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What kind of doctor should I see for gout?
Bones, Joints & Muscles | Last Active: Dec 27, 2024 | Replies (19)Comment receiving replies
You would want to see a rheumatologist—they treat gout. But it may take a long time depending on where you live to get a rheumatologist appointment, so if it were me, I’d follow with my PCP until you get in with rheumatology.
I guess it depends on how often you end up having flare-ups and how long it takes to get in with rheumatology, and which if your current providers is comfortable with helping you manage medication for flares.
My uncle has gout, so I’m not as familiar with it, but I have a different inflammatory arthritis (which is treated by a rheumatologist). But that sounds odd to me that your primary sent you to a kidney specialist only, and not to rheumatology?
You want to be cautious with prednisone; it’s a very strong medication that can cause long-term challenges even when it has to be used that way.
I hope you’re able to get connected with someone soon and get things managed with minimal flares.
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The long awaited day as come! My appointment with a rheumatologist is this afternoon at 3:00. The previous comment about the wait time to see a rheumatologist was a valid one as it has been a 3 month wait.
My kidney Dr upped my dosage of Allopurinol from 200 mg p/day to 300 p/day 3 weeks ago. At that time, bloodwork showed my uric acid was down from 10 to 6.5 (barely w/in normal range) but he wants it down to more like 4.0. Still experiencing flare-ups and I've been taking prednisone (20 MG tablets) that work well. The script comes with 10 tablets and instructions say to take 2 p/day but I only take 1 p/day and within 3-4 days the flare-up is resolved and I'm good for another week or so. I hoard the remaining tablets for the next flare-up. I'm cautiously optimistic that the flare-ups are not as severe as they were 6 mos ago.
Questions for the group:
1)what treatments do rheumatologist usually prescribe?
2)what can I expect from my visit this afternoon? (I'll have a current list of meds, and she has access to the test results) I mentioned.
Thanks in advance - hoping you all have a safe and wonderful Holiday Season.