BAD rheumy appt

General
1

Been in a funk since I saw the rheumy. My impression of him is that he didn't listen to what I told or showed him. Brought along the photo of swollen fingers, he barely glanced at it. Told about the time I had dactylitis, he ignored it and said accusitorily "your fingers aren't swollen now." In fact, they still were slightly but his room was so dimly lit that you couldn't SEE the swelling. He told me that they might have fluid in them and just look swollen to me. I told him, no, they were actually swollen. I couldn't get my ring on past my middle joint (and usually it slides around on my finger.)

Additionally, one of my fingers definitely has gooky yellow stuff under it on one edge. Maybe it's just fungus and unrelated, sure, but he never even mentioned it, nor took any scraping to see. Heck, he probably couldn't even see it in the dim light! I also pointed out the pits in my nails and he dismissed them ("they're not psoriatic arthritis pits." Ooookay, so what ARE they?)

I told him my mom has psoriasis, he never checked me to see if I had any, nor did he ask me if I did. I told him about pain in my tendons, and he said, "who told you it was your tendons?" in an accusitory tone. I explained that that's what it FEELS like to me (cripes, I'M not the doctor!). I also told him about the pain in my SI joint, and again, he said "who told you it was your SI joint?" This time I could tell him that it was on my MRI. Duh, take a look at it, Doc.

He did, thankfully, take SED test, CRP test and a test for Lyme disease. Said I might have fibromyalgia which he should KNOW I do not have because I do not have tenderness at the points where you are supposed to have it. I think he was just trying to fob me off. He failed to tell me that I have arthritis in my spine, something 3 other docs have confirmed. Big help, treating me for fibro when at least PART of my problem is arthritis of one sort or another.

I can't help but wonder that since he comes from a culture that does no treat women too well if perhaps he puts that thinking into his medical thinking as well. I really and truly felt dismissed by him and a experienced a lot of coldness. In fact, I liked him so little that I made an appt. with another rheumy in the same practice who rates well with patients. I don't even want Doctor No to read me my results. I feel like I'll get no information from him at all, one way or the other.

Sorry for this big rant but I was so upset by the man. I'll bet that others have experienced similar things. Please feel free to vent here if you have.

2

Oh Pet, get rid of him!!!!!! Doesn't matter where he is from or where he is going, doesn't sound like he is ever going to do you any good, I am on my second one, first one couldn't figure out anything, very nice, spent all kinds of time, looked my body over, and after waiting 6 months to see her had no answers, no suggestions, no diagnosis. Second one diagnosed me before he ever saw me, kindest man I have ever met, but much credit to the GP already paving the way!

But really, time to get another one, if you have to go to church bingo, find the old gals and find out where they go, who helps them!!

I know you are more than frustrated, some of these Docs want nothing to do with you if you research an area that hurts to find out what it is and how to refer to it, I believe in knowing all you can, and I am a beginnner at this! I went to a pain mgmt Doc, office was so dark, couldn't even see him, said he saw nothing on my X-rays, I said well how could you. My husband had to about carry me out of there, I was enraged, said he was a Spine Doctor, that I was in the wrong place. There are some real jerks with medical licenses, so sorry that you had to get one, chalk it up to being smart enough to get and stay away!!

Cheer up there's one out there that will take care of you, you just have to find them!!!

We are all with you!

SK

3

"I am a beginner at this! I went to a pain mgmt Doc, office was so dark, couldn't even see him, said he saw nothing on my X-rays, I said well how could you. My husband had to about carry me out of there, I was enraged, said he was a Spine Doctor, that I was in the wrong place."

Oooooooooooooh, SK, I HATE doctors with attitudes like that! HATE IT! Some doctors truly seem to feel that they are Gods who know all (they don't) and we are the peasants who must look up to them with awe. Sorry but, like you, I've met several docs who truly DO NOT KNOW SPIT. And they pretend otherwise. So I've learned (like you) to question docs who don't seem to "get it." LOL, I laughed at your description of your reaction because I felt the same way myself.

