Talking to doctors Archives | Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior

Worst Things Doctors Say

April 25, 2017October 5, 2019 Kelly O'Neill 52 Comments Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms, Talking to doctors

Telling my secrets on the worst things doctors say What’s the craziest thing a doctor ever told you? I have rarely discussed some of the worst things doctors say to me because I want RAW to be a positive place. But today, I’ll pull back the curtain and share a few of the worst things doctors...Continue reading 52 Comments » Read more

Trigger Finger in Rheumatoid Arthritis

April 4, 2017October 5, 2019 Kelly O'Neill 24 Comments Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms, Talking to doctors

Trigger finger in rheumatoid arthritis / rheumatoid disease Trigger finger in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common visible effect of the disease. Fingers, to varying degrees, become stuck in a bent position, as in pulling a trigger. The joints are not actually fused when this occurs. But the tendons get caught in a tendon sheath (or...Continue reading 24 Comments » Read more

Joint Redness with Rheumatoid Arthritis

February 10, 2016October 5, 2019 Kelly O'Neill 21 Comments Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms, Talking to doctors

Ever notice the way Rheumatoid Arthritis joint redness is depicted? Pictures of joint redness that are supposed to be Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) have made me laugh out loud for years. Joint redness is often shown with a bright red touchup glow. Why do they paint the joints bright red like ketchup? Maybe they can’t find a picture...Continue reading 21 Comments » Read more

Hardest #rheum Question From a Reader: Where Do I Go From Here?

November 13, 2015October 5, 2019 Kelly O'Neill 13 Comments Rheumatoid Arthritis diagnosis, Talking to doctors

Your comments, I’ve said, are a special blog in themselves, rich with insight and passion. Let’s talk about a recent comment by Paul on What’s Your First Symptom of Rheumatoid Arthritis: Hi All , my nanna was critical with it my Mum has spur’s on her spine her fingers are twisted and knarled and can’t hardly...Continue reading 13 Comments » Read more

Should We Just Call It Pink Puffy Paw?

October 15, 2014October 5, 2019 Kelly O'Neill 28 Comments Rheumatoid Arthritis symptoms, Talking to doctors

(Have you discontinued Cimzia? See note below blog.) One of the biggest problems with getting care for rheumatoid disease is that symptoms do not look exactly the same every day. Of course along with that is the fact that many symptoms aren’t clearly visible anyway, hence the term “invisible illness.” Anyway, it seems like it would...Continue reading 28 Comments » Read more

An Unremarkable Reality: Scans Don’t Lie – or Do They?

February 4, 2014October 5, 2019 Kelly O'Neill 57 Comments Invisible Illness, Talking to doctors

Show me your erosions or else Some of you may remember last year when we met Dr. Shrug who gave my foot an ultimatum: Show me a bone erosion, or no more DMARDs. We only ever saw the doc once (more than enough). It was Dr. Tylenol’s partner, who they scheduled us with since Dr. T...Continue reading 57 Comments » Read more

Medscape Symposium Reveals Attitudes #Rheum Patients Encounter

November 25, 2013May 14, 2018 Kelly O'Neill 20 Comments Physician-patient discordance / disagreement, Talking to doctors

Recently, we looked at a new report showing machines used to perform musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) vary considerably in ability to detect inflammation, and warning about the use of MSUS in treatment decisions when the machines are not yet accuracy rated. We know that Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) predict prognosis in Rheumatoid Disease (RD), but...Continue reading 20 Comments » Read more