My Doc is moving to California!

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My Rheumy is moving to California in two weeks! He didn't say where but he is

going to join a practice as a Rheumy. In the next 2-3 months if you are looking

for a Rheumy and see the surname Parikh ask if he practiced in Terre Haute, IN.

He is a very attentive thoughtful Dr. He pays attention to ones pain levels. I

really liked his style of practice for the most part. He's not a native English

speaker but his English & understandability is great!

The flip side of this coin leaves two Rheumys in Terre Haute, IN. The one who

owns the practice where I am going is now overseeing not only his own full

schedule of patients but is taking over Parikh's patient load as well. This guy

is good but how is he going to handle that many patients?

My " old " doc and I had finally found the medication mix that, for now, works for

me: Orencia once a month, Sulfasalazine twice a day, & 10mg of Arava daily. At

least I don't have to see the " new " Dr until 3 months from now but I had to make

the appointment last week to be sure I could get in to see him.

Be Your Own Advocate. I learned this from lurking in the dark shadows of this

group. Being informed about RA, my own test results, symptoms and history will

help me to deal with this change in doctors. With so many many patients to

oversee I am confident that I know enough about " me " to help my new Rheumy to

manage my health.

For those few that know who I am I'll give a quick update I'm 42 yrs old &

getting ready to get back in my 10-wheeler for the summer season! I'm SO ready

to get out of this house! We are almost finished remodeling our kitchen. It

looks great and it's so much easier for me to get around in it! Our kids are all

so healthy and great! The 16yr old girl now has a 4x4 truck. Her driving takes a

load off me! I can send her to town for shopping! The 13yr old boy learned to

run the washing machine which is helping a LOT. The 9yr old girl is getting

better at folding and sorting laundry too. My great helpers!

My 45yr old husband's sporadic heart-irregularity has gone away like it has in

the past. It may not show back up for years now. His new neurologist has

discovered an " abnormality " in the right temporal brain lobe. Because his horrid

headaches/short term memory issues started so suddenly she thinks that this

abnormality is what has caused these. Either he was born with this area, which

would explain his deafness since childhood, or as the neuro thinks- that he had

a small stroke when he was tapering off beta blocker medication that he should

never have been put on. He was just given a great test result telling us there

is NO sign of current blood clots nor fragments of any remaining clots! He is

just happy to know WHAT has caused these headaches! For the memory problems he

just writes EVERYTHING down! We are finally making headway in digging out of

this stupid hole we've been in. Slow but steady wins the race, right?

If you have confidence in your Dr then keep up the good fight. Even if it seems

the tunnel is never-ending just keep your head up and keep going. It has taken

over 3 years for me to find the right drug mix for my current RA level and our

household has been in the dumper for over a year with my hubby's health issues.

There is light at the end of the tunnel!