Get to Know Your Arthritis Doctor

If you have arthritis you should have a rheumatologists (also known as an "arthritis doctor") manage your health care with this illness. Arthritis is a chronic illness that affects all aspects of your life—the physical, emotional and mental. Caring for your arthritis means more than just taking pills or following an exercise regime.
You should have a team of medical experts to help you manage your condition. You should take the time to understand your medical condition. Do your research on the type of arthritis you have and on the arthritis doctor that has been recommended to treat you for this disease. You should also be comfortable with your arthritis doctor and feel that you can talk to him about your condition. You should have confidence in your arthritis doctor and in the other medical specialists who will work with you on your condition.

A chronic condition such as arthritis affects many different aspects of your life. All of these different aspects should be managed by you and your arthritis doctor. This includes controlling your weight, pain and disease control (through a variety of treatments), an exercise program designed to meet your needs and physical requirements, a well-balanced diet, relaxation techniques and, if necessary, surgery.

Your arthritis doctor will be a very important person that helps you with your condition. He specializes in diseases of the adult musculoskeletal system—this means that he diagnoses and treats arthritis and other related conditions. If you have children with arthritis, you should take them to a pediatric rheumatologist to obtain care for their medical condition. Pediatric arthritis doctors specialize in treating musculoskeletal diseases in children and are more experienced in diagnosing and treating childhood arthritis.

Your arthritis doctor will provide you with ongoing care for your arthritis-related symptoms and he will consult with your primary doctor and other specialists as they work to help you with your medical condition. Your primary care physician will take care of your routine medical needs - conducting an annual physical exam, checking your blood pressure, cholesterol level and heart rate. In addition, your primary care physician will monitor your medication use and keep track of which specialists you see.

You should find an arthritis doctor that instills confidence. You should be able to spend time with him and ask your questions and expect answers. Do not feel that you should not waste the doctor’s time. He is there to treat you and your condition and if you do not communicate well, you may not be getting the best health care that you deserve.
In the past two years, the FDA has approved several drugs for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and other arthritis-related diseases. If your current medication isn’t working as well as you’d like – or if it is causing uncomfortable side effects – ask your arthritis doctor about these new treatment options.

Work with your arthritis doctor to monitor and control your arthritis. This disease will never go away, but it can be successfully managed and you can live a full and productive life.

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