Kickas.org Forums Ankylosing Spondylitis General Discussion #1 AS Web Support Group Are your Rheumatology appointments constructive?

while i agree with that second paragraph, my medical resume does have everything, but by it being bulleted words, its only a few pages. PM me your email address and i'll email you mine if you are interested. it could be helpful as i often think we have a lot in common (medically).

Oh, I would love an old fashioned doctor too C... Back when medicine was more an art than a business. Sigh...

Tea, wow poor Tea. That's horrible. I would be making a call to my old beloved rheumy, and relate exactly what has happened. See if he can recommend ANYONE in the area, GP, ortho, anyone that would work for you and with you, and maybe consult with him. I would definitely NOT put myself back in the hands of the jackass that took you off your meds!

Tea, perhaps it would help if you could get your GP to give you scrips for the meds that you need. I know my GP is good about things like that. He probably couldn't give you something like a TNF blocker because the insurance would make problems, but most everything else would be OK. Have a talk with him about all the problems that you are having with the Rheumy. Your GP needs to know how bad the Rheumy is so he won't refer other patients if he can avoid it.

had an experience yesterday with my GP (he replaced the old one that retired and since we had no better options, just went with the change) that reminded me, it really does take two.

i'm lucky i finally have a rheumatologist who is helping me because for the third (and last) time now, the GP called me in, then proceeded to not help me with anything. all i really wanted from him was a renewal of zanaflex. he cut my prescription in half to just one a day (instead of two so i can take it one a day and when i need it (travel, dentist, scans, flares, etc) because he doesn't really believe in people taking very many drugs. says muscle relaxants should only be for short term use. etc. i've been on a very low dose, only 2 mg at a time, usually only once a day, been monitoring my liver for the last 10+ years on it. when i asked him how i was supposed to manage, he told me to figure it out and just deal with it. how is that helpful? i asked him some other questions about exactly how i'm supposed to do that, and since he really couldn't answer it, and i wasn't taking "suck it up" for an answer, he told me to ask my rheumatologist for the med instead, as yet another thing he doesn't feel comfortable doing for me. i'm not sure what he feels comfortable doing, as he's turned down every request of mine, that the old GP used to do for me.

yes, time to change GPs.

but i did have bad dreams last night about not having the medication i needed and losing my job because i could not function.

i know i shouldn't let a doctor get to me that badly, but i work so hard at staying as well as i can, with the help of my rheumy, GI doc, etc, that i do get upset when instead of helping me, a doctor puts roadblocks in my way.

so, time to move on.

only problem is every time i get a recommendation to a GP that someone likes, (s)he isn't taking new patients.

but will ask the rheumy for a recommendation for someone with a comparable philosophy to his. so that we can all work together as a team. its very difficult when i have one group of doctors who believe in a holistic approach of needed meds, supplements and vitamins, basically whatever it takes to get the job done. and another set of doctors who think the first set are over prescribing me things. yesterday the GP said that i should be able to take care of all my health problems through a healthy diet and exercise. i told him i've been doing all of that since my 20s, and its not good enough. he then proceeded to tell me that he was from a third world country where they didn't take all these supplements and meds, and they did just fine. it was a weird conversation to be having.

some doctors are very hands on. some are very hands off. while in theory i like opposing views, since it forces me to think for myself, it gets kinda exhausting as well to feel like a human ping-pong ball.

good thing i was feeling so well being on the prednisone this week, or the appointment would probably have upset me more.

my husband has already changed GPs, though not sure the new one will be good for me. he moved on when this GP told him that maybe his fatigue was "all in his head" and then laughed.

i hate to see my good doctors retire. its like any relationship. we hate to see good ones end.

Thank you, Kancie. I have an appointment with him scheduled for Tuesday. It will be my last one. I was going to blow him off entirely but I decided that I need to go and tell him point-blank how badly his decisions affected me. Maybe it will make him think twice before doing that to someone else.

I called his office on Monday to report how poorly I was doing and his nurse never returned the call. Big surprise, lol. They don't want to deal with it. When I was filling out the paperwork before my first appointment with this doc, I thought it was strange that one of the questions asked if you'd ever filed a lawsuit against someone in the medical community. Perhaps I now know why he asked that question -- he's incompetent!

My nurse manager from my insurance company said the hospital is really looking to bring a new rheum. in ASAP. It will probably be a good one since the last one they hired was pretty bad!

Donna,
Oddly enough, this bad rheumy wrote me new prescriptions for my meds with a bunch of refills -- and then he told me to stop taking them. LOL, that's about how much sense this joker made! At least I have an ample supply of meds, though. I take Cellcept and Plaquenil.

My GP is wonderful and she has been managing my care and writing prescriptions for me in the interim. However, I've been doing badly and she hasn't felt qualified to intervene in the autoimmune stuff. I see her next week and she'll be getting a full report on the bad rheum., lol.

Who, besides a rheum., can manage AS? Would an orthopedist work? We have several good ones here.

My doctor never called in the medical information. January 24 and now he has waited so long that the insurance company has canceled the claim.
I decided to not worry, I have already lost everything else. the truck? come and get it.....
meds? nope...cancelled. rehabilitation doctor appointment....cancelled. paying bills.....cancelled.
At least he didn't charge me this week for the appointment. He seems clueless about the guidelines that my employer has. I am sure things will work out one way or another.
I have become quite good at being broke, with no income for months at a time.
thanks doc, hope you had fun on your two weeks vacation.

I am very lucky that I had my good rheum. when I filed for SSD. He kept meticulous records and was so thorough. If I had to be diagnosed and first seen by one of these last two losers, I'd be dead by now. I'm not being overly dramatic. I hope you can get a better doctor and the help you deserve!

I do think I have a good doctor, I really would not trade him in. He is also a good person. I am just sick, and broke...and sick of being broke. Denied, appeal, get paid. I called the insurance company today, he has at least called. They want him to fax more stuff.
In the meantime while the insurance and doctor play tag, my health gets worse, I just don't do well with termination letters from my employer.