Second Opinion

jaspercat

Hi, could you tell me how easy it is get a second Rheumy appt? I am having alot of trouble getting an appt with my Rheumy and am in continued pain in my joints, she is not helping wih this at all, he says I may go on TNF'S but is doing nothing about it thank you Jaspercatxx

helpline_team

jaspercat wrote:

Hi, could you tell me how easy it is get a second Rheumy appt? I am having alot of trouble getting an appt with my Rheumy and am in continued pain in my joints, she is not helping wih this at all, he says I may go on TNF'S but is doing nothing about it thank you Jaspercatxx

Dear Jaspercat

It sounds like you are having a difficult time at the moment. I'm not sure if you have tried this but you could try phoning your rheumatologist department and speaking to the practice nurse there to speak to her about getting a second appointment. You could also speak to your GP about the difficulties you are having. Sometimes the patient advice and liasion service (PALS) at your hospital may be able to help you with this. If you contact your hospital they should be able to give you the contact details of their PALS officer. If you follow the link http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Listedbytype/Booklets this will take you to our information about arthritis, particularly the booklet 'Coping with pain' that will give you information about managing your pain. When you do speak to a doctor you could also ask to be referred to a pain management clinic who can help with techniques to manage your pain.
I hope this information has been helpful to you.

Best Wishes
Dawn

jaspercat

Hi sorry for the delayed reply - my Rheumy nurse is on leave for 2 weeks and the secretary does not think that I will get an earlier appt I have also been told that I am no longer on the list for review clinic - don't know why.

So I have left a message for my gp to tell him all this and will also ask him about another specialist and see what he says - thanks for the information love Jaspercatxx