Guest guest Posted April 16, 2005 Report Share Posted April 16, 2005 Hi there.... I do have a rheumy and I have had one since I was dx in 1983. I loved the first rheumy I had who dx me, but now that we have moved..he is too far away. Now I see another rheumatologist (medical trainee) at the arthritis clini who is very knowledgeable and knows all the latest technologies, etc. I am on medicaid for my disability so sometimes I don't get the first pick of doctors. But this dr is good just doesn't take the time..always in a hurry when you see him. I compare him to my first rheumatologist and he lacks in time spent in the room with me but he does love ordering tests. lol I am going to have to put the brakes on him next visit. I have always gone to a rheumatologist since being dx and I am still in bad shape... I was on mtx and enbrel then dr switched me to celebrex and humira. I was having elev liver enzymes and some sores/cuts were very hard to heal so... we will see what he says on Monday. He took me off the celebrex and put me on voltaren. It's like medication tag.... see if this works.... I have problems with my crooked hands, knees tend to get a lot of inflammation. Forget the feet..c\hammertoes, bunions..one was operated on but is back to not comfy again. Feels like I am walking on bone. Wear dearfoams for regular shoes. I am going to get dr to order orthotics...had them once. I was pretty lucky until about 2 yrs ago and then things started really getting more painful and it was harder to do things like everyday tasks and walking. I was my dad's caretaker for 7 yrs so I think God helped me with my r/a then my dad passed 2 weesk after WTC and it was downhill from then on. At least I had the strength to take care of him in his final years. When dx i thought r/a was crooked hands...it was hard to walk...eyesight problems, etc The last 5 yrs or so, i have found out about vasculitis, lymphoma, attacks the heart, lungs, etc It was shocking at the time. I'm still surprised. This weeks People mag has an article about kathleen and her bout with r/a. She describes it pretty good... " what this disease does is you always hurt. Always, always, always. Lying down doesn't help, standing up doesn't help. It also gives you a low level fever and a sort of the flu all the time. You're always fighting yourself, always feeling like you are losing. The meds make you sick as a dog. And bloated and i couldn't eat or sleep. " She says she drank because it killed the pain for awhile. Dew Barrymore is on the cover. She talked about her daughter having to help her open a jar of moisturizer...she was 4yrs old. That her daughter helped to feed her when she couldn't hold a spoon and she couldn't catch her on the swing set when she wanted her to. It was truthful and you know she is one of us. So, don't worry i do have a rheumy..just wanted to know what others were doing. It is a serious disease and you get to know how serious when you deal with it for so long. Hope you're having a nice weekend.... Hugs..a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 17, 2005 Report Share Posted April 17, 2005 ] ((((((((((((((((((((((((PAULA)))))))))))))))))))))) > > Hi there.... > > I do have a rheumy and I have had one since I was dx in 1983. I > loved the first rheumy I had who dx me, but now that we have > moved..he is too far away. Now I see another rheumatologist (medical > trainee) at the arthritis clini who is very knowledgeable and knows > all the latest technologies, etc. I am on medicaid for my disability > so sometimes I don't get the first pick of doctors. But this dr is > good just doesn't take the time..always in a hurry when you see him. > I compare him to my first rheumatologist and he lacks in time spent > in the room with me but he does love ordering tests. lol I am going > to have to put the brakes on him next visit. I have always gone to a > rheumatologist since being dx and I am still in bad shape... > > I was on mtx and enbrel then dr switched me to celebrex and humira. > I was having elev liver enzymes and some sores/cuts were very hard to > heal so... we will see what he says on Monday. He took me off the > celebrex and put me on voltaren. It's like medication tag.... see > if this works.... > > I have problems with my crooked hands, knees tend to get a lot of > inflammation. Forget the feet..c\hammertoes, bunions..one was > operated on but is back to not comfy again. Feels like I am walking > on bone. Wear dearfoams for regular shoes. I am going to get dr to > order orthotics...had them once. I was pretty lucky until about 2 > yrs ago and then things started really getting more painful and it > was harder to do things like everyday tasks and walking. I was my > dad's caretaker for 7 yrs so I think God helped me with my r/a then > my dad passed 2 weesk after WTC and it was downhill from then on. At > least I had the strength to take care of him in his final years. > > When dx i thought r/a was crooked hands...it was hard to > walk...eyesight problems, etc The last 5 yrs or so, i have found out > about vasculitis, lymphoma, attacks the heart, lungs, etc It was > shocking at the time. I'm still surprised. > > This weeks People mag has an article about kathleen and her > bout with r/a. She describes it pretty good... " what this disease > does is you always hurt. Always, always, always. Lying down doesn't > help, standing up doesn't help. It also gives you a low level fever > and a sort of the flu all the time. You're always fighting yourself, > always feeling like you are losing. The meds make you sick as a > dog. And bloated and i couldn't eat or sleep. " She says she drank > because it killed the pain for awhile. Dew Barrymore is on the cover. > She talked about her daughter having to help her open a jar of > moisturizer...she was 4yrs old. That her daughter helped to feed her > when she couldn't hold a spoon and she couldn't catch her on the > swing set when she wanted her to. It was truthful and you know she > is one of us. > > So, don't worry i do have a rheumy..just wanted to know what others > were doing. It is a serious disease and you get to know how serious > when you deal with it for so long. > > Hope you're having a nice weekend.... > > Hugs..a Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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