Going to my first rheumotologist appt in a couple of hours...

Hi, MrsFish, and welcome! I hope you have a good visit but, if you don't, at least you know you are not alone! I wouldn't have gone to him in the first place if I had read those reviews. But, you never know. He could have had a change of heart over the years. I hope so.

Don't let anyone tell you that this is all in your head! Listen. Just look at the list of health problems in my signature. But yet I look great AND all my blood work comes back excellent...except for the inflammation for the ankylosing spondylitis. Doctors should know you can't look at a person to diagnose them. If they do, head for the door. You are paying them a lot of money for their expertise and if they are that lazy, find a good doctor! Really.

I do know, I wouldn't be telling a doctor about my personal life. It's not necessary for a diagnosis. I just let them know how I feel, what I can and cannot do, what really hurts, etc. When you get into your personal life, that's when they start passing out antidepressants. When my husband first passed on, I was so overwhelmed. I had just moved to a new state and was seeing a new doctor for the first time. It was a woman and she was very nice. She did ask if I was married and I told her I was a recent widow and then started crying. He had been gone for just a handful of months. Of course she starts talking about antidepressants. I told her I didn't want them and that I had a reason to be depressed. I didn't have a chemical imbalance or anything because I'm usually upbeat. She kept insisting and I kept saying no. Well, when I was paying the bill, here she came with a month supply of Zoloft! I gave up. I took them, went home and threw them away, and started looking for a new doctor. I want a doctor who will listen to me. After all, I hired THEM! They are working for me.

Do let us know how it goes. I'm praying you do have a good visit.

Sherrine

Well I am home. I think it went ok. I was such a nervous wreck. The nurse must have noticed bc she went out if her way to explain everything that was going to happen during the visit and then told me not to worry the Dr was nice. I thanked her repeatedly and had a " moment" of almost tearful relief while waiting for the dr to come into the exam room, thankfully I had time to gather myself and calm down before he came in.

He was professional and not a warm fuzzy type but not cold either. He listened to me and took lots of nots, asked a lot if questions then did a very full physical exam. Then blood work.

He said he is pretty sure I have fibromyalgia based on my examination and history, but is wanting to rule out a few other things. He found a weird rash on my back, that he was really interested in. It's been there for months, I kind of forgot about it since it doesn't itch or anything.

So he gave me a handout on fibro, and a prescription for gabapentin. He told me there is no magic pill and I will always have some pain, but I need to look forward not backward and try to find ways to improve this life I have right now. I heard what he said, but it made me kind of sad. I miss my old life.

My official diagnosis for this visit were:
Unspecified myalgia and myosotis
Rash and other non specified skin eruptions
Anxiety state nonspecific

I'm not sure what to make of those, but thought I would throw them on here. I go back in 3 weeks to get my blood test results and see how my med is working.

Sorry,guess that was kind of vague. I had to undress to my undies put on a gown and then he basically looked over every inch of my back, neck, legs, arms, hips, feet, and fingers. He poked, prodded, bent, and manipulated my body. I was squirming in pain several times. I Had to try really hard not to flinch away Not that he was trying to hurt me, but that he needed to find out what areas caused pain and how.

He made notes on my reaction, pain level to each maneuver, and on the appearance of my skin colorwise etc....

Thank you for sharing your experience. I think I'm nervous too, going May 14th. I'm not looking forward to the process but hope for help!