Get 2 or 3 other opinions. Internal Medicine, Nephologist, urologist. Also try to get bloodwork and urine tests at more than one lab. I would want my opinions from docs who don’t work at same hospital or clinic. If they all come to same conclusion, research to see if other options exist. Search AI Grok and CoPilot too. If you see a strong consensus about anything invasive, search out all doctors who have done the most of the same procedure with highest ratings and best outcomes. Also, you want the surgeon you pick to do the procedure, not a trainee at a teaching hospital.

Years ago I went to the ER because I couldn’t raise my arm and keep it up. I was there for 8 hrs. They saw some signs of a stroke but not other confirming things. Confused, they admitted me. An hour later at 1:00AM a pregnant Indian woman doc and a tall black male doc from Uganda came to my room saying there were going to do a spinal tap. I asked if they were on staff. Yes, both were doing residencies at the hospital. I asked if they had done this procedure before and they both said they “knew how to do it”’. I asked how many have you done? The woman said one. The man said none. I then said, unless the admitting doctor thinks I’m going to die tonight if I don’t get this I am refusing until the morning and the A team with more experience comes in. At that they left.

In the morning, I heard a knock on the door and a neighbor of mine popped in. He was chief of neurology at the hospital. He saw my name on the admittance list and wondered what was up. He asked me a couple questions, did a neurological exam and looked at the chart. They had me scheduled for all kinds of invasive tests when he said. I think I know what you have. You don’t need all these things. I need a simple MRI to confirm my hunch. I’ll get you in for that and I’ll come back and talk with you afterwards.

An hour later after the MRI he comes in and said just as I thought. You recently had a chest cold and said you were coughing a lot. Well in doing so you split an artery in your neck and a little blood got between the inner and outer walls of the artery. It’s pushing against a nerve needed to raise your arm. I see it a lot in young kids and in older adults. Rather rare to see it in middle aged people. You don’t need all these crazy tests. This will heal on its own in about 90 days. You’ll need to be on blood thinners, you can’t lift anything more than 10 lbs during this time. You’ll need to take stool softeners so there’s no straining on the toilet. Come back in 90 days and we’ll do another MRI. I did that and I was completely healed. No further tests or treatment needed.

Had I said yes initially to those doctors in training, who knows what would have happened? Luckily I chose to wait. I learned a lesson that day. Just passing it along for what it’s worth.