Guest guest Posted April 23, 2009 Report Share Posted April 23, 2009 Morning all! I'm finding myself in a situation and could use some input. I live in the U.S. Virgin Islands. We don't have a Rheumatologist here, so I must travel to FLorida in order to see mine. This will be my third visit with him since October. On my first and second visits to his office, I explained that living so far away and having to travel for my appointments meant that I could only get there every 3 months, as each trip is costing me a minimum of $400 for plane fare (ouch!!). I have asked him twice now if he would be willing to work with my local physician ad he agreed to that. However, to date he has yet to write a letter to layout a course of action/treatment or make any attempt to communicate with my Dr. In the meantime, since my last visit with the Rheumy, my PCP took me off the Plaquenil and started me on MTX as I was starting to have full body flares, and my knees started giving out. My PCP also noticed that my neck and glands in the area were extremely swollen, which made it very difficult to swallow. My Rheumy never said a word about it, even thought I mentioned all of the existing swelling that had been there since October. I now have my next appt. with my Rheumy coming up in the first week of May. I am considering letting my PCP take over the care of my RA as it is extremely expensive for me to fly stateside every 3 months. Is there anyone else here who is using their PCP to treat their RA? I'll continue with my Rheumy if that is what's best, but my PCP seems to be well versed with RA, as he is treating 2 other people here on island, and is already discussing my next options for treatment. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Betsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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