I suspect you're correct, he didn't want me having input into what I suspected it might be. And yet, how could he know if I didn't tell about my mother's psoriasis and my myriad of symptoms? It's hard to strike a balance. Don't tell and you risk the doc not knowing important details. Tell and piss off the doc. Well, guess I need a doc who's a better listener. And someone who can communicate to me. I mean, if it's NOT PsA, what is causing the joint pain? The back and SI pain? It's not fibro as far as I can tell, as I said, unless I'm misunderstanding things. I just need a doc who can LOOK, LISTEN and TELL.


OMG, how did you stand waiting and waiting to see your first Rheumy only to get nothing from him/her? Did you cry after the appointment? You must have felt like it! So frustrating!

But thanks so much for answering, SK. I'm feeling better now. Thought I must be just BS-ing about my sickness, if the doctor thought so little about it. I was really doubting myself. Still am. Tests may turn out completely normal. Then what? WTH is causing the fatigue and the pain? Sheesh, it's hard not knowing.

4

Pet,

FMS is so very hard to coral! Like someone on the FMS site said "talk to 10 Drs, get 10 different answers"! Okay my Rheum is also a University Professor, here is his definition, "If you severely injure the left hand of a lab monkey, and don't treat it, after a while every place you touch the monkey will hurt as much as his left hand, FMS is a condition, not a disease, it comes from chronic pain that changes the brain, to treat the FMS, you need to treat the cause of the pain". So, why can't you have this?

SK

5

Drop him right away, especially since you have an alternative. You have a right to be treated with dignity and have your concerns taken seriously. We'll never know how his background affects his patient care. Best to stay focused on your healing journey.

I hated my first rheumy as well - I felt he was a salesman for the drug company rather than an advocate for me. He rushed me into a treatment I wasn't comfortable with and wasn't at all supportive as I adjusted to it. After I made my position crystal clear to my PCP (I recommend you take this step too), he hooked me up with a rheumy who's great.

6

Wow, David, your first experience was NOT GOOD. The very last thing you want to feel like is the recipient of a doctor's sales pitch, with God knows what thrown down you because the doc. gets a bonus for using the drug. NOT! That's got to be an awful feeling. I'm glad you found someone great and dumped Doctor DrugSales. I'm shaking my head just thinking about that experience.

SK, I don't believe I have fibro because you have to be sore in something like 11 out of 18 specific spots in order t have it, and I have only 3 - knees and one arm. And the areas aren't painful when pressed. But maybe I'm mistaken on this. I know he pressed some areas and I didn't react. My pain is inside for the most part, although the elbow and knee pain isn't. And the stupid SI joint.

7

My DC told me that you can really only feel one pain at a time, my back would be mine as well, lower back, I did not even know my knee, ankle and foot were swollen, never thought they could be causing the limp, though it sciatica, The Rheum, caught it all, he said it was because my back hurt so badly that I hadn't noticed! Hard to tell what you'll learn, or how they define FMS! Each has a different take on it!

I think a better Doctor is just what the patient ordered!

Good luck girl, don't let them intimidate you!

SK

8

Gee, SK, your input is provocative. I hadn't thought of the back pain as masking other pain enough so that I don't really feel it fully elsewhere. That's a distinct possibility! Thank you for the input. I'll definitely keep it in mind. If PsA is NOT the issue for me, then I'll inquire very seriously int Fibromyalgia. That's kind of a bummer of a diagnosis, though, because it's so nebulous and it's not even catagorized. How do you get help for something that no one even really knows anything about? I want answers, dammit! :-D

9

Got mad all over again thinking of how nasty and dismissive my rheumy was. Went online and lo and behold found 2 other negative comments out of five, one almost identical to mine. Surprise, surprise.

Also took a look at fingernails with psoriasis and they look just like mine with the ugly mustard colored stain on it. What a surprise - not. So I'm guessing that I've got a fungal infection, psoriasis there, or maybe both.


Darned doctor, grrrr!

10

Hey Petunia,

Don't shoot the messenger but, you could have both, remember how my rheum defined FMS? A condition caused by chronic pain that changes the brain, you have to get to the source of the pain to treat the FMS.

