Re: Physical Therapy?/Cathy

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with your rheumatologist!

My experience, from working in health care for many years, is that the physical

therapist is that he/she will probably not touch anything that isn't on the

doctor's order ... for liability reasons, not to mention not wanting to hurt you

because of something he's not aware of. He/she may, however, include in his

report back to your doc that you're reporting other pain/problems in other

areas. But if you have trouble getting your rheumatologist to listen to you, he

may not really pay attention to what's in the PT report, either.

I know you said that travelling longer isn't an option, but if I was in your

situation, and it was a real quality of life issue, I'd really consider how to

make it possible to travel further rather than to stick with a doctor I didn't

trust. I know it's easier said than done, though, and I really feel for your

situation!

Kind regards,

T <flakin-gimp@...> wrote:

I start PT today and after thinking about it last night I realized I have a

few questions.

The PT is for the neck, but trust me, other parts of the body need it more

than the neck.

First, my rheumy sucks. He never listens to me. He has me on Bextra and of

course I have high blood pressure but it isn't the meds.... I don't know, it

was fine before the Bextra now it isn't, you tell me!

There are no other rheumys in the area and traveling longer distances just

isn't an option for me.

Why after all these years has he decided to send me to PT? Is it a

coincidence that his ordering PT coincides with an article saying people

with arthritis need PT?

What do I actually tell the therapist? I mean, I really don't want to make

it sound like my rheumy is an idiot, but he is. There are a lot of places

on this ol bod that needs PT yet he only signed the Rx for the neck. The

best time of day for me is the morning because that is when I take most of

the meds. By 11 am they wear off (I take my meds around 5:30-6:00 in the

morning) and I am pretty much done for the day. I have told the rheumy this

but of course nothing is done about it. In all the years I have been going

to him, he has never ordered x-rays and he hasn't ordered bloodwork for over

2 years. Yes, that scares me especially with taking Bextra. Not to mention

the sun makes me skin sting with this damn Bextra. No kidding. What does

he tell me to do.....use sunscreen. I'm not spending 15 minutes putting on

sunscreen to let the furbabies out which only takes me a minute to hook them

up on their leads and I told him that. I asked him what kind of exercise I

can do in the pool and he said he doesn't know, ask the therapist. He is a

rheumatoligist for * & ^% sake! Shouldn't he know? On the Rx he states that

he wants a report on me... He does this with all my drs. Seems to me he is

one of those drs who gets kick-backs for not ordering the nessesary tests

and saving the insurance company money.....my opinion.......but at this

point I wouldn't put it past him.

Sorry...went off the deep end there.....

I guess the question is ....... how much info does the therapist really

want? Do I tell her about every joint that bothers me? Do I just stick to

the neck problem?

in Ct.

[Guest guest]

I agree with , . Please consider finding a way to get to

another rheumatologist or physician. You are risking a lot by staying

with your current one.

I meant to respond to your posts of a few days ago before now. You've

mentioned many alarming aspects pertaining to your current medical care.

1) The treatment you are receiving for your pain is woefully

inadequate.

2) If you ask your rheumatologist to avoid manipulating certain joints

during your exam and he does so anyway, he is being abusive.

3) If he hasn't EVER done x-rays and no blood tests in 2 years, that is

a demonstration of negligence.

4) If there are no imaging studies to refer to regarding your neck, I

worry about him sending you to physical therapy. If you have cervical

damage and/or instability, mechanical manipulation may be very unwise.

5) That he is not considering Bextra as a possible cause of your

hypertension is also not a good sign.

It sounds as if you are really trying hard to help yourself - and I

commend you for sticking with the treadmill even though it is very

difficult for you - but it's hard to be as well as you possibly can be

without the right physician by your side.

Please consider finding someone else, even if it's not a rheumatologist.

There are many physicians who can manage and treat those with rheumatic

diseases compassionately and effectively. Or you can travel to see a

good rheumatologist infrequently and he/she can advise another physician

closer to you.

I'll tell you where to go!

Mayo Clinic in Rochester

http://www.mayoclinic.org/rochester

s Hopkins Medicine

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org

Re: [ ] Physical Therapy?/

> Hi ,

>

> I'm sorry you're having such a hard time with your rheumatologist!

>

> My experience, from working in health care for many years, is that the

physical therapist is that he/she will probably not touch anything that

isn't on the doctor's order ... for liability reasons, not to mention

not wanting to hurt you because of something he's not aware of. He/she

may, however, include in his report back to your doc that you're

reporting other pain/problems in other areas. But if you have trouble

getting your rheumatologist to listen to you, he may not really pay

attention to what's in the PT report, either.

>

> I know you said that travelling longer isn't an option, but if I was

in your situation, and it was a real quality of life issue, I'd really

consider how to make it possible to travel further rather than to stick

with a doctor I didn't trust. I know it's easier said than done, though,

and I really feel for your situation!

>

> Kind regards,

>

>

>

> T <flakin-gimp@...> wrote:

> I start PT today and after thinking about it last night I realized I

have a

> few questions.

>

> The PT is for the neck, but trust me, other parts of the body need it

more

> than the neck.

>

> First, my rheumy sucks. He never listens to me. He has me on Bextra

and of

> course I have high blood pressure but it isn't the meds.... I don't

know, it

> was fine before the Bextra now it isn't, you tell me!

> There are no other rheumys in the area and traveling longer distances

just

> isn't an option for me.

>

> Why after all these years has he decided to send me to PT? Is it a

> coincidence that his ordering PT coincides with an article saying

people

> with arthritis need PT?

>

> What do I actually tell the therapist? I mean, I really don't want to

make

> it sound like my rheumy is an idiot, but he is. There are a lot of

places

> on this ol bod that needs PT yet he only signed the Rx for the neck.

The

> best time of day for me is the morning because that is when I take

most of

> the meds. By 11 am they wear off (I take my meds around 5:30-6:00 in

the

> morning) and I am pretty much done for the day. I have told the

rheumy this

> but of course nothing is done about it. In all the years I have been

going

> to him, he has never ordered x-rays and he hasn't ordered bloodwork

for over

> 2 years. Yes, that scares me especially with taking Bextra. Not to

mention

> the sun makes me skin sting with this damn Bextra. No kidding. What

does

> he tell me to do.....use sunscreen. I'm not spending 15 minutes

putting on

> sunscreen to let the furbabies out which only takes me a minute to

hook them

> up on their leads and I told him that. I asked him what kind of

exercise I

> can do in the pool and he said he doesn't know, ask the therapist. He

is a

> rheumatoligist for * & ^% sake! Shouldn't he know? On the Rx he states

that

> he wants a report on me... He does this with all my drs. Seems to me

he is

> one of those drs who gets kick-backs for not ordering the nessesary

tests

> and saving the insurance company money.....my opinion.......but at

this

> point I wouldn't put it past him.

>

>

> Sorry...went off the deep end there.....

>

> I guess the question is ....... how much info does the therapist

really

> want? Do I tell her about every joint that bothers me? Do I just

stick to

> the neck problem?

>

> in Ct.