Questions I should ask my Rheumatologist?

[Guest guest]

Being that I am so new here, I'm not sure what I should ask my RD!

I see him Tuesday afternoon, and I am going into the appointment not

knowing if he is the guy I should be working with. Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Rob

[Guest guest]

Hi Rob. I am no expert by any means, but I can tell you what you should look for from my point of view. The first thing I can suggest is to (A) be sure the Dr is truly interested in treating you ( Try to find one who has dealt with Stills.

My first Rheumy was very aggressive initially, but gave up when the "cookie cutter" approach didn't work. I never could get a straight answer off of him, and I got a lot of "I don't know what to tell you" & "I don't know what to say" type of answers to my questions. Many of my questions were regarding some of the things I have learned here, and based on others' experience. I could never get an answer. I also was never in the room with the Dr for more than 15 minutes or so, which I have since learned that is akin to being hoarded like cattle.

I set up an appointment with the Chief Rheumatologist from the University of Pennsylvania, who wasted 7 weeks of my time by canceling my appointment 6 days before I was to see him.

I now have two appointments with two different rheumatologists that HAVE dealt with Stills before. I will cancel the second appointment IF the first Dr seems like a good choice.

Don't make the same mistakes I did. For how outspoken I usually am, I was very passive with my first rheumy. I wasn't incredibly comfortable with him. I had many questions go unanswered, and like an idiot, I let that slide. I will not do that again. If they can't answer a question, they should be willing to at least find you an answer. If not, look elsewhere.

I hope you get a good one of the bat and they nail this ******* ASAP!!!

Kirk.

Questions I should ask my Rheumatologist?

Being that I am so new here, I'm not sure what I should ask my RD! I see him Tuesday afternoon, and I am going into the appointment not knowing if he is the guy I should be working with. Any suggestions?Thanks,RobVisit the Still's Disease Message Boardhttp://disc.server.com/Indices/148599.htmlThe materials and information contained in this message are not intended to replace the services of a trained health professional or to be a substitute for medical advice of physicians and/or other health care professionals. The International Still's Disease Foundation is not engaged in rendering medical or professional medical services. You should consult your physician on specific medical questions, particularly in matters requiring diagnosis or medical attention. The International Still's Disease Foundation makes no representations or warranties with respect to any treatment, action, application, medication or preparation by any person following the information offered or provided within this support form. ion by any person following the information offered or provided within this support form.

[Guest guest]

Thanks Kirk, that's what I'm looking for. The RD that I ended up

with from my 2 hospital stays was on vacation last week, but he

called me almost every day to check up on me, which seems like a good

sign. Even before he left for vacation, he would call daily to see

how I was doing. The week he was on vacation was the week I returned

to work, so he would call while I wasn't home, but leave a message.

He even gave me his personal pager number, to avoid me having to call

his paging service. He really does seems to care, at this point, but

he hasn't treated Still's before. He was the doctor that first

mentioned Still's while I was in the hospital for the first stay.

I did see that one other member of this group is from the Cleveland

area, and I sent him an email, to see what his experience with local

doc's have been like, but I haven't heard back from him yet.

Thanks,

Rob

[Guest guest]

Thank you for your reply Caroline, that gives me a great starting

point! I also agree that Dr. Crowe seems to be a keeper, just a

little concerned about never working with Stills, but from what I

see, even though Cleveland has some great medical institutions, no

one seems to be experienced with Stills. Like you said, he can

contact Dr. Cush, and I will suggest that!

Thanks again, 2-1/2 hours to D-Day!

Rob

[Guest guest]

> Does anyone have a phone number for Dr. Cush?

Patty H.

>

> Date: 2004/09/21 Tue PM 02:15:00 EDT

> To: Stillsdisease

> Subject: Re: Questions I should ask my Rheumatologist?

>

> Thank you for your reply Caroline, that gives me a great starting

> point! I also agree that Dr. Crowe seems to be a keeper, just a

> little concerned about never working with Stills, but from what I

> see, even though Cleveland has some great medical institutions, no

> one seems to be experienced with Stills. Like you said, he can

> contact Dr. Cush, and I will suggest that!

>

> Thanks again, 2-1/2 hours to D-Day!

>

> Rob

>

>

>

>

>

> Visit the Still's Disease Message Board

> http://disc.server.com/Indices/148599.html

>

> The materials and information contained in this message are not intended to

replace the services of a trained health professional or to be a substitute for

medical advice of physicians and/or other health care professionals. The

International Still's Disease Foundation is not engaged in rendering medical or

professional medical services. You should consult your physician on specific

medical questions, particularly in matters requiring diagnosis or medical

attention. The International Still's Disease Foundation makes no representations

or warranties with respect to any treatment, action, application, medication or

preparation by any person following the information offered or provided within

this support form.

>

> ion by any person following the information offered or provided within this

support form.

>

>

>