Ugh!! So, I was having some strange pains around my left knee a few weeks ago and went to the Saturday clinic at my Primary Cares office. My rheumy is also in the same practice. So, the ARNP for the weekend clinic does an x ray, calls me back to say it was all good. I had a little degenerative changes typical of someone my age, but it was mild. Ok, good, the pain went away.
So today, my primary calls to say I have effusion of that knee and some moderate degenerative changes probably associated with my inflammatory arthritis ? RA. Really??? Well, that's quite a different story!!! I was kind of shocked b/c they are thinking I might have RA and this could be important. I'm a little peeved that the Saturday clinic nurse seemed to miss that I had fluid on my knee and told me all was ok.
So, I called my rheumy and asked for them to look at the x ray report and call me. Grrrrr................ Sorry, I just had to vent on this one.
Just wanted to point out that you may not have RA because they used the term inflammatory arthritis. This last term is used for any arthritis that is seen in those with autoimmune or inflammatory issues. There are differences and the doctors can explain this better than I can.
It may also be that the x-ray was read first by a student or resident. Sometimes they can have issues. That is why the persons doctor is the one to get the info from. I know, medicine can drive us all crazy. Irish
Sjogren's can cause a type of inflammatory arthritis also. Or, as Irish says, it could be another type of inflammatory arthritis.
There could be a silver lining to this. Medicare and insurance companies approve drugs like Rituximab, Cellcept, and others if you have RA. So, you may be able to get treatment for your Sjogren's by using an RA diagnosis (if that is what you have).
Thanks for your responses Jasper and Irish! Thanks for explaining inflammatory arthritis to me! I think I get it now-:) I'll have to ask my doc more about it. I called my rheumy and they haven't called me back yet about the s-ray. Honestly! It's like nobody gives a crap anymore. I might try the patient portal to see if that works.