Wrist Pain: Diagnosis

I turned up on time. I had to wait 1.5 hours. Even though the rheumatologist I had seen privately twice and his name was on the letter, I didn't get him but got someone else, as I predicted (He was just the "consultant presiding" but doesn't turn up). She went over the biopsy results.

The good news was that I didn't have TB.

The bad news was that I didn't have TB.

I have arthritis in the risk. It isn't rheumatoid arthritis so it seems to be a generic inflammatory arthritis that can't be positively identified as the rheumatoid variation.

It's incurable and progressive.

She said that there were different drugs to try and deal with the symptoms but didn't know what her male colleague was going to suggest. I said I should have seen him or she should have spoken to him before I arrived. She agreed. She was keen to offer me leaflets for different options, instead. She seemed to be fobbing me off and procrastinating making a decision on which drug.

There were leaflets for 2 options. From the Net, they take up to 3 months to work but only work in less than 50% of the patients and have significant side-effects.

Sulphasalazine
Possible side-effects:

• nausea
• diarrhoea
• abdominal pain
• dizziness
• headaches
• rashes
• drop in fertility
  
• turns urine, sweat & tears orange

Methotrexate
Possible side-effects:

• nausea
• hair loss
• ulcers
  
• rashes
• fatigue and feeling like having the flu
• increased risk of infection
  
• liver damage (exacerbated by alcohol)
  
• lung damage causing breathlessness
  

She looked at my wrist. At the time of the biopsy, I was told that the stitches were dissolvable. Now, we could see the black stitches were still there and she thought they were nylon so would not dissolve. So, I hadn't been given an appointment to take out the stitches!!

Furthemore, I had to wait 1/2 hr to get them removed and I will have to go back to the hospital on 13 November to see the first rheumatologist, to find out what drugs he thinks I should take and stop boozing.

Wrist Pain: 3rd time lucky?

I received a letter for purporting to give me an appointment with the rheumatologist to discuss the results of the biopsy on 30 October. This will be the 3rd time I see him but this time the NHS is paying, not me so I wonder if I'll be fobbed off with a junior doctor instead as I'm not paying to see the main man.

Hopefully, whoever I see will be competent enough to interpret the biopsy results. They might show that I have TB (a good result as it's treatable), arthritis (a bad result as it's not treatable), something else or nothing at all (the worst result of all).

Wrist Pain: Biopsy Diary

0700: I woke up and broke my fast with a glass of water. Muslim practice had been forced on me during this time of Ramadan. I rushed to the hospital for my biopsy. I was running late so took the Tube rather than the bus as I'm appalled that the metro costs 73% more than the bus. My biopsy is considered to be a minor operation which should only take 1/2 hr, so I was to be operated in the Day Surgery Unit. I'd be kicked out before bedtime.

0805: I had managed to negotiate a delay in my arrival time from 0730 to 0800 - so I arrived 5 min late. As I checked in at reception, I got a phone call telling me that my operation was to be in the afternoon and I wouldn't need to arrive till 11am. Doh!! Apparently they tell everyone to turn up early in the morning and don't sort out the order of operations till the day itself. (I reckon they expect no-shows and don't want to plan anything till they know who bothers to turn up.) So, I had a long wait. I was told I could go home and come back later. I thought this was a bad idea as I would be tempted to succumb to the growls of my empty stomach. Instead, I waited in the waiting room with the other patients - non-patients are banned from occupying space there. I noticed a woman wearing a pink dress with a low-cut top. She looked dressed for a tea-party. I listened to The Corrs & Avril Lavigne on my MP3 player.

0900: I was upgraded into the First Class waiting room. It had a portable TV with a loop aerial. I dozed there for a few hours.

1130: the hand surgeon spoke to me. To ensure he attacked the right target, he drew an arrow on my right forearm, pointing to my right wrist. Soon afterwards, the anesthetist spoke to me.

1230: Working Lunch (the best daily business and financial programme) was about to start on BBC2, I was asked to get change into my operation outfit. It has an unflattering gap at the back and have cords to be tied together. After getting changed, I was ushered into the pre-operation waiting room.

1300: I was asked to lie on a trolley and wheeled into the operating room. The general anesthetic was injected into my left arm and it felt cold. That's all I remember.

1430: I woke up on the same trolley at in the recovery room amongst half-a-dozen other cut up people. The local anesthetic was wearing off and I asked for painkillers. The stabbed wrist was hurting more than it was before the operation.

1530: I was wheeled back to a semi-private room - I was to share it with an old man who had a hernia repaired. I was offered a sandwich - my first meal for 16 hours - and got a turkey one, with a cup of tea.

1545: My parents arrived.

1730: I was allowed to leave the hospital.