since reading a lot of the posts and did some more research on RA...I wonder if I really have it. The only symptom I have is elevated sed rate. I have no stiffness in the morning. I have no joint swelling. Yes, x-rays say I have arthritis in my body...but that I knew. I've have "normal" degeneration of shoulders, hips and knees that you would see in someone my age. My whole family has arthritis...always has. A woman I work with told me she has a GREAT doctor...I was thinking of getting a second opinion. I don't have nearly the pain that you talk about. I have now and again pain in my shoulders...which goes away for a year with a cortisone shot. I have had 7 knee operations since I was 19 for problems with that joint. And I had 3 back surgeries from herniated disks...which makes sense.
a second opinion never hurts
I agree- second opinions never hurt I third the second opinion!! Second opinions are always good if you're questioning the treatment plan or the diagnosis. In your case you're questioning both and a second opinion is warranted. I've had second opinions regarding RA/PsA and they helped in some ways and in other ways raised more questions. This was in the beginning, when I was first diagnosed. I had a second opinion that saved my life. It wasn't RA related but was a pulmonary embolism that was missed by my primary doctor and the radiologist at the small, rural hospital where I lived. I saw another physician and he ordered the correct tests. I was taken by ambulance to a larger hospital and was hospitalized for 8 days and treated for a year. A second opinion is almost always a good thing. Lindy