Emphasizing a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, the Pain & Fatigue Study Center’s private care practice enables us to deal with the wide range of symptoms and problems associated with CFS and FM.
Dr. Natelson sees new patients for an initial evaluation taking about 2 hours in his offices in the Department of Neurology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai located on the 7th floor of 5 E 98th Street. For nearby parking, consider searching parkwhiz.com.
When you arrive, you will be greeted by Michelle Blate, the Center’s nurse practitioner. She will do a complete physical examination on you as well as determine if you respond abnormally to being upright. Many patients complain of feeling worse when standing still; this is called orthostatic intolerance. Evaluating this possibility is done by having you lie on a table which can tilt up producing a gravitational stress.
Prior to the initial visit, patients are asked to complete a comprehensive health screening form, which Dr. Natelson will use to assure a comprehensive understanding of the new patient’s condition and symptoms.
Prior to the visit, patients will be asked to get onto the Mount Sinai MyChart. Then, they will need to complete questionnaires related to your health. When these have been completed, an appointment will be confirmed. Be sure to bring copies of any medical tests or reports concerning your medical condition to the visit. Patients are encouraged to ask their physician to order the blood tests that Dr. Natelson usually does on the initial visit and bring the results of those tests to the appointment. Those tests are:
- CBC with SED rate and differential
- C reactive protein
- TSH/free and total T4
- Liver function tests including SGGT
- C6 Lyme Elisa
- ANA
- Rheumatoid factor
- Immunoelectrophoresis
- Serum protein electrophoresis
(If done within 4 months, these tests don’t need to be repeated for your appointment.)
Patients return to complete the initial evaluation in the next month to allow further treatment planning. Subsequent visits in collaboration with the patient’s primary care provider will be determined based on the patient’s individual needs and circumstances.
To read opinions of some patients about the quality of his care, see Patient Testimonials, below.
Currently, the only insurance Dr. Natelson’s office accepts is US Government Medicare. For patients with other insurance, the fee for the initial patient 2 hour consultation is $1,300 and $430 for 30-minute follow-up visits. Patients with non-government Medicare will be charged $440 for the initial visit; the fee for follow-up visits is $175.
For patients reporting feeling worse while standing still, tilt testing will be done at a subsequent visit with a charge of $210. Dr Natelson is the only doctor in the northeast who evaluates breathing during the tilt test. That testing has been helpful in identifying reasons why some people feel worse while standing still.
Payment is required in full at time of visit. Documentation for reimbursement from insurance companies will be provided to patients.
Patient Testimonials
The difference between a doctor and a scientist is – people. Dr. Natelson’s uniquely comprehensive care for his patients exemplifies the perfect union of medicine and science. In 1989, I sought an explanation for why I was fighting horrific fatigue and flu-like symptoms. As a professional and educator, myself, I thought that the answer would come from one of the five teaching hospitals in Philadelphia. I soon learned that, in the “Dark Days” of CFS, I was not only a mystery, but also someone who the medical profession, in the main, did not know what to do with or how to help.
In short, I did my own homework – in the self-help section of Barnes and Noble bookstore on 17th and Chestnut Streets. I came upon an early work by a CFS sufferer who so elegantly chronicled his story of navigating through a healthcare system to find the pioneering experts in the field of Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia. Dr. Natelson was front and center, and the reason I made the long, exhausting trips to seek treatment. Almost twenty years later, I am proud to say that Dr. Natelson has helped me overcome so many obstacles by providing comprehensive care and understanding, compassion and inspiration and the unfailing courage to provide, “second-to-none” treatment modalities.
I look forward to traveling to Manhattan, where Dr. Natelson continues to lead the field at Mount Sinai. Congratulations, Dr. Natelson, for being a “one-of-a-kind” doctor and your usual commitment to excellence. I appreciate your continued care and thank you for your untiring efforts for so many years.
Lindsey A. Sherwood
Philadelphia, PA
I could write a book on my experience with Dr. Natelson and another on all he has done for me over the years. From the first day I saw him in 1994, he never once questioned my illness. Being a former law student, he taught me how to use the advocacy skills I learned in law school and become a “proactive patient”. Dr. Natelson has followed my healthcare for many years and I honestly don’t know what I would do without him. His dedication to me and his other patients is a true example of outstanding commitment, extraordinary service and compassionate care. I have dealt with numerous doctors over the years, both for myself and my family and I have yet to meet one that comes close to Dr. Natelson.
Jacqueline Niederle
Annandale, NJ
“Ms. A.” I heard as I was half-way down the short hallway. I turned to find, standing outside his office, Dr. Benjamin Natelson. He smiled and said something I’ll never forget: “I think I can help you.”
I had to hold back tears.
Because, you see, I’d been to four states, three countries and many of the world’s most respected hospitals to see well over 100 doctors since I’d become sick from acute exposure to WTC debris on 9/11. And this was the first time a doctor had ever said those words to me.
In fact, let’s be honest — it may well have been the first time in modern medicine that a doctor has ever gotten up from his desk and stepped out of his office for the sole purpose of providing a patient with a reason to have hope. And this was after an appointment that had already lasted more than an hour, and while the doctor had been battling a bad head cold, to boot.
But even before that moment, it was already clear that Dr. Natelson would become just the sixth physician in 20 years who:
• Had the patience and desire to listen
• Believed me
• Always made himself available — be it for a full appointment or just to answer a quick question
• Wasn’t afraid of medication or the necessary process of trial & error
• Had no intention of giving up
• Openly discussed any objection he had to medications suggested by other specialists and, yet, was no less committed to my case when I explored those avenues, nonetheless.
Simply put, Dr. Natelson cares.
He doesn’t just have the breadth and depth of experience, he actually cares whether you’re healthy, he cares whether you’re living the life you want. And if you’re not, he has what it takes to move you in that direction.
To put it in pop culture terms: He thinks outside the box, like Dr. House. He has Dr. Reynolds’ ability. He listens with the patience and open mind of Dr. Kapoor. He trusts and respects his patients, like Dr. Goodwin. And he has the honesty, integrity and directness of Nurse Casey.
I am grateful, though, for the one thing that Dr. Natelson is that they are not. He, thank goodness, is a real person. And by fighting to put me on my feet and back into the world, he has helped save my life.
Broadly speaking, Dr. Natelson had the bravery, intelligence, curiosity and drive to become an expert in complex illnesses that continue to elude foolproof treatments, let alone cures — and are still not, even today, well understood.
Furthermore, he devoted himself professionally to diseases that disproportionately affect women, who have, historically, been taken less seriously by the medical establishment than our male counterparts. And he did it long before it became “fashionable” to trust my half of the human population.
Thank you, Dr. Natelson, for being a trailblazer, a rebel with a cause — a giant among men.
But mostly, thank you for being in my corner.
Tally Goldstein
Orthostatic Testing