Rheumy visit

[Guest guest]

I saw my rheumy recently. This is the same one that my friend said had

about as much personality as a wall. After seeing him for a few minutes

last time when I saw the Fellow, I agreed that Dr. Wall would be a good

name for him.

I thought that my appointment was with the Fellow again, but he had

already left. He had told me that he might stay on after his fellowship

was over to replace my former wonderful rheumy. The doctor told me that

they begged him to stay, but he took a position back in Kentucky where

he's from. This position requires him to work only four days a week,

and this rheumy sure didn't think much of that. I'm disappointed, too,

because I believe that he will make a good rheumatologist.

But, anyway, this rheumy was quite pleasant and personable. He was

running behind, so I had to wait probably an hour and a half to see

him. But he apologized for the long delay and even explained that it

was due to several factors, one being a patient too sick to be seen in

a short time.

I told him that I had been having pain in my hips and knees, especially

when I'm trying to go to sleep at night. He offered to switch me from

Enbrel to Remicade or Humira. He implied that he could prescribe the

Humira to be injected once a week instead of every two weeks. He told

me to lie on the table; then he took hold of my foot and moved my legs

all about. Of course I was miraculously cured, and I felt no pain at

all. Isn't that always the way of it, the pain leaving when you're at

the doctor's office?

I don't want to be on Remicade, even though he said you didn't have to

be on methotrexate, although my former rheumy said that you do. Since I

live an hour away and my husband has to take me, I don't want to have

to go in for infusions. I'm also not ready to give up on Enbrel, since

it's worked so well for me. I think that the Celebrex is just not

working nearly as well as the Bextra did. He was surprised when I told

him that the Celebrex raises my blood sugar. For that reason, I

wouldn't want to increase it from what I'm taking now, which is 100 mg

twice a day.

So he told me to take, guess what? Tylenol! Arthritis strength Tylenol!

Narcotic drugs would affect my mind or something like that. This was

the only disappointing thing about the visit.

But I'm taking Tylenol at bedtime. And you know what? It doesn't seem

to have an effect on my pain. This I already knew. It doesn't help me

to go to sleep. I take an OTC sleeping pill, and that helps a little

sometimes.

Does anyone else on here take Tylenol, and does it touch your RA pain

at all?

Sue