This Thursday I am "starting over" with a new rheumatologist at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis. My primary doc has been urging me to see this rheumy for over a year (and it took several months to get an appt). I'm currently off all my PsA meds -- MTX, Enbrel, everything. I stopped taking them when my heart issues worsened.
So, advice about seeing a new rheumy? How much do I tell her? What do I tell her? How can I tell if she's up on the latest treatments for PsA? What do I look for, listen for? I almost feel like I'm going on a first date!
That first date analogy .... there's something in that, a lot hangs on the first appointment I guess. But how long are you likely to get to decide whether or not it's a match made in heaven? NHS Appointments in the UK are typically rather short so it has to be speed dating and the challenge is how to prioritise and precis the items on my list. Even if you get a long-ish appointment the same processes are bound to apply to some degree, as you undoubtedly know already. What are the key things in your mind at the moment?
It sounds as if this rheumy comes with a strong recommendation from your primary doc, that's a start. Did your pm explain why s/he recommends them?
I just switched to a new rheumy (my guy moved to Norway). My first meeting was him looking over my file and taking my history. I chose about three or four things I really wanted to outline for him/get his input on. I told him about being active on this site and that made him sit up and ask me whether I had a particular agenda for my appointment (not in a bad way, more that he realized he wasn't talking to a complete novice). I told him that my only agenda was to meet him and see if we were a good fit. He wasn't pushy with meds but laid out options and explained them. He was careful looking at my blood work and did examine my joints with more than just a cursory glance.
So, the long and the short of it: have a plan; ask a FEW carefully chosen questions. Be sure you understand the treatment plan your doctor has in place. Hopefully this is the first of many appointments during which you can investigate all the questions you don't get to ask in the first appointment. Good luck!
Such great advice. Thanks. I dont know about anyone else but I still to some degree fear that I won't ask the question I most need to ask or tell doc the symptom that they most need to know about. Get's me avoiding prep or over preparing or not trusting my experience....reading stuff on this site has reminded me that docs have knowledge but patients and their families have wisdom!
You said it, MacMac. Your experience of your disease IS your wisdom. I took my S.O. with me the first time I met each of my rheumatologists. He experience of my struggle was incredibly important for the doctor to hear and got us out of the numbers and into the daily reality of living with a chronic disease. I also informed the doctor that I'm pretty good at putting on a happy face and not admitting how bad things get sometimes.
MacMac said:
Such great advice. Thanks. I dont know about anyone else but I still to some degree fear that I won't ask the question I most need to ask or tell doc the symptom that they most need to know about. Get's me avoiding prep or over preparing or not trusting my experience....reading stuff on this site has reminded me that docs have knowledge but patients and their families have wisdom!