I went to my Rheumy app,it was the same man i have seen in the past,my heart sank . Started off bad and went down hill very fast. He asked how i was since our last meeting , i told him not good have had some awful problems ect . He lifted his eyebrows ! He then asked about my taper and said he could not understand why i was not lower, i told him his was to harsh and it made me feel worse doing it that way, so i now follow a plan and told him about what i now follow and that it was better for me. He then looked up out of the blue and said, ( I dont think you will get off them anyway) . I ignored him and asked him about the sweating , he said no idea ! i asked him about the chronic pain in my buttocks and down my legs ,he said could be a number of things . This was going nowhere , he said he would get me to have blood tests again to have another look. but in his opinion a lot of my problems i was just going to have to learn to live with ! I have never meet such a cold hearted man,he has no beside manner what so ever ! He said that the questions i had been asking him were best put to my DR.I said i thought that was what he was there for ! He shrugged got up and washed his hand and it was over.I really am giving up on Rheumys this time. Came out of there with my head held high, but thank goodness no one spoke to me as i would have burst into tears. Talk about kicking some one when there down ! Sorry for the vent , but i know you will understand .
Last time ! : I went to my Rheumy app,it was the... - PMRGCAuk
Last time !
I am so sorry you had such a sh***y time with your consultant and can totally relate to that type of arrogant and dismissive attitude in the medical profession. I am not sure where you are in the country but I think you need to find somewhere you are able to get to and ask to be referred there. Maybe someone on here, when they know where you are located, can help.
Depending on how strong you feel you could always make an official complaint to the hospital telling them how it made you feel and how dismissed you felt.
A bad appointment like that can make you feel rubbish for days. You need and deserve to be heard and validated.
I hadn't cried at the Drs. since I was a little kid but Rheumy's made me cry. Thankfully I have had a new Rheumatologist for a few years now. He understands the trouble moving down on Pred. and let's me do it my way. Sorry you had another bad experience. Hope you are feeling better.
What a horrible experience….as you say give up on him.
How do you get on with your GP? Is it possible to ask him/her to look after your PMR instead of Rheumy.
Explain what happened (without being too rude about Rheumy - not always appreciated) and say Rheumy told you to seek advice from GP. Ask if they will oversea your illness in future, if so, can they write to Rheumy and say they are willing to do that.
Yes it was horrible , it's not the first time I've come away feeling hopeless, yes I'm going to stick with my GP from now on . Plus your plan is working well for me , what gives him the right to say I'll never get off them.! As you can see I've got my old fight back this morning , thanks once again x🌹
Good - on you feeling better and the tapering, and as we often say a good GP is better than a bad Rheumy every time....
Yes , so true and in my case it's down to you ! Thanks once again.🌹
I absolutely understand, Viv14, as I had a similar experience to yours. I recognise your feelings of being dismissed. For me, not having my concerns addressed or questions answered was stomach- churning initially followed by anger which prompted me to write a letter to the department giving a full account of the appointment, my concerns and what I would like to happen next. Please don't feel that you can't complain: it is your right just as it is to request that you won't be given an appointment with this particular rheumatologist in the future. Look out in your chat function for my message.
Your post has reminded me that I haven't posted an update to tell of developments which I'll do shortly.
Complaint time - breakdown of trust ... And you SHOULD have burst into tears - because if he is like that with all his patients it needs to be sorted out. Often you find the nurses are very aware of such doctors but they can't do much about it.
On Monday I had an interview with one of the rheumies here for a multicentre study he is participating in - about communication between doctors and patients! You should have been part of it! It is related to how we as patients and they as doctors perceive how our PMR affects us in terms of pain. He asked for a pain score - I said 5, apparently he 'd assessed it lower. I don't like the pain score scales, they are too black or white. My pain isn't particularly severe but it is there all the time and it stops me wanting to do things because it is low back and legs so worse with movement meaning its effect on me is out of proportion to its severity.
Yes he was awful, I just didn't want to give him the satisfaction of being upset !It is a breakdown of trust as I will never see him again . Maybe when I'm in the right frame of mind I will complain, I have a Drs app in 2 weeks she's great, will discuss just being under her care .Thanks for the reply 😊🌹
I really don't understand pain scores as it is something that is very personal to the person/patient concerned. What may be a three or a six for me may be a one or a nine for someone else. A pain which has been in evidence for the last twenty or thirty years for me and is just part of my background life may be a totally different thing to someone having it for the first time. How can a doctor possibly assess that it might be something lower or even higher?
I agree wholeheartedly with you and others that complaints in cases like these should be made to protect ourselves and other patients otherwise what is the point of consultations and what is the point of those consultants themselves? They are paid high salaries and that money is wasted-the NHS cannot afford it. There is also patient stress level to be factored in.I wouldn't push people to do anything they are uncomfortable with but a word in someone's ear won't do any harm.
unacceptable behaviour Viv54. Definite complaint time. Sit down, calm down, write down what actually happened. Try and remember the precise words he used in reply. State the issues you have and tried to get answers to. This condition is enough to make me cry at times without having to deal with an arrogant, self opinionated, unempathetic specialist.
