I think I'm dying and doctors aren't helping.

[BarkingGhostar]

Serum uric acid is unreliable for diagnosis during an acute attack.

Not only that but it is well established people with high levels of uric acid can go without ever having a case of gout, or, like me, can have very normal levels even during a gout attack. And I've now had a half dozen attacks in the past 2.5-3 years and my doc says gout is a PITA condition to treat because of these two accepted facts.

BTW, while reading this thread and empathizing with amdhunter I cannot help he is going through the motions that some of us have had to go through in the often mystery condition that the average medical professional just isn't capable or even willing to handle. Always get a second, and even a third opinion.

 

[TheVrolok]

Not only that but it is well established people with high levels of uric acid can go without ever having a case of gout, or, like me, can have very normal levels even during a gout attack. And I've now had a half dozen attacks in the past 2.5-3 years and my doc says gout is a PITA condition to treat because of these two accepted facts.

Yep. Still having attacks despite prophylactic medication?

 

[AreaCode707]

If it is autoimmune like rheumatoid arthritis, I suggest trying to address it through nutrition and physical therapy rather than pain meds because they'll have you on nasty NSAIDs, steroids, and all sorts of other prescriptions with side effects that will potentially require you to take even more medications.

I strongly disagree with this advice. Controlling RA effectively through natural means alone is not very successful for most people. It's just too aggressive.

The go-to medications for RA right now aren't NSAIDs or steroids. The big meds nowadays are biologics like Enbrel and Humira, often combined with DMARDs like plaquenil and methotrexate to start. The DMARDs (disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs) can have some not-fun side effects but in many cases they are used to help get the situation under control and then, if all is going well, you can back up to just the biologics.

I've had RA for almost 20 years now, and that's my experience. They did put me on heavy duty NSAIDS at the beginning and I wish I'd done more research on that before agreeing. (I was 18 though, what did I know.) They did symptom control only, and if I'd known that I would have pushed back and taken them only as needed, instead of 2x a day as instructed.

 

[PowerEngineer]

Thanks for the advice guys. My new battle is finding a doctor in a convenient location that is accepting new patients. I didn't try very hard - I'll have to spend a day trying to get one that is convenient. It's probably a luxury though.

I hope that you get yourself to a doctor soon - regardless of the convenience of the location.

One take away for the rest of us is that we shouldn't wait to find a doctor until we are seriously ill. It also helps to have a baseline of healthy examinations and lab test results to reference when something goes wrong.

Hope you feel better soon.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Aetna charges out the rear end if you are "out of network" and has a fairly high deductible for most of their plans.

You should use their website or call their # on the back of your insurance card to find an "in network" internal medicine or family medicine doc who sees outpatients and establish care in order to get to the bottom of this (I recommend internal medicine, but I'm biased). Going to walk-in clinics/urgent care facilities is good for acute problems, but not for chronic ones. Wasted $$$$ and was misdiagnosed (they treated my symptoms, not the underlying issue) because I used urgent care instead of a good primary care provider who had the time to follow me and figure out what was going on back before I had any medical knowledge.

You'll want to write down all the symptoms you noted along with when they started, if they get better or worse with certain things, etc so that you can give as much useful information to the physician when you visit them.

Disclaimer: This post does not constitute medical advice.

Correction: Aetna doesn't charge out the rear end for out of network. Whomever your going to is charging out the rear end. The fact that they are out of network means that Aetna hasn't negotiated rates with that provider, thus the provider can charge 200k for a blood test if they want to. Aetna covers what they deem reasonable for that test, and you're responsible for the rest.

I had an issue with out of network a couple years back. My bill was roughly 5k, Aetna covered up to 3k or so, leaving me with 2k from the original bill. I called up the provider and haggled them down to about 30% of that amount. It's like car sticker prices, it's all bullshit.

 

[JEDIYoda]

I do notice when I eat I do feel bad, but it's mostly because I feel full and just sick. Not nauseous...just not normal. Doesn't really affect my muscle or movement though.

I do want to get back into jogging lightly - but it's impossible. And gaining so much weight over the last few months has me in depression and I don't know how to deal with it.

I'm used to eating a lot. It would be very hard for me to slow down.

Another thing that kills me is when I try to make an appointment - months could pass by before an appointment is available. It's why I've been using urgent care.

I'll call Aetna tomorrow and see if I can get a recommendation for a primary care physician.

I'll call Aetna tomorrow and see if I can get a recommendation for a primary care physician.

You are your best advocate!!! Be persistent!! Good Luck-- sorry you are going through all of this stuff!!

 

[Muse]

You probably need to go through a comprehensive battery of tests with multiple specialists, and few do that better than Mayo.

So many times I've seen info that suggests this is absolutely true. When in doubt what's afoot, Mayo Clinic to find out exactly what's going on. In this case, you want to know what's wrong without a doubt. Try to work it out with Aetna to go to Mayo Clinic. I'd do that if possible. Otherwise, a start with a competent primary care physician, particularly an internist, would be a good way to go.

 

[JSt0rm]

I don't know. I have only been seeing doctors in walk in clinics. I don't know how to find a better doctor - I've never needed one beyond a physical or for allergies.

I'm honestly starting to really worry.

wtf? Walk in clinics only? this is a troll thread.

 

[Darwin333]

I hope that you get yourself to a doctor soon - regardless of the convenience of the location.

One take away for the rest of us is that we shouldn't wait to find a doctor until we are seriously ill. It also helps to have a baseline of healthy examinations and lab test results to reference when something goes wrong.

Hope you feel better soon.

I couldn't agree with this more. Everyone should have a normal primary care doctor even if they aren't sick. I have used urgent care before, the last time was for an ear infection, but wouldn't even think about using them as my normal frontline medical care.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Depending on the location it can be very hard to get a family doctor. I'm thankful that I have one myself, but last I heard the waiting list here is years. You pretty much need to know someone to be able to get you in.

 

[Carson Dyle]

wtf? Walk in clinics only? this is a troll thread.

You would think so, but around here? Probably completely serious.

Just as incredible... No friends, no family, no coworkers or neighbors that you'd trust better than ATOT for advice on what to do next?

 

[JSt0rm]

if you are a runner and come in with knee problems boom mri. First. This guy is medically illiterate. Maybe he has shit insurance.

 

[Zanovar]

Damn serious shit.scary shit.hook up with post 40.

 

[zinfamous]

So many times I've seen info that suggests this is absolutely true. When in doubt what's afoot, Mayo Clinic to find out exactly what's going on. In this case, you want to know what's wrong without a doubt. Try to work it out with Aetna to go to Mayo Clinic. I'd do that if possible. Otherwise, a start with a competent primary care physician, particularly an internist, would be a good way to go.

Kaiser is typically great with this, too, but the main difference between them and Mayo is that Mayo is famous for offering multiple specialty treatments across a range of serious diseases, procedures: various cancers, transplant surgery (Jax clinic particularly), autoimmune, etc. Probably one of the reasons there are only 2, 3? of them. I've been with Kaiser for a while, and while the network in the Bay Area is great, I'm sure there is some variance in quality based on your network. Still, they are known for general practice and preventive, regular healthcare, but I've often heard that when it comes to something like aggressive, or one of the rarer cancers, you might rather be somewhere else.