Kathi_S
Member
Well, an unexpected little bump in the road.
I have been taking Meloxicam (an anti-inflammatory) for years for arthritis in my thumbs. You may think it was caused from years of exciting hitchhiking across the country, but sadly no, I'm just crafty.
Recently, I decided to stop my Meloxicam early to see how bad my thumbs would hurt, just in case I might decide to give hitchhiking a try when I can fit into a convertible.
Much to my surprise, my thumbs were really not the problem at all. My knees were. My knees hurt with every step, especially up and down stairs, and even in bed when I would bend them. How dare arthritis sneak up on my knees like that, without any warning at all!
So I called my bariatric team coordinator and asked how long I could take the meloxicam before surgery, and was told up to 48 hours before.
She recommended I get a referral to rheumatology to see about getting injections for some pain relief, so that I could stay active.
Here is where it gets interesting (other than my apparent desire to hitchhike across the country).
I requested a referral from my PCP to a rheumatologist, explaining the whole situation, she knows I'm having bariatric surgery in two weeks. Her response was to deny me the referral, recommend instead an anti-inflammatory diet, tummeric supplement and weight loss.
So, I called the rheumatology department myself. Unfortunately you cannot make an appointment without a referral. I read my doctor's response to my request for a referral and they were astonished.
They told me that the referral could come from any of my doctors, so now I have two request out (one of them from my surgeon) for referrals.
The rheumatologist is confident that she can get me in and probably treat my knees prior to surgery if she gets the referral soon. So now I wait.
What I absolutely cannot believe is the response I got from my PCP. Kind of hard to follow an anti-inflammatory diet when you are on a liquid diet.
Time to look for a new PCP. This is not the first time I have gotten bizarre responses from her.
Hey Diane, I did my best with paragraph, but sometimes ranting just takes up space!
I have been taking Meloxicam (an anti-inflammatory) for years for arthritis in my thumbs. You may think it was caused from years of exciting hitchhiking across the country, but sadly no, I'm just crafty.
Recently, I decided to stop my Meloxicam early to see how bad my thumbs would hurt, just in case I might decide to give hitchhiking a try when I can fit into a convertible.
Much to my surprise, my thumbs were really not the problem at all. My knees were. My knees hurt with every step, especially up and down stairs, and even in bed when I would bend them. How dare arthritis sneak up on my knees like that, without any warning at all!
So I called my bariatric team coordinator and asked how long I could take the meloxicam before surgery, and was told up to 48 hours before.
She recommended I get a referral to rheumatology to see about getting injections for some pain relief, so that I could stay active.
Here is where it gets interesting (other than my apparent desire to hitchhike across the country).
I requested a referral from my PCP to a rheumatologist, explaining the whole situation, she knows I'm having bariatric surgery in two weeks. Her response was to deny me the referral, recommend instead an anti-inflammatory diet, tummeric supplement and weight loss.
So, I called the rheumatology department myself. Unfortunately you cannot make an appointment without a referral. I read my doctor's response to my request for a referral and they were astonished.
They told me that the referral could come from any of my doctors, so now I have two request out (one of them from my surgeon) for referrals.
The rheumatologist is confident that she can get me in and probably treat my knees prior to surgery if she gets the referral soon. So now I wait.
What I absolutely cannot believe is the response I got from my PCP. Kind of hard to follow an anti-inflammatory diet when you are on a liquid diet.
Time to look for a new PCP. This is not the first time I have gotten bizarre responses from her.
Hey Diane, I did my best with paragraph, but sometimes ranting just takes up space!