Rheumy appointment - new med

I had an appointment with my rheumy yesterday and it went really well.  I felt like we had a really good and open communication about so many of the things I had wanted to talk about .  I mostly really wanted to go over several of my meds with him. First off I talked to him about tapering the prednisone and that I've had a hard time going below 10mg over the summer.  He said he wants me to stay at 10mg for another 4-6 wks to get through the rest of the hot weather and any sun exposure.  Then he said we would taper really slowly in small increments and also alternate days at the lower dose with days at the higher dose.  I'll stay at each tapered dose for about 6 weeks before tapering again.  His goal is to eventually get me down to 5mg as a maintenence dose. I also talked to him about my night time meds because I was having some side effects of amitriptyline such as tremors and terrible carb cravings which resulted in more weight gain.  He is taking me off amitriptyline and neurontin because we're not sure that the low dose of neurontin is even doing anything for me.  He didn't like the tremors I was having and said that the amitriptyline would make me continue to gain weight.  He's putting me on Doxepin which is also a tricyclic, but with few side effects, so it should help me sleep and continue to control headaches.  He said if I don't react well to it or it doesn't help he'll try something like Ambien for me. We also had a discussion about pain management and he told me that it was absolutely okay for me to call for more hydrocodone if I was running low at any time, so that was a big relief for me and I feel much less anxious about the whole issue. I just feel a big sense of relief.  I've always liked this rheumy since he's the one who finally diagnosed me and gave me more relief than anyone else, but I think I had been nervous to talk to him about a lot of these things, but now I'm so glad that I did.  I found out that he is very easy to talk to and wants to help me feel as good and as comfortable as possible.  He also gave me the name of a pcp that he says is very good and sees the whole picture when he sees you, so I'm going to give him a try. I'm going to fill my new script today and try it tonight.  Hopefully it will work okay for me.

Wow, sounds like a fabulous rheumy and great appt! I'm so glad you were able to talk to him freely. Sometimes small things on our minds can begin to burden us if we can't talk about it. I really hope his referral works out too. I know that has been a struggle for you. Take care! Oh, and let me know how the Doxepin works. I've tried tricylics and always get horrible side effects. I've never heard of that one though. Right now I just take Lunesta.

Hi hippi, glad your appointment went so well. Its good your doc wants to keep you feeling as good as possible. So many docs are like, what's the bare minimum I can do for you to keep you out of the office. I hope the new meds work for you! If not, you might try klonopin, it helps with my neuropathy and sleep, I take it at night before bed, like a valium or xanax, but better.

Hi Hippi,

I am so glad your appt went well. As you are tapering down on the prednisone, are you doing it in 1mg or 1/2mg increments? Just curious as I am trying to get from 8mg to 7mg. My rheumy has me alternating 8mg one day and 7mg the next for 2 weeks.

Hugs,

Debuse

Woo Hooo Hippie!!

Great Dr. appointment!!!

Its always nice to hear about a caring doctor!! I hope your new med works well for you. Urghhhh!!! blasted weight gain!! I have to REALLY talk positively to myself every time I go for food. It is such a battle, but I'm determined that it is the one non-rx way to help my pain.

Good luck with your switch!!

Blessings!

Hi Hippi:

Yay I'm so pleased to hear that your appointment went well. I'm proud of you that you stood up for yourself and talked about hard issues with the doctor. They can be so imitating at times. I hope the new medication works well for you and that your taper works well too. Hopefully, you won't have any flare ups while you're trying to taper.

Just wanted to pass on some ((((hugs)))) to you and say well done. Please keep us posted on how your are.

Hugs,
Barb

I am so happy for you Hipp. I have to find a new pcp. I also need to decide what I want to do about the huge pain increase I have been experiencing since last night- my nerve block wore off again. I will be asking them to kill the nerve at my next appointment. I cannot take having such a short relief from something that is supposed to last for months. I may call my own rheumy because she offered me darvocet at my apt and I am thinking maybe it was a mistake to wait for the script . I hate dealing with narcotic pain meds but they are a necessary evil for us. I have a similar story about my own rheumy. She literally saved my life because without her I would have been dead in a matter of months. I hope the med change works. Good luck.

Oh, kitty, that is so sad. There is such a shortage of rheumies! In about six years there will be at least one more, though, my daughter is in pre-med at Michigan State and is focussing on rheumetology. My rheumy has asked her to work in her office during school breaks and next summer. Strange how this crazy illness helped my daughter focus in on her life's work. I hope you can find an available rheumy very soon if your current rheumy's not available enough for you! Audrey Ann

Nicki, everytime I see our rheumy, I think about you and am so grateful that you encouraged me to see him. He is such a great doctor. I'd love to hear how you are doing.