Hubby w/Ra

[Guest guest]

Hello all! I hope everyone is doing well today. finally made it

to the Dr. She chewed him out (gotta' love her) when she realized

that it had been over a year since he had been in. She is NOT sending

him to a Rheumatologist. This is partly becuase of 's (and my)

decision. He seen 2 different rheumy's in the past and neither one of

them were really attentive to his (and mine) concerns. The first one

never did any kind of x-rays or bone scans even after our Dr.

requested that it be done. The second one was an hour away and

although they were " specialists " they had the bedside manner of a

rat. Our family Dr. did more than the other 2 did put together.

She did a full range of blood work on him. I don't remember all of

the tests that she did but I do remember of course, the RA level,

iron level, and a few other basics. She was very concerned about his

energy level. She said that at his age, 32, even having RA, that he

shouldn't be as tired as he is. After being up for 2 hours he is

ready for bed again. When he gets home from work he wants to take a

nap and could sleep all night if I let him. She is also concerned

about his frequent urinating, which the 2nd " specialist " told us that

it was from his RA and when he wasn't having a flare up that it would

go back to normal, it never has. She is thinking there may be

something else underlying. She is also doing blood work to check his

Dopamine. What is this? We are all a little nervous that there will

be something else but at least he's finally in there and trying! I

hope that he keeps up with it. I don't want to get my hopes up too

high! I'll let you know what happens when we get the results in.

Thanks for listening,

Hugs to all

Keri in MI

[Guest guest]

Dear Keri....I'm glad made it to the Dr. Please know that you &

yours are in my prayers. I know this is a difficult & frustrating

journey sometimes.

Love & Hugs....

Tess

[Guest guest]

Hi Keri:

Great news about your husband finally seeing his

doctor! I, too, tried a rheumatologist after having

been under my family physician's care for the RA for a

year. I thought, having RA, that I should be under

the care of a rheumy - not necessarily so! I was

under his care about nine months but he really did not

help me at all, was not a good listener, and frankly I

did not think that he took any of my complaints or

symptoms seriously. He was reluctant to increase or

change my medications and my symptoms and pain were

increasing - so back to my old doctor I went. She

immediately changed my medications. I can't believe I

hung in with the rheumy for as long as I did with the

pain I was in - he just did not get it. I really like

my doctor. She is very easy to talk with, has been my

doctor for about 10 years now, and keeps up with new

medications and treatments very thoroughly. She takes

my disease seriously and I appreciate that. Your

husband's doctor sounds great -good for her to

confront him on not coming in to her sooner! I hope

that your husband's doctor is able to put him on the

right treatment path - seems like she is on the right

track as far as all the blood work, etc. - and that he

is able to begin feeling better and get some energy

back. Fighting RA without any medications or

treatment is very hard on your body - RA is a disease

of fatigue and pain - so without his having had any

treatment for so long he has had to simply cope on his

own with all of this - he must be worn out. You are a

great wife to support him the way you have - with his

dad's help too lol. I am thankful every day that my

husband is there for me too. Supportive families are

so important. Let us know how it goes -

Kathe in CA

__________________________________________________

[Guest guest]

Thanks Kathe, I've done my best with him. It's like raising another

child. I told his mom that the other day, I thought she was going to

jump through the phone and strangle me (this is her youngest of 7-her

baby) but she just laughed and said " yes, I know! " Gee, maybe his

dad has ben talking to his mom about all of this too!LOL! Our Doc

is GREAT! she is aggressive and will listen to you as long as you

need her to. She is very confident yet will ask your opinion on your

own treatments!!!! Who would have ever thought! She likes family

practice because that way she can learn from the other members what

is really going on. She's wonderful!

Thanks for telling me about your experience. I thought maybe we were

just being too picky!

