Re: i don,t understand

[Guest guest]

Teffy - I think you should print out the post you just wrote and SHOW

it to your doctor. Not just for your sake, but for the sake of all

his patients. Perhaps he doesn't realize that he makes people feel

like that. If he doesn't improve or doesn't respond appropriately to

what he reads, ditch him and move on.

I think that for anyone who has a chronic illness like PA, it's

vitally important that our doctors are COMPASSIONATE! If not, they

do more harm than good - that extra stress just causes us more flare,

more pain, more grief, more depression.

One thing I've used on friends and family who start to give me a hard

time - I ask them if they've ever had a toothache. Most people have

at one time or another, even the pain from wisdom teeth trying to

come in. Then I tell them to imagine that exact throbbing pain in

EVERY SINGLE JOINT and that it NEVER lets up. Sometimes that works

to help them " get it. "

I'm sorry he's such a jerk. He has a lot of company, it seems. What

a shame for lot of sick people - it's sad.

best regards,

sherry z

[Guest guest]

Teffybar91,

Sorry you have so much trouble with your Rheumatologists.

I love mine. You may have read posts about bad rheumys, but I think

it's a case of folks writing about the bad only. After all, if you

rheumy is good, you are less apt to write about it. It's expected.

As far as your problem, keep looking to find one you like. Who knows

why a rheumy chose to be one? And I would like to think that your

rheumy isn't disbelieving you, but simply may not understand or have

enough info to make a judgement. But believe it or not, you can do

some things to help yourself be better understood. Take notes of how

you feel morning,noon and night. Note your painful places and levels

with careful notes as to when a spot gives you more pain. Try to be

a specific and thorough as possible. The more detailed info you

have, the better your rhuemy will be able to diagnose what is going

on with you. And, how can he/she not believe you if you have notes?

I know this sounds like I'm taking the rheumy's side, but the burden

of proof is on you. And quite frankly, the only one to get hurt or

benefit is also you. So it's all up to you. If your rheumy

disbelieves you or is not listening or even if they are not helping.

Go find another, but make sure you are doing your homework too.

Stay Well,

[Guest guest]

I read your post this morn, to find that I myself went through the same thing.

This P.A. hit me when i was 23 years old. Went to Doctor, after Doctor, you see

i had the P.A. before i had the psoriasis, but they would tell me, you have some

type of arthritis, we just don't know what type. This stuff came on me fast,

time was crucial, because it got worst as time went.Took about two years before

my P. showed up then they knew what it was. The pain i went through was

terrible. So the Dr. i saw at the time did not act as though i was hurting this

made me upset. I do not know how many Dr's. i saw but don't give up, you will

find one who will take care of you the right way and listen to what you have to

say.Sorry you have to go through this. Take care

[Guest guest]

We just may be overly sensitive, because most of us have been

treated like nut cases until we were diagnosed. 35 years ago my

familty doc told me I had " growing pains " and told my parents that I

just wanted attention. Five yars later another dr. told me it was

all in my head and maybe I should have a baby to take my mind off of

myself, and told my mother-in-law that I needed a shrink. So, I

refused to tell anyone about my problems for the next 38 years,

until I got so bad that I couldn't function. Finally, a nurse

diagnosed me as auto-immune and sent me to a rheumy, who diagnosed

PA. I was so HAPPY!!! Crazy, right? Yes - at last - I officially

LOST MY MIND!!! I could finally tell my family what was wrong with

me and of course no one was satisfied with that because there is no

cure. Therefore, the rheumy must be a quack!

I swear, we just can't get a break!

Good luck to you. You are definitely not crazy and this group of

people understand. Stay in touch.

Sib

[Guest guest]

Hi,

You really remind me of myself,until recently I plunged ahead because

I was afraid of jeopardizing my income which is crucial for my family.

I applaud you for being such a great mom. The only thing I can say

is PLEASE take care of yourself if you need to. I have been forcing

myself to trudge ahead for nearly my whole life, ignoring my own

mental, physical and spiritual well being. Then this disease smacked

me directly in the face! There are some things you can push on

through and some things you can't. My attitude as well as that of a

prideful family doctor has done irreparable damage to my body. I am

now in the position of having to go on disability whether I want to or

not. I pray that you won't come to this but listen to your body, be

good to yourself.

>

[Guest guest]

There are incompetent and apathetic doctors out there!!

sad but true, Keep on going to new doc's until you find a

compassionate Doc.

