What the Hell is a Rheumy For !!

[Guest guest]

C., I think it is time to find a new Rheumy. OR, write a letter to this one explaining how you

feel, and asking if you can come in and talk sooner than your next checkup appt. Put everything

in writing, and keep copies. Make notes, too, of her answers to your questions. This doc sounds

lazy, and inexperienced, or just uninterested, and that is not what a Lupie needs. Take care, and

let us know what happens. Hope the Pred works for you. Love, MM

[Guest guest]

Hello my friends,

I'm going to give a little vent..if you don't mind, and if you do mind ......I'm going to anyway.

I woke up this morning, and noticed that my rash has started up again, so I thought I would be a good Lupie, and call my rheumy, and ask her if I could increase my prednisone to 15 mg. a day to try to nip it in the bud......instead of waiting till it has gotten miserable and having to go in and get a shot, and increase my prednisone to 60mg. and then taper off again.......I told the nurse what I wanted to do ......she said she would talk to the Doctor , and call me back. Now I had an appt. with my psychiatrist this morning, and I told the nurse ......if I'm not home just leave a message on my answering machine.

I went ahead to my appt. ......when i got home,there was no message, so I stayed off the phone, and computer all day waiting for her call..........fell asleep on the sofa. Woke up at 4:30 .....called the Rheumy's office......got a recorded message that they close at 4:00.

I just decided to go ahead and increase my dose.....the only problem is that if I do that I will need more Prednisone to get through the month......she just writes the script for a 30 days supply.I can usually maintain on 10mg. a day, but after a month of being on 10mg. after my last flare.......I am flaring again.

I just don't like this new Rheumy.......she doesn't want to be bothered except for my reg. checkup with her every 3 or 4 months........If I have a problem between times......I wind up having to go to my Primary Doc.for treatment!

When I had sores in my nose last month.....I called her,and she wanted to send me to an Ear, nose, and Throat specialist !!........I just went to my Primary, and he prescribed some antibiotics, and it cleared up.....Before that when I had a flare with my rash.....I went to my Primary,and got a shot of Depo pledrol.....and was told to call my Rheumy if I had any more problems.....well a week later the rash was back with a vengeance......I called my Rheumy....and she told me that since I had already been treated for the rash by my primary......to go back to him....I did, and got another shot of Depo and he increased my pred. to 60 mg.and then tapered off over the next month to 10mg......after a month of being on 10 mg.my rash is beginning to raise it's ugly head again!!

Now am I wrong........but isn't my Rheumy supposed to take care of my problems related to my Lupus......and my primary just supposed to take care of things like.....colds, or other none Lupus related illnesses.....That's the way my old Rheumy treated me......but then he dropped off my insurance, and I had to find a new one........Now my primary treats me for everything, and I just go to my Rheumy every 3 or 4 months for blood work, and stuff........anything else and she just can't be bothered!!...So I am going to go ahead and increase my Pred. to 15mg. ......and call my primary to see if he will write a script for enough pred. to get me through the month.......I don't know what else to do.....If My rash goes ahead and gets worse anyway......OH **** IT......I'm just so disgusted !!

C.

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

I think you should listen to your body and do what is necessary (within limits of course) if you cannot get the doctor to respond. Since you will need more prednisone, I think you should call this doctor's office every single day until you get a reply. More, I would start off with getting a name of a person you speak with the next time and tell them exactly what had happened and that you had to make the decision yourself. I would insist on speaking with the doctor directly and tell him/her that not responding when you need help is unacceptable. Please, do not be afraid to say it to them.If he/she is "busy" tell them you will wait on the phone and you insist on not leaving a message but speaking personally. If they brush you off, I would call every 5 minutes, until they get so sick and tired of hearing my voice they would put me through to the doctor. Doctors think everyone should be happy they are alive, I think they should be happy we are around or they would not have any patients.

Maybe if you put your foot down they will start treating you seriously. If this doesn't help, I would look into seeing another doctor.

Hope you feel better. Mojo

What the Hell is a Rheumy For !!

Hello my friends,

I'm going to give a little vent..if you don't mind, and if you do mind ......I'm going to anyway.

I woke up this morning, and noticed that my rash has started up again, so I thought I would be a good Lupie, and call my rheumy, and ask her if I could increase my prednisone to 15 mg. a day to try to nip it in the bud......instead of waiting till it has gotten miserable and having to go in and get a shot, and increase my prednisone to 60mg. and then taper off again.......I told the nurse what I wanted to do ......she said she would talk to the Doctor , and call me back. Now I had an appt. with my psychiatrist this morning, and I told the nurse ......if I'm not home just leave a message on my answering machine.

