Had another RD follow-up appointment today. But as usual, saw the nurse practitioner instead.
Well, this is where I have to tell you what an airhead I can be. I was hoping it wouldn't come to this. After I'd been taking MTX for a while I became convinced I was losing a lot of hair. It was in my drain, my brush. It seemed as though I was shedding faster than my golden retriever. But the more I looked at my head and the more I asked people (just good friends and fam) if I seemed to be getting thin(they said no), the more I thought that my hair loss was just normal hair loss but I never really noticed it before. Anyway, I had been telling my RD that I was losing hair and so when I went up in dosage he said that I might lose more. But really I think I haven't lost much of any at all. That probably makes no sense to you, huh? lisa maybe its just me and my computer but the green color of your posts is virtually impossible to read. do you mind switching to a darker less neon shade thanks I actually prefer my NP for both the RD visits and my PCP.. I fel they ARE my PCP's they know me and my family and seem to take more time. while I adore my RD he is not as up to the minute on me as my NP. If I am asked a preference I ask to see a NP.. If the NP feels I need to see the dr, she will consult with him and he comes in and sees me..Thats happened maybe only a half dozen times in the past 20 years.
I missed my Dr. appt that I had waited 3 months to get into. Sheesh. I
cannot believe I did that. I also wanted to tell you that nothing makes me
madder than to make an appt with my doctor and then get into the appt and
find out I'm seeing the NP. Not that she is not good, she is, but I made the
appt for my doctor, not for the nurse. If you think you are seeing the
doctor, and you end up with the NP, complain and leave. they will get the
message. Lots of doctors offices are doing this and it is not right.
Thanks Linncn for sharing!
As far as coding, yes. The NP is NOT paid at your Dr's rate. It's all in the coding and the signatures on the forms.
ohhhhh RA brain^ima have to use that one on my hubby when i forget to do simple things, or make silly speach blunders! is that a real deal thing? haha i feel silly for even asking-i thought maybe scatterbrained was just my new nickname!
blessed, so you're on pred, plaq AND mtx? how is that working? is is controlling all of your symptoms? why did they decide to put you on mtx too? were the pred and plaq not completely helping?
Blessed...at 25mg of MTX, I would probably expect hair loss.
I got that on 20mg...as remember MTX is chemo in a pill basically.
Now, that didn't effect me much as I have a lot of and very thick hair but if you don't that could be an issue. I was losing a lot just through my normal brushing daily.
So that could be something you may have to deal with.
I hope not though. My wish for you is minimal side effects.
Hi Blessed, my memory loss is awful, I can't blame the MTX as I have had a declining memory now for quite a while and I haven't always been taking the MTX, I have lost hair from it however and I am only on 10mg per week. I think the pred causes that too. My main problem on MTX, anything over 10mg and I get terrible chest infections and end up in hospital, best of luck, I hope you don't get any more side effects, best of luck from Janie.
that option when the appointment is being made. I don't know if it is billed
differently. I know there is someone on here that is familiar with billing but
cannot think of who it is. Maybe maryblooms. It is a good question.
[QUOTE=erica3347]ohhhhh RA brain^ima have to use that one on my hubby when i forget to do simple things, or make silly speach blunders! is that a real deal thing? haha i feel silly for even asking-i thought maybe scatterbrained was just my new nickname!
blessed, so you're on pred, plaq AND mtx? how is that working? is is controlling all of your symptoms? why did they decide to put you on mtx too? were the pred and plaq not completely helping?
[/QUOTE]
Erica...I have been on and off the pred the whole time. When 1st dxd, the put me on plaq....but it did not help. They dbld my dose, still did not work hardly. Then they have added mtx (in Aug) and have slowly been increasing it since. Mtx is working somewhat...so they are inceasing it with hopes it will work 100% with stronger dose.
Can't to specify that you want an appointment with the actual doctor when you make your appointment?
[QUOTE=Linncn]Can't to specify that you want an appointment with the actual doctor when you make your appointment?[/QUOTE]
I have that option when I go see the gyne. I stick with the nurse practitioner, because she spends more time with patients than the doctors do, but I definitely have the option. There is a bit of a waiting list for the doctor, but if I had an actual gyne problem they would have me see an actual doctor rather than the nurse-practitioner.
Same thing at our peds office - they have several nurse practitioners on staff. All are very competent. We've seen them when we've had to take the boys in for sick call, and if it's something they can't handle, they will grab one of the docs and have him/her take over.
Same here Jas. For something simple my daughter will see the NP, but they do give me the choice when I call for an appointment. I've never just been assigned her without my prior knowledge.
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