I was lucky . in that my doc has a family member suffering from

arthritis. Good Luck in your hunt for a doctor you can trust and rely

on,It's difficult enuf without having a 2nd rate doc.

It is a skill/trade.

They aren't god....just people like you and I.

EX. If you went to a hair salon and came out looking like

the hmmmmmm, lets say a MS. spears on a bad day,,Would you go back

to the salon?

I had worked in a Hospital for about 4 years. 2 in the ER-some

Docs are angels.....some are none feeling Hacks.

Just MY opinion of course.

good luck

gael

[Guest guest]

I just HAD to comment on this!

I'm 35 now, and have shown warning signs of some type of arthritis

since I was about 12. Through my 20's a lot of symptoms began to

develop, but the doctor I had never even examined me, just kept saying

there was nothing wrong with me. I was in constant back pain, and

knew that something wasn't right. But I was young and just started to

believe that everyone must feel this way. I finally dumped that

doctor when I was 27.

I got a new doctor who was great, and she sent me to a Rheumy when I

was around 30 (first one I'd seen since I was 14). This guy was so

disinterested in me, and all he would do is get me to bend over and

side to side before exclaiming, " Look how great you're doing! " and

telling me to see him in a few months. I should mention that, while I

could bend forward, I could only bend a couple of inches side to side,

which is obviously not good!

Well, that Rheumy was the Head of Rheumatology at one of the most

respected hospitals in Toronto! I stopped seeing him after a year

because he obviously wasn't going to help me. He retired a year later.

Now, I've been hooked up with one of the best Rheumy's in Toronto, and

I'm so grateful. The bottom line is, these people are exactly

that....people. Just because they are doctors, that doesn't mean that

they are any different from the rest of us when it comes to being human.

Here's what I always point out:

- you don't know why they became a doctor....maybe they were pushed

into it by family....maybe it was for money

- you don't know if they graduated at the top of their class....or the

bottom

- you don't know what their level of empathy is....maybe they don't

have much of a conscience when it comes to the wellbeing of others,

even though they're a doctor!

- you don't know what could be going on in their lives.....they still

have traumas and stresses like we do, and maybe something is affecting

them more than they realize

If you have a gut feeling that what your doctor is telling you isn't

right, move on and find another one, or even just get a second

opinion. There really are some great doctors out there who truly care

about you, so keep searching for one!

[Guest guest]

oh, i have to respond to this also. for the last 2 weeks i have been wearing a

brace on my left wrist. just knew it had to be carpal tunnel, tendinitis

anything but a flare. the reason i felt was because no amount of anti

inflammatory seemed to help. finally couldn't handle the pain any longer i left

work and went to my urgent care. they didn't consider me urgent, so sent me to

my GP with a cancellation later in day, my GP is on vacation and so i was met by

someone i knew nothing about and didn't bother to look at my medical history.

(reason i didn't call rheumy was it was a Friday and i felt he would tell me to

call GP. if he was even in the office.) so a long story short, 6 hrs later this

doctor tells me to get lots of xrays and make an apt for the following week.

that she couldn't see through my arm and i needed to just deal with it. had i

been to the gym? did i work on a computer? asked me stupid questions and i got

so upset she asked me what my problem was. i informed

her i felt she wasn't hearing me and was treating me like someone who just

wanted time off work and drugs. she said if i wanted time of work without pay

she would authorize it. and for me to take an ALEVE!. she also said that since i

was a dept mgr i couldn't possibly have worked that hard for a serious injury to

have occur ed. and saw no reason for me to not use arm and wrist. that did it

for me. i let her know that i had 3 months sick pay built up and 3 weeks

vacation and i didn't need her to get time off work. she was ignorant and rude

and refused to listen to anything about my PA. i must have got her thinking

twice about her decision. when she left the room to get me set up for x-rays i

didn't need, she decided to look at my records and to call my rheumy! he told

her the way it was and he took it from there to give her instructions on a

script for prednisone and rest and to increase my meds.and to not authorize

exrays because if she had bother to look at my records she

could see that they had already been done and showed the damage she came back

very apologetic and did everything but call me HONEY. maybe i will get a survey

on the service i received? LOL

so in a nutshell, you have to speak up!, always call the rheumy first, and

understand that doctors can have a bad day too. my rheumy is my hero right now.

and i guess that the flares i had before were low grade compared to what i am

dealing with right now. thanks for letting me VENT!

CASEY