visit to the rheumatologist

[Guest guest]

well, the visit to the rheumatologist was weird. surreal is a good word for it.

first thing he said was " why are you here? " uh, because my internist referred

me to you for testing and a second opinion for the diagnosis of fibromyalgia and

the possibility of sero-negative ra. did he think i just wandered in off the

street?

second he wanted to know what medications i was taking. i listed them out and

his eyes just about fell out of his head when i told him about the pain meds and

the dosages. he immediately got very paranoid and starting ranting about how he

doesn't and won't prescribe these types of meds for me. i practically had to

shout him down to explain, quietly and rationally, that my meds had NOTHING to

do with why i was there, that my meds were being managed by my internist and we

were just fine without a rheumy's help in that respect, thank you very much. i

also told him that i had signed a pain medication contract with my internist and

would never ask another physician for additional medication FOR ANYTHING.

" i am here to get a second opinion at my internist's urging and for testing.

that is all. " this seemed to calm him down somewhat. he gave me a thorough

exam, took x-rays and a blood test. he then said " without seeing the results of

the tests and x-rays, i believe you have degererative arthritis and

fibromyalgia. i don't know why you have such exquisite pain. " maybe because of

the arthritis and fibro? just a guess.

and what a weird word to use when describing pain - " exquisite " . i am supposed

to go back in 3 weeks to discuss the results of the tests and x-rays. he would

not even discuss the possibility of sero-negative ra. it seems he's one of

those rheumys that believes that if you test negative, you couldn't possibly

have any form of ra. so be it. at this point i'm just tired and confused and

am wondering if the visit was a waste of time and my insurance companies money.

i don't know, maybe it's just me but the whole thing seemed surreal, odd, weird.

and then, at the end of the visit, he handed me a prescription for a muscle

relaxer (flexaril?) after going off the deep end about medication previously. i

almost burst out laughing when he handed it to me. so bizarre. i'm not filling

the script until i talk to my internist about it, though. he's my " med-man " and

i don't want to do anything that he doesn't sign off on.

i do want to thank caitlin and siriusoul and everyone else for their kind words

and encouragement and thank all of you here for just being there. this list is

a godsend. for real.

i'm completely worn out now. time for a heaping helping of

double-pit-bull-cuddles with a side order of face-licking with tailwagging

garnish and dog-snoring for dessert.

gentle hugs and warm thoughts to you all from rainy california.

chelsea