1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Rheumatoid Arthritis

How do i get see rheumy

Posted , 4 users are following.

jan1961
jan1961

HI I have osteoarthritis , lumbar stenosis/cervical stenosis ,nodules on fingers ,pain in face as well as hands leg back. I asked my gp if i could see a rheumy but he said they were for RA and not osteo . I wanted to see one to rule out fibro or ra ,as the amount of pain and disability i have seems out of kilter with my stenosis and osteo. I'm 55 and live in southern England,any help appreciated

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Jayne7831
    Jayne7831 jan1961

    Posted

    Just google rheumatologist and see that he treats both osteo and rheum and maybe show to your dr.  If you feel uncomfortable doing t hat, then ask your gp to do an anti cpp and rheumatoid factor .  I would hope he could do that for you.
    • jan1961
      jan1961 Jayne7831

      Posted

      Thank you Jayne ..I thought that was the case as well. I'm seeing a gp on Friday to have a medication check up,so I think I will ask him as hes not my usual gp and see if I can get somewhere .

      I'm taking a load of meds none of which touch my pain ,they just send me zzz smile and seeing as Ive just had to give up my job because of this pain ,I really really would appreciate should help .

      Thanks again .

  • Rowbirdie
    Rowbirdie jan1961

    Posted

    Hi Jan

    my GP organised blood tests at my request as I wondered if I had an auto immune thing. . When they came back with something 'unusual' he referred me to a rheumy.

    You have the added complication of existing osteoarthritis diagnosis. Maybe it s worth looking on NRAS website or arthritis research website where the 2 different types of arthritis are explained to see if you have any typical RA symptoms. Fibromyalgia symptoms are also described.

    i think your GP would only take it further if you presented with some of the usual RA symptoms such as pain and stiffness in the morning lasting for more than 1 hour- or after sitting still for a while. ( there are more) 

    regardless of whether he ll refer you it sounds as though you re really struggling and could do with a further discussion with GP on managing your condition. So, get yourself informed. If you have some RA symptoms tell your GP and ask for blood tests. ( though they aren't always conclusive) if you don't, maybe discuss referral to physio or pain relief.

    all the best

    • jan1961
      jan1961 Rowbirdie

      Posted

      Thank you Rowbirdie , Ive been and looked on there in the past and that it is that ,that made me wonder as I do have pain and stiffness that last more than an hour and after sitting even after 5-10 minutes . I agree the fact that I have an osteo diagnosis already ,probably doesnt help , but ..

      Ive been to physio,pain clinic,orthopedic ..surgery not an option ,im guessing because mri doesnt show stenosis bad enough ,but it wasnt made clear..and i do know the pain of such does not always correlate with mri findings (as in my case)

      Thank you for your advice smile

    • EileenH
      EileenH jan1961

      Posted

      Question for Rowbirdie really - is myogelosis (the stiffness after sitting a few minutes Jan mentions) typical in RA? It is always mentioned for polymyalgia rheumatica as if it is a fairly characteristic symptom. It plus OA pain could very well look a bit like RA but LORA (late onset RA) can present exactly the same as PMR in the early days. It's just a thought - and you need a rheumy for PMR if your GP is a bit clueless...

      But anyway, I'd try all the GPs in the practice and request a referral. 

    • Rowbirdie
      Rowbirdie EileenH

      Posted

      Yes- a referral def seems necessary.

      i don't know much about pmr, with RA , after early morning stiffness and pain has worn off then sitting down for a period of time makes me stiff again( eg in the evening)- not if just 10 mins.

      From reading other posts it seems it can be difficult to diagnose joint aches correctly.

    • EileenH
      EileenH Rowbirdie

      Posted

      It is! You do have to feel a bit sorry for your average rheumy - it can all look very similar and several things don't have nice convenient blood markers and that really seems to confuse some of them. But PMR tends to be far more muscles being stiff than joints. I don't think I'd ever have said my joints were sore/stiff but I did get very stiff very quickly when sitting and I had hand and foot pain that was probably tendonitis. Then of course when patients say what they feel the doctors sometimes don't recognise it because they think of it differently - we might say weakness for example, but when the doctors do certain tests there is no "weakness" as such.

      But to say "you don't need a referral to a rheumy" with those sort of symptoms is a bit arrogant really.

  • Jayne7831
    Jayne7831 jan1961

    Posted

    Wow!  Had no idea myogelosis existed.  I have had this since before diagnosis and always figured it to be old age, etc.  Even sitting for a meal causes terrible stiffness (and embarrassment!) when getting up.  Must research...had no idea it was part of RA..anyone had luck treating it??
    • EileenH
      EileenH Jayne7831

      Posted

      It can be part of a lot of different things - PMR, fibro and other things. In PMR pred sorts it quite magically. Whethe/howr you can treat it depends on the underlying cause.
    • jan1961
      jan1961 EileenH

      Posted

      hi Eileen smile thank you for that and funny enough i looked up pmr last night  and yes the symptoms did ring bells . A lot of symptoms cross over  in these things dont they lol. Thank you for your help ..lets see if i have any look moving forward with this smile
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.