See how Novant Health got Jocelyn Harris back to serving her country
Jocelyn Harris didn’t know she had a cyst growing in her brain. It was her neurological surgeon at Novant Health who helped her understand the cause of her debilitating headaches. It was the same surgeon who removed the cyst three days later and got Jocelyn back to doing what she loves.
What Does A Neurologist Do?
Neurologists can help you determine whether symptoms you are experiencing are related to your brain, spine or nervous system and how to treat them. You may get referred to a neurologist if you have experienced:
- Chronic headaches, back or neck pain
- Concussion, stroke or other brain injury
- Tremors or other movement disorders
- Seizures
- Sudden declines in vision or mental acuity, including memory
- Sleep problems
Your First Visit
During your first visit, the neurologist may ask about your medical history and your symptoms, perform a physical examination and order tests. If you are experiencing pain, they may order an x-ray, recommend stretching exercises and prescribe medications. Or, depending on your symptoms, they may recommend more tests and a follow-up visit.
Why Would I See A Neurosurgeon?
Your neurologist might refer you to a neurosurgeon if you are not responding to their care plan and/or they think you might benefit from a surgical procedure. A neurosurgeon and/or someone on their team will review your medical history and may also ask questions, perform a physical exam and order more advanced tests to help them determine if structural issues might be causing your problem and whether surgery is indicated.
Back & Spinal Pain Relief
Back and spinal pain are among the most frequent neurological conditions we treat. Your neurological care team will identify and address the source of your pain and design a personalized care plan. In some cases, it may directly result from damage to the nervous system that causes the nerves to emit pain signals. It might also indicate an underlying problem like a herniated disc or degenerative spinal condition.
Other Neurological Services
Why Choose Novant Health?
Novant Health is nationally recognized for the high level of care we provide to stroke and epilepsy patients. We were the first healthcare system in the Carolinas to have three facilities certified as advanced comprehensive stroke centers, and two medical centers accredited as comprehensive epilepsy care centers.
You can count on us to constantly offer better ways to relieve your symptoms, slow the progression of your disease and lower your costs. Recent examples include using:
- Existing robotic and laparoscopic surgical platforms to offer less invasive treatments to more patients
- Advanced imaging to enable entirely new less invasive treatments
- Artificial Intelligence to analyze diagnostic images more thoroughly and quickly and triage stroke patients
- Teleneurology to improve stroke care in rural areas
- Clinical trials to provide access to promising new drug therapies
When you begin experiencing tremors or seizures, or are told a mass has shown up in a scan of your brain or spine, you don't want to wait weeks for a diagnosis. And thanks to the multidisciplinary neurology clinics at Novant Health, you don’t have to. To streamline diagnosis and treatment, we locate multiple specialists at our neurology clinics. This not only enhances collaboration among members of your care team, but can reduce your travel time to and from appointments.
Even when the specialists you need to see are at the same location, knowing you are getting the right care can be taxing. Novant Health Neurosciences Institute offers specially trained patient navigators so you or your care givers have a single point of contact to help manage your care and get answers to all your questions.
Novant Health MyChart
MyChart is a secure, convenient online tool that lets you manage your healthcare. You can schedule appointments, view test results, refill prescriptions and even have virtual visits with your providers right from your computer or smartphone.