{"id":62263,"date":"2023-09-29T07:16:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T14:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.110pounds.com\/?p=62263"},"modified":"2023-09-25T15:39:51","modified_gmt":"2023-09-25T22:39:51","slug":"what-to-expect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.110pounds.com\/?p=62263","title":{"rendered":"What to Expect"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Thank you, Susan, for the great idea! I didn’t even think about this: what to expect from a doctor’s appointment\/rheumatology appointment. It’s a great question because I had no idea what to expect when I went. <\/p>\n\n\n

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First Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expect to wait awhile to get an appointment. I don’t know if it’s always this way and maybe insurance type makes a difference. I have Kaiser, which overall is fairly good. But often times you have to wait months to see a specialist for most things. For example, when I was going to see a hip surgeon I waited 4 months. (When I was given the option for hip replacement I was told the wait list was 18 months.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My route for seeing rheumatology went like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I saw my PCP for an issue with foot pain. He noticed my nails had pitting<\/a> and said he wanted to refer me. I made an appointment (I think it was about a 3 month wait). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next, my PCP ordered a bunch of tests. There was a HUGE list of blood work<\/a> I had to get done first. A lot of it was stuff I’d never heard of. If you have Rheumatoid Arthritis, lucky you! There is actually a blood test<\/a> that tells you if you have that! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rheumatology Appointment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally! The day has arrived. I suggest you arrive with a family history so you can answer some questions, especially if any kind of autoimmune\/arthritis runs in your family. Have a list of questions ready. It’s easy to get rattled and forget. If you can, maybe keep a log for a little bit of what your pain feels like? Is it stabbing? Throbbing? Aching? Does it change throughout the day? Does weather effect it? What helps? Big one: Does the pain or stiffness, etc effect your daily life? Like work, being a parent, cleaning your house, driving, walking, etc?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The doctor asked me a bunch of questions about my history, my history with pain and exercise and injuries. He then did what I now know was “Joint Count Exam<\/a>: Joint count tests are a big part of the Disease Activity Score (DAS), which is a measure of disease activity, and the American College of Rheumatology\u2019s criteria for hitting remission.”<\/strong> Basically he poked my joints and asked me if it hurt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n