Rheumy Changes

[Leroa]

I am considering changing my Dr. He's nice enough but doesn't seem to address any of my concerns. I was Dx a little over a year ago. I am taking Plaquenil 200 every 12 hours. Thankfully I'm doing great. I see him every 12 weeks, he squeezes my joints, and says "great, see you in 12 weeks". The few times I've told him about new problems he just dismisses them and tells me to talk to my family Dr. Well this visit I tried to discuss digestive issues I've had lately. He said talk to your family Dr, I said I have. So he just moved on. I thought he should have at least talked about how this may or may not be part of my RA. So then I asked about my blood values. Mildly low Albumin and .8 C-reactive protein. He said not to be worried, these values aren't that important. So at the end of the 4 minute appointment he said see you in 12 weeks, unless anything changes, then he'd like to see me sooner. I asked that since I am symptom free for more than a year and all my concerns should be addressed by my family Dr, if we could schedule out 6 months. Nope. He "wouldn't want anything new to go unaddressed that long. ". Is this typical? I live in a semi-rural area so my Dr choices are limited, but I'm willing to travel if I expect a higher level of care. Any suggestions?

[Nettac]

Crikey, you're lucky to see him every 12 weeks. Every six months round here, unless something drops off..and even then..

[AgedCrone]

Some Consultants, are very precious about their speciality & I've often found rheumatologists truly don't know too much about other conditions!

But as you are lucky enough to see him every 12 weeks & you are happy with the way he treats your RA I'd hang on to him & when necessary get referred to another Consultant in whichever speciality you need.

I only get to see the Rheumatology Consultant if something goes wrong with my RA treatment, my 6 monthly appointment letter says " with Dr X or one of his team' which means 99% of the time means a rheumy nurse. I'm happy with that as the team of nurses are excellent, & keep very up to date on all the new drugs & tell you honestly the pros & cons!

[Hidden]

Whereabouts do you live leroa?

Beverley (NRAS Helpline)

[Leroa in reply to Hidden]

Michigan

[Hidden]

Well hopefully, some of the forum members in the States will be able to respond to your queries. The NHS system here in the UK is different. Good luck getting your problems resolved.

Beverley

[Leroa in reply to Hidden]

👌🏼

[Hidden]

My GP and new Rhuemy are splitting the load for my care. I see her every three months and him every 12 unless we want to address something further. Rheumy took x-rays this time and said Plaquenil was stopping further joint damage, so he would not put me on MTX after all. My GP and I are a bit confused because my hand and feet swelling is ridiculous and my hand and joint pain never-ever goes away; Unless I do a round of Prednisone to get things under control. The Plaquenil seems to have increased bone loss under my gums and my teeth are falling out. I have many other typical RA disease; anemia, rounds of infection that move from teeth to urinary to wounds, TMJ, and tinnitus. There are more, but my GP says we will look again in a few months and perhaps she will discuss moving me to the MTX. I do not wish to take more drugs and ones with worse side effects, but I do wish to quit hurting and to save what joints I have left.

I hope I am not hijacking the thread, but any thoughts on the subject will be well received.

[Leroa]

My goodness, you have a lot to deal with right now. It is obvious your not well controlled. However there are many threads on here that have conflicting reviews of medication effectiveness.I hope you can get some better answers from your rheumy.