Rheumatologist in Bon Secours - anyone been? Fibro?

mydarkstar

Long story short, I have been referred to a rheumatologist by my gp. She recommended Dr Susan Sant who works out of the Charlemont Clinic, Bon Secours and the Beacon. She only takes private patients, and my health insurance only covers public hospitals so if I choose to go with her I will have to pretty much pay for everything myself. The waiting list for a public consultant is very long. My gp is thinking I have possible rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia.

Has anyone here been to see Dr Sant, and what was their experience?
I have been reading this forum a lot lately and there seems to be a lot of doctors who don't 'believe' in fibromyalgia. Would Dr Sant be one of these? I can't see her name mentioned anywhere on here.

SlimCi

My husband sees her for arthritis. She seems to be thorough enough but she calls him back twice a year for consultations and because he is on a high tech medication, she can only issue the prescription not the gp, so he has to go back physically for prescriptions, so more consultation fees. Don't know how she feels about your condition Im afraid, but she seems to be up to date on all the latest medications, and my husband is pain free now pretty much all the time since seeing her. Hope this helps. Good luck with it.

psych nurse

Hi SlimCi,

I too have fibromyalgia and I see a consultant in the Galway Clinic. You are right that there are many many doctors who don't believe that FM is a real illness and it can be awful when you know that there is something wrong with you but you are being told that you are making it up - like I was.

Your GP can test to see if you have rheumatoid arthritis as there is a blood test that checks for certain makers in your blood.

The best thing you can do is try and ask your GP whether the consultant deals with FM otherwise I would look for a referral to another Dr.

Good Luck x

sam34

motorist- ease off on the unhelpful amateur analysis.

Motorist

sam34 wrote: »

motorist- ease off on the unhelpful amateur analysis.

http://www.springerlink.com/content/9prh6pq326041877/

Just to illustrate, as the OP said, why alot of doctors dont "believe" in fibromyalgia along with lack of objective diagnostic tests.

I presume if arthritis was the cause, inflammatory markers would have been elevated in blood tests, etc.

sam34

^ drop it.

the op has not provided enough information for anyone to make the sweeping statement you made. you are not qualified to tell him/her to take antidepressants.

do not drag this thread off topic any further.

no further warnings.

Motorist

mydarkstar wrote: »

Long story short, I have been referred to a rheumatologist by my gp. She recommended Dr Susan Sant who works out of the Charlemont Clinic, Bon Secours and the Beacon. She only takes private patients, and my health insurance only covers public hospitals so if I choose to go with her I will have to pretty much pay for everything myself. The waiting list for a public consultant is very long. My gp is thinking I have possible rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia.

Has anyone here been to see Dr Sant, and what was their experience?
I have been reading this forum a lot lately and there seems to be a lot of doctors who don't 'believe' in fibromyalgia. Would Dr Sant be one of these? I can't see her name mentioned anywhere on here.

Hi OP,

Good luck finding out what the diagnosis is. Please let us know what the consultant says.

Lon Dubh

Hi OP, this group might be of use to you? http://www.fibroireland.com/

Edit: OP if they are checking for Fibro they should ideally check 18 pressure points on various parts of your body. You can see a picture here of the points on page 7 http://www.mefmaction.com/images/stories/Overviews/FMSOverview08.pdf

aynneone

Im probably a little late in replying, story of my life lol, but Ive been attending Dr Susan Sant at the Beacon, and lastweek in the Bons Secours. I dint think this is the place to speak of my experiences,but would be really interested in hearing about any one elses experiences, also, does anyone know how its possible to go about getting a 2nd opinion from another Consultant?

mydarkstar

Hi all,

Apologies for not replying before now. I didnt go to see Dr Sant in the end - for insurance reasons I went to see Dr McCarthy in the Mater. My impression so far is that he's friendly, professional and open to the possibility of fibromyalgia. He organised some more bloods and i'm going to see him soon to discuss those results. In the 3 months since I started this i've been all over the place, healthwise. Good days, bad days, and not so bad days - mostly i'm just trying to recognise my limits and work within that, which is hard cos each day i'm different!. If/when I get a definitive answer to what ails me i'll post here!

Motorist

mydarkstar wrote: »

Hi all,

Apologies for not replying before now. I didnt go to see Dr Sant in the end - for insurance reasons I went to see Dr McCarthy in the Mater. My impression so far is that he's friendly, professional and open to the possibility of fibromyalgia. He organised some more bloods and i'm going to see him soon to discuss those results. In the 3 months since I started this i've been all over the place, healthwise. Good days, bad days, and not so bad days - mostly i'm just trying to recognise my limits and work within that, which is hard cos each day i'm different!. If/when I get a definitive answer to what ails me i'll post here!

Thanks for the update OP. Just out of interest, have you been prescribed anything to help with your condition yet?

mydarkstar

My gp prescribed lexapro 3 months ago for anxiety, saying that anxiety might be causing my aches or vice versa. I'm undecided as to how beneficial that has been. I am more positive (though still frustrated) about how my health, but that could equally be down to the relief of finally being taken seriously by a healthcare professional.

mydarkstar

I'm still no closer to answer, and getting frustrated again. After my last post I went to see the consultant, who felt that as I was improving it meant I was getting better. Blood tests showed minor inflammation but nothing of note, it would appear. As i'm making progress the consultant is ruling out fibro.

So, roll on to the last 3 weeks - I'm aching badly again and getting muscle cramps. I'm back to seeing a physio privately every week just to keep myself up and moving. I'm needing hours more sleep than normal. Migraine-type headaches are back too, on & off. Saw my gp recently who thinks I just need more lexapro.

Okay, am not sure what the point was in typing this. I guess I just wanted to update the post.