Rheumatologist vs. Neurologist

Symptoms & Treatments Physician Recommendations (Positive Review Only)
1

Do you recommend one over the other or both in my battle against this glorious syndrome? I've been to 3 Rheumatologists in my area so far and none of them "specialize" in Fibro. I think that is just their way of saying they don't want to bother with me. Only 1 of those 3 tried to help until he discovered I didn't have what he thought I had then he felt he couldn't help with the Fibro. I starting over with a new primary care physician on 12/12/12 (hopefully that is a lucky sign), so I want to get all of my ducks in a row. Thank you in advance for your advice and opinions!

Jesse a.k.a. hopeless

2

Hi Jesse,

I just googled "what kind of Dr best treats OA?" and guess what came up! Surprised me!

http://www.vitals.com/leading-research-doctors/osteoarthritis Orthopaedic surgeons! Now I have Psoriatic Arthritis (the Spondylitis type meaning it mainly attacks the spinal cord, biggest difference between PsA and OA is that PsA is autoimmune, OA is not) I have a great Ortho, but he will NOT deal with the spinal cord, so I was stunned that this came up!

People are probably tired of me telling this, but my Rheumatologist is also a University Professor, He tells me that Fibro is a condition, NOT a disease, and is CAUSED by chronic pain. Therefore, it seems to me, in my non medical professional thinking, that chances are good that the OA caused the Fibro, and the DDD. My PsA caused DDD, Degenerative Facet disease and spinal stenosis. Both are very fast moving, destructive arthritic diseases.

http://www.orthogate.org/patient-education/lumbar-spine/lumbar-face...

http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/spinal+stenosis

It never hurts to have a very good Primary Dr, the good ones are master diagnosticians, and no matter who else you go to you need to have a good Primary. This Dr may be able to care for you, if not he should know exactly who to send you to.

Keep in mind I am NOT a Dr, I am repeating what I was told by my Dr and trying to compare your problems to mine, this is not meant to be a diagnosis or treatment plan.

Hopefully you are already taking a good anti-inflammatory, it is proven to slow the progression of OA http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/medicalpubs/diseasemanagement/r...

Here is a list of other meds used to treat Osteo. I hope this has been a help to you, Jesse, please let me know what you think, and continue to keep us in the loop! We also have a Fibro and Arthritis group that you can join just by clicking on groups at the top of the page, there is info on OA there too!

http://osteoarthritis.about.com/od/osteoarthritismedications/Osteoa...

Be well, be happy,

SK

BTW, just want you to know that when my arthritis is not bothering me, neither is the fibro!

3

I don't think you should only choose one of the other, necessarily. What I mean is that a Rheumatologist and a Neurologist don't do the same thing, so while the Rheumy may be able to diagnose Fibro and help with some symptoms, a Neurologist will be able to help with a completely different set of symptoms. So, if both can help you, then go to both.

Personally I haven't been able to find ANY doctor that "specializes" in Fibro, so I have to have a team to help symptoms through trail and error. The Rheumatologist I went to diagnosed me and then one by one prescribed all the typical pills and treatments they always do for Fibro, and one by one they didn't work, and the doctor eventually told me there's nothing else he can do to help. So I won't bother going to a Rheumy anymore because they've done all they can do for me. My Neurologist was able to rule out some other things, was able to diagnose some other things, and was able to help me with my neurological symptoms of Fibro including severe photo-sensitivity, dizziness, etc.

Just like everyone with Fibro, finding the right team of doctors is going to be trial and error. I doubt you'll ever be able to have just one "Fibro doctor" but a team where each doctor helps different things. I hope I was at least a little helpful. Best wishes!