I have just been diagnosed with RA. I am very familiar with the disease since my Mom had it. She had a very severe case of it and I had to take care of her for a number of years before she passed. She came down with it when I was very small, I am 33. I have been referred to a Rheumatogist but I am wondering what can I expect from the first visit to one? Will they put me through a battery of tests, x rays? I want to know what to prepare for. Thanks for any info!
DID YOUR MD DIAGNOSE YOU?? LOTS OF BLOOD TEST AND MINE DID MRI'S OF HANDS; SHOWS JT EROSIONS BETTER THAN XRAYS. MY GRANDMOTHER AND ALL GREAT AUNTS HAD BOTH RA AND OA SO THERE IS SOME SORT OF GENETIC LINK.
YOUR DR WILL DISCUSS MED ALTERNATIVES DEPENDING ON THE SEVERITY OF YOUR RA. SO GLAD YOU FOUND THIS MESSAGE BOARD. WE'VE BECOME A BIG FAMILY HERE AND IT HAS HELPED ME PERSONALLY SO MUCH AS I KNOW NO ONE WITH THIS DISEASE. PLEASE ENTER A SHORT BIOGRAPHY ON THE RA BOARDS AND POST OFTEN. KEEP US POSTED AFTER YOUR APPT. WE LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING TO KNOW YOU!
shelli, my first visit with the rheumy included an X-ray of the hands and chest, as well as drawing a couple of quarts of blood. I also had a long one-on-one with the rheumy. Not unpleasant at all. These docs need to know "you" and generally will try to do that.
Good luck!
Mike
My first appointment was lots of bloodwork, a joint count (checks which joints are tender) and lots of questions. I walked out being prediagnosed with RA that day and it was confirmed 7 days later at my next appointment. It was more of an emotional day for me than anything. Good luck to you hon and I hope they get your RA under control quickly.
Peace & Love...Neasy
Hey everybody, thanks for the replies and support!
Karen, yes, my MD did diagnose me. I told him about my symptoms and he said RA immediately, even before knowing my family history. They did bloodwork on me. They did 4 different tests, one was R factor, another was something with "nuclear" in the title, I can't remember what the other two were. He said they were all high which indicated "I was coming down with RA". They referred me to a Rheumatogist from there. My appointment is Sept. 9th.
Glad to find this forum. It will be nice to be able to hear others tales of our war. I have had RA for over 10 years, I went into remission for 3 years and now it is back full steam. We do not have insurance so the new drugs are out, cannot go to a rhumatologist, too expensive so I have been fighting the pain with darvocett, and you know how well that works
I would welcome any advice from you sometimes the pain is too much.
Welcome Neemo I'm sorry to hear that you came out of remission at such a bad timeShelli Welcome to our little group here. The first trip to the RD will be a "get to know you session" for you I imagine especially considering your GP has done all your blood work and confirmed your dx. My first visit we did a ton of blood work as well as X-Rays. I left there after two shots of cortisone and a prescription for predisone and some NSAIDS with a dx of RA. Somewhat tramatic for me considering it was finally confirmed. I'd done tons of research on my own and was pretty sure what to expect; but it's still kind of hard to hear.
Close to 12 years later I live a happy, full....somewhat normal life. You can live a happy life with this disease. Not always pain free; but there is help for us. I'm now on MTX & Humira and although these drugs are rarely used as a first course of treatment they really do make a difference in our well being.
Keep a positive attitude. It's very important.
Welcome to you too Neemo.
Welcome Sheila,
Can't tell you what your RD will do exactly, but I imagine a full examine will be done to see which joints are worse off. And he/she will probably also check the blood work x-rays or whatever other test were done to confirm. Hopefully they will also start you on meds to control RA so you won't have to wait 3 yrs like I did. Take care.
Shawnie
Thanks for the info. I'm trying to stay positive and not bee too scared of the first visit!