First Hospital Visit

fowls48
fowls48 Member Posts: 1,357
edited 17. May 2012, 13:04 in Living with Arthritis archive
Hi Guys

My first appointment at the hospital has finally come around , do not know what to expect , Also going on my own as Mr fowls works nights so will be a bit stressful for me .

Karen Fowls

Comments

  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    It's been so long since my first one I honestly cannot remember what happened. I think the usual drill is lots of questions, maybe a request fro more bloods or an Xray and then (hopefully) some decisions being made about meds etc. We will be with you in spirit, fowls48, and please let us know how you get on, yes? You'll be fine girl, trust me. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • tjt6768
    tjt6768 Member Posts: 12,170
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    that's pretty much how my first appointment went, questions, examination,xrays etc..
    I wish you all the best mi dear..
    I'm sure you'll be ok.
    We will all tag along in spirit for support :D
    e050.gifMe-Tony
    n035.gifRa-1996 -2013 RIP...
    k040.gif
    Cleo - 1996 to 2011. RIP
  • pinkbritishstars
    pinkbritishstars Member Posts: 731
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hope it goes well for you.

    Pink x
  • fowls48
    fowls48 Member Posts: 1,357
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Thanks everyone , Hope i do not get too stressed out looking for a parking space as the hospital parking charges are ridiculous sorry to be a tight wad .


    karen fowls
  • Folara
    Folara Member Posts: 568
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Good luck with it Karen. Make sure you write out a list of all the things you want to ask and take a pen to jot the answers down. That way you will have more time at home to sit down with a cuppa and really understand what's going on. It can be so stressful that by the time you've got home you can't remember a thing.

    Keep us posted.

    Fols x
  • Numptydumpty
    Numptydumpty Member Posts: 6,417
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Good luck Karen. I'm sure you'll be fine.
    Wishing you well,
    Numpty
  • mig
    mig Member Posts: 7,154
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Wishing you good luck.Mig
  • Ldyalb
    Ldyalb Member Posts: 85
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Good luck. I see you're in Morden :) I used to live in Balham :)

    I saw two Rheumy's at Charing Cross Hospital and had Hydrotherapy, Physio and Hand Therapy at St George's in Tooting and had very good care at both Hospitals. Are you going to a London hospital?
  • phoenixoxo
    phoenixoxo Member Posts: 625
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi Karen,

    Well, it's been over two decades since my first appointment and all I can remember of it is the KitKat my mum bought me afterwards in the hospital café! So it's great advice from Fols to make notes. And do let us know how it goes.

    Best wishes,
    Phoebe
    PsA (psoriatic arthritis) and other things since 1990. Happy to help when I can :-)
  • fowls48
    fowls48 Member Posts: 1,357
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi ldyalb

    Sorry i thought i had replyed to your question about Balham .I was born in Balham 82 Endlesham road we lived in a basement .I will be visiting St Helier hospital in mordan .I felt down the stairs in st geoges in january after visiting my mother whom had a stroke on boxing day , i have not been right ever since as other parts of my body started to flare , so did not fancy going back there , i think i need a heineken loool

    regards
    fowls
  • Ldyalb
    Ldyalb Member Posts: 85
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You did, but it went to my private messages inbox :)

    I don't blame you for not wanting to go back to St Georges after that fall, ouch :(

    Never been to St Helliers, hope that you've found a good Rheumy there and get some good treatment on the go soon.
  • fowls48
    fowls48 Member Posts: 1,357
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    sorry still trying to get used to this web site , i do not know how to put a picture on my profile loooool.May i ask one more question .arthiritis the doctor says she can make me better but will not commit to telling me that i will deteriorate some point in time .Am i being a twit about this ?i just cannot move on untill i know the answer , i know everyone is different but if i know what to expect i can concentrate on now .

    regards
    karen fowls
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    You are not being a twit, far from it. It's natural enough to want to know what the future may hold but the only way to find out is to keep living. She honestly cannot commit to what might happen because she doesn't know, you don't know and neither do we.

    Sixteen years ago I began this malarkey with one joint and thought that was tough - I thank whoever that I had no idea what was in store because if I had known I would have ended it many, many moons ago. Now I feel I cannot as so many people have put so much effort into not getting me very far that, oddly, I now feel I have an obligation to them to keep plugging away despite my steady deterioration. As far as I am concerned my auto-immune arthritis is still an unknown thing, it comes and it 'goes' (but not very far) and all I can do is take one day at a time. If it's a better day then woo-hoo, if it isn't then no matter 'cos I know it won't last.

    It takes time to learn to adjust to living with arthritis and its very uncertainty is one of the hardest things with which to come to terms. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Ldyalb
    Ldyalb Member Posts: 85
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    The uncertainty is the worst aspect of any chronic illness in a way. I had no idea what was in store for me in October '10 when the Rheumy said 'you have Fibromyalgia'. Initially relief it wasn't Lupus or RA as my GP thought. Then 'how do I deal with this?'

    Now it's come full circle again and another GP suspects auto-immune arthritis, whether RA or PA and I'm back off to Hospital for expert advice.

    The good part of uncertainty is that it means hope is still there. If someone says to you 'you'll definitely deteriorate by x amount in the next decade' for example then that must be pretty gloomy. So I focus on the fact that we just don't know. I'm prepared for things getting worse, but I still live with the hope that one day things may improve, or plateau at a certain point and not get worse. I'll cross each bridge as I come to it, and hope I don't have to cross too many.
  • mig
    mig Member Posts: 7,154
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    This desease may crawl along for years just being a niggling pest or it might go at fits and starts or it just might go full pelt,the rhemmy nurse i saw on monday said she was shocked at how quickly my hands had worsened since she last saw me six months ago but thats the nature of arthritis you just dont know,the only thing we know for sure is there is no miracle cure,its something we have to accept and get on with.Mig