I did exactly what you describe and I haven't fallen into the abyss ( i.e. been struck off the hospital register); rather the opposite. Hospitals want to know what isn't working as they don't want a bad reputation which may well affect conscientious staff.
Oh Viv - l am just so sorry to hear this, it happened to me in the past (l’ve never told the story on here as it’s too upsetting)
Is he the Clinical lead do you know as you should get in touch & complain about his manner. I complained about the way l was treated & there was a Nurse in the room so we had a witness. He was actually a Locum & they ceased his contract……
Take Care & Big Hugs
Angela xx
Yes it was horrible, but I'm ok today, but that's the end for me, have not found a good one amongst them.! He made me feel like it was to much of an effort for him and disagreed with everything I said ! Thanks for your reply, hope your ok xxxx🌹
It’s elderly people l feel sorry for, if they get treated like that & can’t stand up for themselves- that’s what l told my Consultant in Wrexham & said how many other people had he spoken to like that? she told me they’d had numerous complaints but mine was the one that sealed his fate!….
There was a witness as well as Terry being with me - it was beyond awful - he told me l was going to die & this was 9months after my Mastectomy & Chemo - can you imagine?…….
He told me to stop my MTX & reduce the Pred rapidly (think l was on 7.5mg) or l’d die…….
It was horrific……
What a dreadful experience - 😰I’m glad he’s gone for good!
Hope he didn;t get a glowing reference! But no doubt he is upsetting people somewhere else ...
He was the worst Medic l’ve ever come across & that’s saying something all the time l worked in the NHS
I am so very sorry to hear this, What is it with some of these obnoxious doctors, I am also being looked after by my GP - who is great , we are on the same wavelength, -with his help and all the help we get on here I am more than happy I would certainly make an official complaint , and stay with your GP if you are happy with him/her. in the meantime, don't cry get mad, How dare he treat anyone in the manner. chin up and keep smiling, xx
I had to complain about an obnoxious ignorant rheumie many years ago. I walked out of the appointment shocked and stunned not knowing what to do next. I started Googling about PMR and luckily found this forum which validated I was right and he was wrong. Rather than complain direct I did it via my GP the first time - the second time round years later I did it more directly and was told by a nurse 'I wasn't the first (to complain)'. To cut a long story short it all worked out well in the end as I got under the care of a great one, Dr Mackie.
Unfortunately there aren't that many rheumatologists around, and those who who know anything about PMR and actually give a damn are an even smaller sub-set of those. I'll bang on the table again and say the charity really needs to do more as a collective voice to fight for better diagnosis and treatment instead of telling us to accept what we're given and just do what the doctor tells us.
The trouble is though, the NHS is on its knees, there is a massive shortage of doctors of all kinds for various reasons including so many retiring in their 50s and 60s. This shortage started way before the pandemic and Brexit but has now reached crisis point. I know two consultants in different specialities who quit substantive posts due to the stress of trying to work during the pandemic. One, a psychiatrist, ended up doing Covid vaccinating for a while and has now retired the other was on sick leave but eventually quit as didn't want to return to work in the NHS.
PS ha ha I just spotted a typo there at the last minute and corrected it before posting, rheumatologits! Might be an appropriate name for some of them
Definitely Freudian ...
Haha, yes I just don't know why, all of the ones I have seen have been so apathetic, it's defiantly put me off from going again .! I felt so I'll yesterday but was determined to give it one more try, what a waste of time and effort that was .. Never mind onward and upwards. Thanks for your reply 🌹
are you sure it was unintentional 
😁...steady on there!
That is just awful! I’m sorry you had to deal with his harsh, hurtful ways. Many of us have encountered rheumatologists who cause more stress (and harm), than good.
I was referred to a terrible rheumy when first diagnosed by my GP. She acted superior, unprofessional and even accused me of putting up my pred dose “without her permission” (when clearly my chart indicated I had bloodwork done which revealed raised markers followed by instructions from her to increase my pred dose).
I managed only 3 appointments before notifying the office I wouldn’t be back. She called to apologize but too little too late. I then was overseen by my great GP for the next few years until I got stuck tapering. I was referred to a new rheumy last fall and so far so good. No pressure, lots of flexibility and answers to my many questions.
All this to say we must advocate for our health at times. Our medical professionals should work as a team with us….they have scientific knowledge and we are experts in our bodies/symptoms. We deserve respect and patience. I will say not all rheumatologists are cut from the same cloth. Information about the “good ones” is often shared on this forum so perhaps there may be a better one in your area.
It unfortunately appears that the good ones are rare but that doesn’t mean that the others are allowed to act in such an unprofessional manner. Write and express “ your concerns” You might be helping a lot more folk who aren’t able to. 💐xx
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