I went ahead to my appt. ......when i got home,there was no message, so I stayed off the phone, and computer all day waiting for her call..........fell asleep on the sofa. Woke up at 4:30 .....called the Rheumy's office......got a recorded message that they close at 4:00.

I just decided to go ahead and increase my dose.....the only problem is that if I do that I will need more Prednisone to get through the month......she just writes the script for a 30 days supply.I can usually maintain on 10mg. a day, but after a month of being on 10mg. after my last flare.......I am flaring again.

I just don't like this new Rheumy.......she doesn't want to be bothered except for my reg. checkup with her every 3 or 4 months........If I have a problem between times......I wind up having to go to my Primary Doc.for treatment!

When I had sores in my nose last month.....I called her,and she wanted to send me to an Ear, nose, and Throat specialist !!........I just went to my Primary, and he prescribed some antibiotics, and it cleared up.....Before that when I had a flare with my rash.....I went to my Primary,and got a shot of Depo pledrol.....and was told to call my Rheumy if I had any more problems.....well a week later the rash was back with a vengeance......I called my Rheumy....and she told me that since I had already been treated for the rash by my primary......to go back to him....I did, and got another shot of Depo and he increased my pred. to 60 mg.and then tapered off over the next month to 10mg......after a month of being on 10 mg.my rash is beginning to raise it's ugly head again!!

Now am I wrong........but isn't my Rheumy supposed to take care of my problems related to my Lupus......and my primary just supposed to take care of things like.....colds, or other none Lupus related illnesses.....That's the way my old Rheumy treated me......but then he dropped off my insurance, and I had to find a new one........Now my primary treats me for everything, and I just go to my Rheumy every 3 or 4 months for blood work, and stuff........anything else and she just can't be bothered!!...So I am going to go ahead and increase my Pred. to 15mg. ......and call my primary to see if he will write a script for enough pred. to get me through the month.......I don't know what else to do.....If My rash goes ahead and gets worse anyway......OH **** IT......I'm just so disgusted !!

C.

"The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies

[Guest guest]

Thanks Mojo,

Good advice......I admit I'm a little bit of a wimp when it comes to dealing with " The Authority Figures".......My old Rheumy was such a sweetie, and he took good care of me ........I just don't understand this new Rheumy at all. I usually just Wimp out and go to my Primary....... and he just treats the symptoms.....But I feel that this reoccuring condition needs the attention of a Rheumatologist who can get to the root of the problem instead of my just slapping a bandaid on it till it happens again..........I may need my meds. adjusted, and my Primary is not trained to deal with the miriad problems of Lupus.

I will be on the phone again first thing in the morning ,and let you know what happens.

C.

What the Hell is a Rheumy For !!

Hello my friends,

I'm going to give a little vent..if you don't mind, and if you do mind ......I'm going to anyway.

I woke up this morning, and noticed that my rash has started up again, so I thought I would be a good Lupie, and call my rheumy, and ask her if I could increase my prednisone to 15 mg. a day to try to nip it in the bud......instead of waiting till it has gotten miserable and having to go in and get a shot, and increase my prednisone to 60mg. and then taper off again.......I told the nurse what I wanted to do ......she said she would talk to the Doctor , and call me back. Now I had an appt. with my psychiatrist this morning, and I told the nurse ......if I'm not home just leave a message on my answering machine.

I went ahead to my appt. ......when i got home,there was no message, so I stayed off the phone, and computer all day waiting for her call..........fell asleep on the sofa. Woke up at 4:30 .....called the Rheumy's office......got a recorded message that they close at 4:00.

I just decided to go ahead and increase my dose.....the only problem is that if I do that I will need more Prednisone to get through the month......she just writes the script for a 30 days supply.I can usually maintain on 10mg. a day, but after a month of being on 10mg. after my last flare.......I am flaring again.

I just don't like this new Rheumy.......she doesn't want to be bothered except for my reg. checkup with her every 3 or 4 months........If I have a problem between times......I wind up having to go to my Primary Doc.for treatment!

When I had sores in my nose last month.....I called her,and she wanted to send me to an Ear, nose, and Throat specialist !!........I just went to my Primary, and he prescribed some antibiotics, and it cleared up.....Before that when I had a flare with my rash.....I went to my Primary,and got a shot of Depo pledrol.....and was told to call my Rheumy if I had any more problems.....well a week later the rash was back with a vengeance......I called my Rheumy....and she told me that since I had already been treated for the rash by my primary......to go back to him....I did, and got another shot of Depo and he increased my pred. to 60 mg.and then tapered off over the next month to 10mg......after a month of being on 10 mg.my rash is beginning to raise it's ugly head again!!

