PMR & Dr visit

[Shastring]

Here we go again, just now came home from Internist appt & guess what he says. He tells me that there are two other meds to try, Cymbalta & Lyrica. I then say why would I want to try these & he says to get off of the prednisone.

I then tell him why not try to taper in a while & he says well we can go down to 7&1/2 mil & see if that works. I then said but I've only been on the 10 mil for a little over three months is that enough time & he says well Sharon you pretty much diagnosed yourself, for all we know you could have Fibromyalga & I pulled out a paper from the Mayo clinic which said prednisone rarely ever helps fibro, I then continue to try and show him all of the printed info I have and he just shrugged it off saying that PMR really can never be truly confirmed. I nearly jumped up & ran out but instead kept my cool & told him I am not ready to taper. I told him about my eyes changing & being borderline Glaucoma all of a sudden & he said oh the pred wont do that & I said yes it can but if its not the pred then it may be the GCA & I can go blind & he said that wont happen.

I am seeing a Neuro Opthomologist on May 18th and hopefully he can shed some light on all this mess. I am so fed up with not being taken seriously, I asked him if he could manage me on the pred & all he wants is to try other meds. I'm at a loss and have no other choice but to seek out another Dr.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Sorry  - you really do need a new doctor. Pred can raise eye pressures and he should know that - it is a listed side effect. It may just cause the raised pressures - that isn't glaucoma until other criteria are found but it does need monitoring and treating with drops if it goes above a certain level. Pred does nothing at all for fibro pain so reducing your dose of pred that was working for whatever it is you have won't have led to fibro returning. And Lyrica/Cymbalta do nothing for PMR.

Given you are paying for this delightful man's attention I'd sack him. Or are you medicare (or whatever it is)? If so - ask him why he took you on if he just wants to be rude and not do his job.

And remind him that if you were to lose your sight due to his neglect you'd sue.

I would have kicked him - verbally if not physically 

[HeronNS]

Shastring, this doctor's behaviour leaves me speechless.  I do hope you find someone more competent and caring very soon.  I note he is an internist.  I haven't heard anyone else on the forums say their PMR is being managed by an internist.  Are you beholden to him for your prednisone prescription, or do you have enough to at least see you through to the ophthalmologist appointment?  

[Shastring in reply to HeronNS]

Hi HeronNS,

Oh I have a Rheumy, That's who giv s me the pred. I went to my primary because I was due for my six month check and thought I was getting a urinary tract infection, as it turned out I caught it just in time because he found some white cells and very little blood so now I'm on an antibiotic and feel better, I guess another side effect of the pred since I never had one before.

Yes I have enough until I see the neuro Opthomologist on May18.

The hanks and I'll keep posting.

Have a great weekend

[cjatthesea]

Shastring,

Just curious...Is this doctor in Cape Coral ? Sounds exactly like someone I was seeing. He wants to treat everything as fibro.

[cdenoncourt]

Hi Shastring,

Well, from your description, I would say you held your ground very well.  I would also say it sounds like your doctor thinks you are a hypochondriac and that you consult "Dr. Google" too much.  You do not need that aggravation.

Didn't you say in a previous post that your doctor wanted you to get an MRI? That might be very helpful for a correct diagnosis.  I say get the MRI appointment, but start looking for another doctor even while waiting for the appointment.

It's a long drive, but you could try Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL.  It has been a wonderful place for me. You can request an appointment without a referral by going online to mayoclinic.org .  On that website you can also see what insurance they accept, or call them and ask.  They are quite helpful.  After a diagnosis, they will manage many diseases by giving you orders for lab work to be done near you, and consulting with you over the phone about the results.

Whatever you do, I hope you soon find better care that you can feel more comfortable with.

[Shastring in reply to cdenoncourt]

Oh my gosh you have been so helpful, one of our daughters live in Ajax and and I didn't know Mayo was even there. I'll definitely be looking into it, we are only four hrs away. In regards to the mri I was supposed to have had it this past Fri but due to a unti and having to run to potty every ten minutes I rescheduled for May 2. Dr has ordered MRIs of each hip and shoulders. They told me to do it in three seperate appts which would be three co-pays so I opted to do it all at once but it will take about fours hrs for this with one copay. It will be an open MRIsjust hope I can last that long, this way I only pay 200 instead of 600.

I do not know what this MRIs will prove, my recent X-rays showed osteopenia in shoulders and neck, I do have osteoporosis which showed on bone density test and I can't imagine having any fractures because if I did I'd be in constant agony.     What can an MRI add to this is the big question but I'm going to find out.

Thank you again I so appreciate all of your feedback.

Shastring