New here, waiting for appointment letter :/

helsurf

Hi all, I'm new here, I've been having pain in my chest, arms and shoulders for a long time now and my dr thinks it sound rheumatic and has referred me for a bone scan, that was over 3 weeks ago and I've not heard anything, does anyone know how long you should wait for an appointment letter to come through? The appointment would be in Southampton general.

Thank you all xxx

dreamdaisy

These things take as long as they take. By rheumatic I take it you mean some form of arthritis? Bone scans are usually employed to check bone density, Xrays are used to determine whether osteoarthritis is the trouble and the diagnosis of auto-immune forms of arthritis usually begin with a blood test. I would chase this up with your doctor, let him know that you haven't heard anything as yet and he may be able to chase the hospital on your behalf. DD

barbara12

Hello helsurf
And welcome to the forum
My xrays and MRIs have taken around 5/6 weeks but it does depend on your NHS trust,I hope you hear from then very soon and good luck with it

hileena111

Hi Helsurf
Id depends......if it is arthritis {you say rheumatic} Chase the GP or find out who the person is that you are seeing {if that's possible} and chase them up via their secretary......but very nicely They are very good people to have on side
You then mention bone scan
That's usually a dexa scan to check for osteoporosis....thinning of the bones.....In our area they dont take long except my last one kept getting cancelled because the machine had broken down :roll: :roll:
I think your GP is a better bet to start with
Love
Hileena