Keri

> Hi Keri:

>

> Great news about your husband finally seeing his

> doctor! I, too, tried a rheumatologist after having

> been under my family physician's care for the RA for a

> year. I thought, having RA, that I should be under

> the care of a rheumy - not necessarily so! I was

> under his care about nine months but he really did not

> help me at all, was not a good listener, and frankly I

> did not think that he took any of my complaints or

> symptoms seriously. He was reluctant to increase or

> change my medications and my symptoms and pain were

> increasing - so back to my old doctor I went. She

> immediately changed my medications. I can't believe I

> hung in with the rheumy for as long as I did with the

> pain I was in - he just did not get it. I really like

> my doctor. She is very easy to talk with, has been my

> doctor for about 10 years now, and keeps up with new

> medications and treatments very thoroughly. She takes

> my disease seriously and I appreciate that. Your

> husband's doctor sounds great -good for her to

> confront him on not coming in to her sooner! I hope

> that your husband's doctor is able to put him on the

> right treatment path - seems like she is on the right

> track as far as all the blood work, etc. - and that he

> is able to begin feeling better and get some energy

> back. Fighting RA without any medications or

> treatment is very hard on your body - RA is a disease

> of fatigue and pain - so without his having had any

> treatment for so long he has had to simply cope on his

> own with all of this - he must be worn out. You are a

> great wife to support him the way you have - with his

> dad's help too lol. I am thankful every day that my

> husband is there for me too. Supportive families are

> so important. Let us know how it goes -

>

> Kathe in CA

>

> __________________________________________________

>

[Guest guest]

Keri,

I¹ve known several people that have gotten excellent care from their regular

doctor. A family physician that is willing to learn about RA and it¹s

treatment is surely qualified to treat .

Sometimes a GP will send a patient to a RD and let the RD do the diagnosing

and suggest a treatment plan and the GP will follow up the treatment plan.

It¹s important to feel good about the care you get from your doctor and it

sounds like he¹s happier with his GP and she will give him good care.

sent some good links of dopamine, which I hope helped understand it. I hope

his tests come out ok and shed some light on the symptoms he¹s concerned

about.

a

> Hello all! I hope everyone is doing well today. finally made it

> to the Dr. She chewed him out (gotta' love her) when she realized

> that it had been over a year since he had been in. She is NOT sending

> him to a Rheumatologist. This is partly becuase of 's (and my)

> decision. He seen 2 different rheumy's in the past and neither one of

> them were really attentive to his (and mine) concerns. The first one

> never did any kind of x-rays or bone scans even after our Dr.

> requested that it be done. The second one was an hour away and

> although they were " specialists " they had the bedside manner of a

> rat. Our family Dr. did more than the other 2 did put together.

> She did a full range of blood work on him. I don't remember all of

> the tests that she did but I do remember of course, the RA level,

> iron level, and a few other basics. She was very concerned about his

> energy level. She said that at his age, 32, even having RA, that he

> shouldn't be as tired as he is. After being up for 2 hours he is

> ready for bed again. When he gets home from work he wants to take a

> nap and could sleep all night if I let him. She is also concerned

> about his frequent urinating, which the 2nd " specialist " told us that

> it was from his RA and when he wasn't having a flare up that it would

> go back to normal, it never has. She is thinking there may be

> something else underlying. She is also doing blood work to check his

> Dopamine. What is this? We are all a little nervous that there will

> be something else but at least he's finally in there and trying! I

> hope that he keeps up with it. I don't want to get my hopes up too

> high! I'll let you know what happens when we get the results in.

> Thanks for listening,

> Hugs to all

> Keri in MI

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Keri,

Sure am glad has a good doctor. Boy, it's tough having husbands

who tend to not take care of themselves. My Ron is diabetic, and is

finally getting the hang of telling people this, and actually asking

for advice. Precious little of that from his doctor, but there sure

is a good network out here. He actually insisted that I get to the

doctor last week, and glad he did because I am finally getting some

help with my RA. Hope he has a good week, and you too!

