Comments on: Ultrasound for Rheumatoid Arthritis, Part 1

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Sun, 30 May 2010 22:21:09 +0000

Hi Nikki, I think I talk a little about what I learned in parts 2 & 3, but no details about my experience. I did find a doc who would do the U/S, but he was not well trained in it. My new doc says that very few are trained in it for the purpose of identifying damage/erosions and it is completely unreliable for that due to user error levels. The new doc has an U/S machine for injections – has only had it about a month though. The doc offices in all the cities near me who told me “What the heck is that?” were just uninformed staff because their docs never use them. We are in need of better diagnostic tools as I say. MRI are better than the ol’ x-ray. U/S would be better if we knew just how to do it – some say bone scans work best – but my doc doesn’t really like them. I’ll have to get to the bottom of why. I’m just so glad to find a doc who says, “Let’s just treat this thing.” Thanks for a great question. Have you ever had any of these image tests?

By: Nikki

Nikki — Sun, 30 May 2010 21:40:23 +0000

Did you ever get the ultra sound doc you were looking for? Did any of the offices ever explain why your question puzzled them?

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:36:39 +0000

All good points.

By: Kelly Young

Kelly Young — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 12:36:11 +0000

Thank you.

By: Dr. Kirsch

Dr. Kirsch — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:29:44 +0000

I use ultrasound more frequently than before. Not for erosion but to detect early arthritis in patients without swollen joints, where pain is the main concern. Colour coded doppler can detect small vessels in the synovium and is therefore very helpful.
Ultrasound is time consuming and I don’t use it if the decision could be made by clinical examination and X-ray.

By: WarmSocks

WarmSocks — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:57:43 +0000

Great information! Very timely.