As for that so called Dr, no way to put it nicely, just 'fire the bumb'!

So now you have to find a good one!!! Keep me in the loop.

Feel better!

SK

Petunia Girl said:

Got mad all over again thinking of how nasty and dismissive my rheumy was. Went online and lo and behold found 2 other negative comments out of five, one almost identical to mine. Surprise, surprise.

Also took a look at fingernails with psoriasis and they look just like mine with the ugly mustard colored stain on it. What a surprise - not. So I'm guessing that I've got a fungal infection, psoriasis there, or maybe both.


Darned doctor, grrrr!

11

Never even considered THAT possibility, SK! Wow. Thanks for the suggestion. Here's hoping NOT. I know that people with autoimmune diseases often have more than one (what are they, like some sort of weird sports cards that you swap around to get another one?)

I am definitely firing the doctor. And I want an explanation for my yellow nail, joint pain, blah blah. And a more thorough exam. And if everything is "fine," so be it. Though I know something isn't right. Too many joint pains, muscle pains, etc., that seemingly popped up overnight.

Good night all. I've had a hard week at work, need to rest. Will try to catch up on older letters and discussions over the weekend, when my mind is freer.

12

PS: Thank you, SK, for all of your helpful input and caring.

13

I can totally relate to feeling "blown off." I've always been very happy with my rheumy, but my last visit didn't go so well. I was a few minutes late (seven minutes exactly!), and she didn't want to see me at all. I had to wait all afternoon to be "worked in" and when I did see her, she was so unhappy with me and rushed that I wished I hadn't gone to see her at all. I was still asking questions while she was walking out the door! Grrrrrr! I admit I shouldn't have been late, but it's not like I've never waited for her before...and much longer than seven minutes! She apologized when she was late, and I told her I understood that sometimes unavoidable things happen and people are late for appointments. Wish she had been as generous with me. Her attitude seemed like much ado about nothing. Makes me feel very uneasy about going back to her.

I'm so disappointed because I thought I had finally found a rheumy who didn't have the demi-god complex. Sad to hear there are so many out there who do, and that so many of us are having this kind of experience.

14

Hi Byrd Feeder.

Sorry about your rheumy situation. On the one hand, it's understandable for her to be stressed about a late appointment and having to fit you in as best as she could. On the other hand, as you say, doctors ALWAYS keep us waiting! We also work and lose money while waiting! Do they somehow forget that part of the equation? And they tend to overbook people, so sometimes the wait is LONG! Let's be honest here, if your doctor ONLY kept you waiting for 7 minutes, you'd be thrilled, right?

Also, I think it was completely unprofessional of her to take it out on you at the appointment. The professional thing would have been for her to politely remind you to be on time next time, not treat you rudely. UGH! And to walk out on you as you were still asking questions! Double UGH! I can understand your disappointment because it CAN be hard to find a good doctor with good bedside manners at times.

I had a situation where I was late to my doctor by about 15 minutes due to being in a car accident. Couldn't reach her to tell her because her stupid office wouldn't pick up the phone. At any rate, I apologized and explained when I arrived. Naturally, I had to wait to be fitted in, but nowhere as long as you had to wait! And I explained briefly to my doctor and she didn't give me any kind of grief. She could have, regardless of the reason.

All that being said, it's probably worth your time to try this rheumy again, since she seems good overall. Maybe the insurance companies give her a horrible time if she doesn't fit X number of patients in at Y time. Or maybe she had her menstruation that day. Or didn't realize she was being rude. I think it's worth another shot, since you've had a good history with her in the past. But if she did it again, then I'd start to rethink things.

Just my 2 cents, for what it's worth.

PS: Rheumatologists, of all people, should expect some delays from people who are in SERIOUS pain!

15

Hi Byrd,

Sorry to hear about this happening to you! Going out the door while you are still asking questions is pretty inexcusable. Not making excuses for this behavior, I will say that maybe she was working under her own crisis or emergency, we just never know!

Hope things are back to normal the next time you go!

SK