Judi in IN

[Guest guest]

on 9/8/02 2:41 PM, mormar46 at mormar46@... wrote:

> Sure am glad has a good doctor. Boy, it's tough having husbands

> who tend to not take care of themselves. My Ron is diabetic, and is

> finally getting the hang of telling people this, and actually asking

> for advice. Precious little of that from his doctor, but there sure

> is a good network out here.

Does Ron go to an endocrinologist? I think that if you can get a good one,

you are better off than with a GP. Does he have type 1 or 2? Does he test

his blood sugar every day?

I have type 2, and I'm on a wonderful diabetes mailing list. I have learned

so much since joining it. If Ron would like to join, let me know and I'll

send you the information.

At least with diabetes, you can exert some control and have some power over

the disease. Of all the diseases I have, it's my favorite. <g>

Sue in NC

[Guest guest]

Hi Keri,

I'll be praying for you guys. I am sure everything will be fine. It's

great that has a doctor that cares and is willing to work with

him on this. It definitely makes all of the difference in the world.

Please let me know how everything goes. Take care.

Much love,

Al

> Hello all! I hope everyone is doing well today. finally made

it

> to the Dr. She chewed him out (gotta' love her) when she realized

> that it had been over a year since he had been in. She is NOT

sending

> him to a Rheumatologist. This is partly becuase of 's (and my)

> decision. He seen 2 different rheumy's in the past and neither one

of

> them were really attentive to his (and mine) concerns. The first

one

> never did any kind of x-rays or bone scans even after our Dr.

> requested that it be done. The second one was an hour away and

> although they were " specialists " they had the bedside manner of a

> rat. Our family Dr. did more than the other 2 did put together.

> She did a full range of blood work on him. I don't remember all of

> the tests that she did but I do remember of course, the RA level,

> iron level, and a few other basics. She was very concerned about

his

> energy level. She said that at his age, 32, even having RA, that he

> shouldn't be as tired as he is. After being up for 2 hours he is

> ready for bed again. When he gets home from work he wants to take a

> nap and could sleep all night if I let him. She is also concerned

> about his frequent urinating, which the 2nd " specialist " told us

that

> it was from his RA and when he wasn't having a flare up that it

would

> go back to normal, it never has. She is thinking there may be

> something else underlying. She is also doing blood work to check

his

> Dopamine. What is this? We are all a little nervous that there will

> be something else but at least he's finally in there and trying! I

> hope that he keeps up with it. I don't want to get my hopes up too

> high! I'll let you know what happens when we get the results in.

> Thanks for listening,

> Hugs to all

> Keri in MI

[Guest guest]

Hi Keri,

I am glad that your husband finally went for a check-up. His energy level

sounds exactly like mine. I do sleep a lot. Just not a lot at any one time.

It is a few hours here and there. It really wrecks a day. I do know how he

feels in that area. You get frustrated because you are so tired and can't

get anything done. Then you feel guilty because you seem to be sleeping all

the time. It's a terrible cycle. I wish I knew the answer to how to get out

of it. Maybe you will have some of the answers when his labs come back. I

hope that he feels better soon. He is lucky to have a wife who cares so

much.

Love and Hugs

Stacey in PA

[Guest guest]

Stacey, We are " patiently " waiting for his results. In the meantime

Doc has him on Adipex. It is a diet pill by prescription. It seemed

to have helped for a few days especially in the AM. He still comes

home after work and naps. I have finally gotten used to it. I will

let you know if there is anything significant that they find out.

Hope you get a good nights sleep.

Keri

> Hi Keri,

> I am glad that your husband finally went for a check-up. His

energy level

> sounds exactly like mine. I do sleep a lot. Just not a lot at any

one time.

> It is a few hours here and there. It really wrecks a day. I do

know how he

> feels in that area. You get frustrated because you are so tired

and can't

> get anything done. Then you feel guilty because you seem to be

sleeping all

> the time. It's a terrible cycle. I wish I knew the answer to how

to get out

> of it. Maybe you will have some of the answers when his labs come

back. I

> hope that he feels better soon. He is lucky to have a wife who

cares so

> much.

> Love and Hugs

> Stacey in PA