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[kitrona]

Hi. I have a friend who just went to a rheumy appointment, after waiting three months (!) to get in, which is ridiculous in and of itself. Anyway, she brought a condensed version of her pain journal and described the pain she has, and the doctor basically dismissed her with the equivalent of a pat on the head, "oh how cute she thinks she knows

Comments

What I've "had success with:"

[jasmin_sane]

I recently went to see a rheumy again for the first time in several years, and that first appointment was endlessly disappointing. I came in with hip pain I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy and extremely limited mobility, an issue that has gotten gradually worse over the past few years. *I* knew this and I knew that the pain and stiffness was not the same as I would have experienced in case of an active inflammation, but communicating this to the doc was futile. I knew I needed at least one, preferably both hips replaced - he put me on prednisone.
Nearly four months and several appointments later, well, what do you know - he's come around and referred me to an orthopaedic surgeon who says I *am* getting both hips replaced. The thing is, in my experience, that doctors will very rarely actually listen to you. When diagnosing a patient, they will mostly take into account the actual clinical signs of disease, and to a lesser extent, if at all, how the patient experiences daily life. The only thing to do is to persist. Go back, again and

[lilliew]

Sometimes it's hit and miss on rheumatologists. I had one once that was terrible (but then I moved to another state). Since they are a specialist who often take on a wide variety of health conditions, scheduling appointments with them can be difficult. I would suggest if she uses the rotating rheumy's, to be sure to keep and maintain specific records to be shared with each one. (Ex. I keep a copy of all my test results and bring them if needed to doctor visits

[equiraptor]

Do you think she could maybe get a general practitioner that would acknowledge the pain and, well, help?

I say this because at the time of my diagnosis, I had no clue what I had and went to my GP. He decided I probably had RA, but maybe lupus, and ordered some tests and sent me to a rheumatologist. The rheumatologist had a multi-month waiting list, but the GP's phone call got me in in 3 days. General practitioners are likely to have shorter waiting lists, and if you get another doctor to at least acknowledge the pain and symptoms, perhaps the rheumy will be more understanding.

Good luck.

My experience.

[smartlikeatruck]

When the source of pain is not easily found, an MD will often try to circumvent what may be seen as drug seeking behaivor. I had one MD tell me I had early onset Osteoarthritis. I switched insurance, and got a new GP. I saw my GP multiple times, had lots of blood tests(nothing) and xrays(nothing) and it took me breaking down in tears to my MD, telling him that I was tired of taking aleve(I was on the max daily dose, prescribed by him, and it didn't help), and that I didn't want to be on painkillers for the rest of my life- that I wanted to know what was WRONG with me, and I wanted to fix it

[retardomantaban]

I'd get second opinions. Maybe try a primary care doc and express frustrations.