of ME (beyond what the GP offers), I would go elsewhere. But for reports, reassurance about pacing, advocacy with medical teams relating to ME, & similar, it was really helpful. I will PM with more info.

 

I've seen Dr Weir but only face-to-face in London. He does house calls sometimes and also visits different parts of the country. At one stage he was working at a hospital in Ireland I think ? (not ME related) and was able to see patients there privately.

It depend on what you want to see him for. In my case it was for a medical report after an accident but I also picked his brains on what medical treatments he was experienced with.

He seems to be willing to offer experimental treatments if a particular patient has a test or something specific to warrant it. If I did have a strange test result that I thought could lead somewhere useful I would probably ask him.

 

@Simon M -I have seen Dr Bansal. He was based in Surrey and his recent appointments were all zoom. He now work from Spire at Bushey; again all his appointments now are zoom. He seems to be busier than previously.

He has a very pleasant manner and an understanding of conditions seen alongside ME. I have found him helpful in explaining the specific needs of pwme when seeing mainstream doctors eg not exercising patients vigorously during recuperation following surgery. He's helpful at advising GPs and mine follows his recommendations which is useful.

 

My daughter had a zoom consult with Dr Bansal. He's empathetic , knowledgeable and can prescribe.

He also did a letter for our GP highlighting OI, sleep and gut issues. Our GP did take up one of the prescriptions for NHS issue .

He does have a proforma list of supplements etc which some find useful and highlighted a few that he thought may be of benefit specifically.

From others I know he has been in touch with hospital consultants when misunderstood ME symptoms were issues.

 

Dr Bansal is better than most doctors re ME, but...

He sometimes recommends things which have poor evidence (E.g. low dose naltrexone, abilify, various supplements) and typically insists "they have no side effects".

Whilst he opposes "graded exercise therapy", he does try to persuade you to slowly increase your physical activity "at a rate that you can cope with". But he has mostly accepted me saying that I can't increase it.

 

Thanks to everyone who has replied here or messaged me privately. The feedback and suggestions have been very helpful in deciding what to do next.

 

Hi all,

I'm currently mainly looking for a diagnosis - are the above doctors mentioned able to provide a diagnosis, and will that diagnosis be "accepted" as legitimate despite them not being in the NHS?

 

My personal experience was that Dr Weir was willing to provide a diagnosis (I already had one but we had a conversation about diagnosis in general) but you would need to talk to his secretary and see what medical records he would want to see first.

(I heard anecdotally that he has been approached by people with other diagnoses and if it's a complicated case he may need a copy of your medical records)

Because Dr Weir came from the NHS and had a clinic at the Royal Free previously, in general I have found his opinion on ME matters to be respected by my GP and other NHS doctors.

 

I tried to see William Weir about 3 years ago, I chased him 9 times over 9 months but never managed to actually get that house call I was promised. In the end I got fed up of chasing his secretary and never getting the promised call back. I can't rate my experience trying to get an appointment with William Weir. Dr Basal wasn't doing zoom calls at the time either and he was not in my area so I didn't manage to get seen by him either. I gave up at that point, public or private I just haven't been able to see a specialist other than Chalder and she was atrocious.

 

Dr Bansal practices out of a number of clinics

https://www.finder.bupa.co.uk/Consultant/view/20046/dr_amolak_bansal

 

Now he has had involvement with the new ME/CFS NICE guidelines, I find he is also thought of as one of the most knowledgeable ME physicians amongst health professionals who are unaware of his past work in the NHS.

 

His letters for PIP are worth the persistence in trying to be seen by him. I found I had to get the secretaries to apply more initiative, such as asking to be added to his cancellation list and inquiring about telephone appointments. Plus, I had to chase relentlessly.

Dr Bansal provides video appointments and is easier to see, but Dr Weir helped me more with my immediate needs.

 

I wonder if he has a new secretary - the secretary I'm dealing with started off by saying there is a long waiting list but that she would add me to the cancellation list and phone me if a slot came up.
I am fortunate in that I would be able to attend an in-person appointment (with planning etc)

 

I think he still has the same main secretary, sometimes you end up speaking to others within the same office. It's very likely there is a long waiting list. Keep ringing every so often, so you stay in mind when his office is scheduling cancellations.

 

I looked up this link and the information seemed out of date. Dr Bansal did work for the NHS at St Helier/ Sutton hospital for ME- I saw him there. He also did allergy appointments at Kingston hospital. At the same time he did half a day a week privately at Spire St Anthony in Cheam where I also saw him. These became zoom consults when covid hit. I think he also did research when he retired from NHS but I don't know about this. @MEMarge might be able to help.

About a year ago he moved to Hertfordshire, and does private work via zoom from the Spire, Bushey. I've not had difficulty getting an appointment but there seems a longer wait now. As far as I'm aware he confines the work to a Thursday.

 

Just has a last minute appointment with Dr William Weir in a week or so.
Will prepare a little!

 

Great news!

Do bring a list of what you want to cover with him, placing the most important things at the top. From what I remember the first appointment is lengthy on his part as he takes a detailed history, so you may run out of time to cover everything you want to say.