What else can I do? | Arthritis Information

 

My Dr appointment with the new Dr is on the 26th. I am in so much pain and am ready to give up since there has been no Dx. I know that this process takes awhile, but I am miserable and the NSAIDs I am on do not cut the pain although I can tell if I miss a dose because I feel much worse.

What should I ask the new Dr for? My tests are all a few months old, so I am going to ask him to run them again, and take xrays which have never been done this whole time. I am just not sure how I should approach the visit, I am afraid I'll just burst into tears from all the stress and pain. Should I tell him I've seen 3 other Drs and had no answers?

I heard he was a very good Dr and he came highly recommended by a trusted friend in the medical profession (ICU nurse) as well as a few co workers/friends. I am hopeful, but also skeptical since it has been so long with no answers and I get worse each day. I feel like giving up, but I know I can't go on feeling like this.

I am so tired of going to Dr after Dr to be told they can't help me. I have refused pain meds because I don't want to mask the symptoms or look like a drug seeker, I am very much against them until I have a Dx. I know it means that I suffer more, but I don't want to appear to be someone looking for drugs, because I am not, I want a Dx and drugs can't give me that.

I cry myself to sleep wondering if I am going to be able to walk in the morning, or button my child shirt. This is taking over my mind and body and I just want a Dr to help me get on the road to recovery. I don't know how to convince them to keep trying and not give up on finding a Dx rather it be RA or something else. I know I am not well. It happened so fast, and since February has only gotten worse. I am not sure how much longer I can take it.
Oh I am so sorry. It is a long time to have to wait to see a Dr. I'm in the same boat and believe me, I know what you are going through. Don't give up. Try and keep a possitive attitude. The 26th will be here before you know it. I really hope this new DR. gives you a DX. I will be praying for you. Much hugsDon't fear pain meds. If you are constantly battling pain your body cannot heal. My first RD refused me adequate pain meds and turned me into an invalid. I couldn't sleep and was at level 10 +++ so much of the day and night I got more sick and weak until I could not sit up unassisted.

Agree with wanttobeRAfree.  Sometimes pain meds are necessary.  I look at it this way - G*d put things on this earth for us to use - including the poppy plant from which these pain meds are derived.  There is no shame in seeking pain relief.   You have a lot on your plate! Mom of 3 young children, going to school, working, and on top of this, all this physical pain!
Pain puts added stress on our bodies, stress that not going to do any good for arthritis. Asking for pain relief when we really need it is nothing we should feel ashamed of!

Don't worry about breaking down in front of the doctor, I've done it myself. They're used to all kinds of things, and it just might show them how affected you are by this!

I really hope and pray, you get some answers quickly!

~Audrey






If it gives you any help, my RD said NSAIDS can take up to a full month (taken daily) to take effect.  Not a miracle but maybe a little better each day?Since it sounds like your lab work has been hard to crack, focus on telling the doctor: I agree with those who said you need to consider more pain medication, at least for the short term.  Your body is under enough stress and non-stop pain and lack of sleep from the pain will make things much worse.  If you can't sleep, you can't heal and/or deal with your daily struggles.  The constant pain is already leading you into depression.  Please believe me, taking medication is much better than becoming depressed and totally non-fuctional, which is what will happen eventually.  Any good doctor will take your medication into consideration and make allowances for any "masking" that takes place.  Or, if I were you, I'd stop the meds a couple of days before the appointment if you're afraid your blood work will be skewed.  At any rate, you need some relief.  You can't go on like this!!I really think I am doing something wrong. The Drs won't listen to me and even though my blood work shows elevated SED and CRP, they won't do anything. Is it normal to have elevated SED and CRP for over 6 months and not be sick?

I have pain in every joint and all my pcp will say is I have "some kind" of arthritis. None of the Drs have taken xrays or scans. I think this time I am just going to ask for the new Dr to do it. My RF is at the high end of "normal", but  had risen the second time to the end of "normal" range but has not gone over it.

I had a whole list of questions I took to PCP and asked and got no answers. I just think maybe I am asking the wrong things or something. When I saw the RD, I didn't even get a chance to talk, he pretty much came in said everyone has some inflammation sometimes, I can't diagnose anything,  you need to lose weight and exercise, you have Rheumatism. Then he walked out of the room. He never even looked at me, looked at my joints, did labs,he sat at the desk in the exam room with his back to me and did nothing, although I just got the insurance statement and they charged the insurance for labs (I didn't have any labs done though), my PCP did them about 2 months before I saw the RD.

Anyway, I just wish there was some way I could get the Drs to be proactive instead of shrugging me off and leaving me questioning my sanity.

keep a symptom diary until you see your doctor.  also can you get your pcp write the rheumatologist an "introductory" referral letter since your pcp has seen your deteriioation.  this may be really hard for you but you have to try and keep the emotions under control at the appt.  The last thing you want to do is to give him any reason to blame everything on your emotions.  Be factual but matter of fact.  Be your own advocate..if he tries to leave without answering your questions stop him.  i fyou don't think you can do that is there someone you trust who can go to the appt with you

When I was first dx the only lab tests I had that were off were ESD and CRP.  My dx was basically based on that alone.  So it really depends on the doctor.  I think I might have been written off but I had been really stupid about my wrist (starting taking steroids when they said it was just tendonitis, the steroids kicked in then I played handbells for an hour and held the baby all day--this started a major flare where my hand was comically swollen, and I couldn't take NSAIDs b/c I was breastfeeding--if I had taken NSAIDs, the swelling probably would have been less prominent and I might have been ignored).  It is not normal to have that bloodwork, but the doctor who was last in his class is still out there practicing...

Also, at the time when I was crazy swollen like that, the xrays showed nothing (which was why the first doctor just said "tendonitis" before it looked really bad...but I had xrays at the RD too that were normal.) Only the MRI showed anything.  I think that was the key for me to get a dx.  But I don't know how the MRI would differ now that I'm on NSAIDs.  Make sure to stress your functional limitation. 
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