Now am I wrong........but isn't my Rheumy supposed to take care of my problems related to my Lupus......and my primary just supposed to take care of things like.....colds, or other none Lupus related illnesses.....That's the way my old Rheumy treated me......but then he dropped off my insurance, and I had to find a new one........Now my primary treats me for everything, and I just go to my Rheumy every 3 or 4 months for blood work, and stuff........anything else and she just can't be bothered!!...So I am going to go ahead and increase my Pred. to 15mg. ......and call my primary to see if he will write a script for enough pred. to get me through the month.......I don't know what else to do.....If My rash goes ahead and gets worse anyway......OH **** IT......I'm just so disgusted !!

C.

"The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies

"The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies

[Guest guest]

Hi Elaine,

maybe some day I'll be able to do that .......I just don't think I could be civil enough right now.......I'm just too pissed off at her! I will file a report with my insurance co in hopes that she gets removed from the network of doctors ......from what My Primary Care Doc's nurse says , they have had similar reports from other patients that have seen her.

Happy Easter, C.

Re: What the Hell is a Rheumy For !!

,

I hope you will start the journey of finding a new rheumy. Enough is enough. I know how hard it is to find the "right" doctor but in your case it sounds like it's time. Then when you find the "right" doctor I would write her a letter explaining why you had the need to change. So many times we change doctors because they "don't take care of us" and the old doctor never knows why we quit and truthfully probably never cares. But if you write her at least one person is holding her accountable for not being there for her patients.

Good luck and I hope you feel better soon!

Elainelonewolflinda wrote:

Hello my friends,

I'm going to give a little vent..if you don't mind, and if you do mind ......I'm going to anyway.

I woke up this morning, and noticed that my rash has started up again, so I thought I would be a good Lupie, and call my rheumy, and ask her if I could increase my prednisone to 15 mg. a day to try to nip it in the bud......instead of waiting till it has gotten miserable and having to go in and get a shot, and increase my prednisone to 60mg. and then taper off again.......I told the nurse what I wanted to do ......she said she would talk to the Doctor , and call me back. Now I had an appt. with my psychiatrist this morning, and I told the nurse ......if I'm not home just leave a message on my answering machine.

I went ahead to my appt. ......when i got home,there was no message, so I stayed off the phone, and computer all day waiting for her call..........fell asleep on the sofa. Woke up at 4:30 .....called the Rheumy's office......got a recorded message that they close at 4:00.

I just decided to go ahead and increase my dose.....the only problem is that if I do that I will need more Prednisone to get through the month......she just writes the script for a 30 days supply.I can usually maintain on 10mg. a day, but after a month of being on 10mg. after my last flare.......I am flaring again.

I just don't like this new Rheumy.......she doesn't want to be bothered except for my reg. checkup with her every 3 or 4 months........If I have a problem between times......I wind up having to go to my Primary Doc.for treatment!

When I had sores in my nose last month.....I called her,and she wanted to send me to an Ear, nose, and Throat specialist !!........I just went to my Primary, and he prescribed some antibiotics, and it cleared up.....Before that when I had a flare with my rash.....I went to my Primary,and got a shot of Depo pledrol.....and was told to call my Rheumy if I had any more problems.....well a week later the rash was back with a vengeance......I called my Rheumy....and she told me that since I had already been treated for the rash by my primary......to go back to him....I did, and got another shot of Depo and he increased my pred. to 60 mg.and then tapered off over the next month to 10mg......after a month of being on 10 mg.my rash is beginning to raise it's ugly head again!!

Now am I wrong........but isn't my Rheumy supposed to take care of my problems related to my Lupus......and my primary just supposed to take care of things like.....colds, or other none Lupus related illnesses.....That's the way my old Rheumy treated me......but then he dropped off my insurance, and I had to find a new one........Now my primary treats me for everything, and I just go to my Rheumy every 3 or 4 months for blood work, and stuff........anything else and she just can't be bothered!!...So I am going to go ahead and increase my Pred. to 15mg. ......and call my primary to see if he will write a script for enough pred. to get me through the month.......I don't know what else to do.....If My rash goes ahead and gets worse anyway......OH **** IT......I'm just so disgusted !!

C.

"The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies "The LUPIES Store" Come check out our store...http://www.cafepress.com/thelupies"The LUPIES Web Page"http://www.itzarion.com/lupusgroup.html"The LUPIES online photo albums!" Check out what your fellow Lupies look like...http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?username=lupies