Over the last six years the amount of constant pain and discomfort in my hands, wrists, feet, ankles, knees, and shoulders has increased sharply.  The first Rheumatologist I saw after the diagnosis was a doctor in Colorado Springs, Colorado.  He was a nice enough fellow, (even draining my extremely swollen knee on my first visit), but was not very aggressive about treating the disease.  He prescribed Methotrexate, which is a drug that all RA patients take in one form or another.  It’s a form of Chemotherapy that has been around for years, but today is used to help enhance other biologic medications such as Enbrel and Remicade.

After moving to south Texas in December of 2008 for a job, Carolyn and I had the good fortune in finding Dr. Nancy Scheinost of Rheumatology of Brazos Valley in Bryan, Texas.  We made our first appointment with Dr. Scheinost in January of 2009.  After spending over a hour with us, talking about our quality of life, pain levels, medications that we were on, we left her office feeling confident that we had chosen the right doctor.  We have been going to Dr. Scheinost for over two years now.  In September of 2009, we moved outside the small east Texas town of Zavalla.  We see Dr. Scheinost every 3 months, driving over 150 miles each way to get to her office in Bryan.

Dr. Nancy Scheinost is IMHO, the most caring, competent, and agressive Rheumatologist that you could find.  I cannot tell you how fortunate Carolyn and I both feel.  Every office visit is an absolute joy and is well worth the 6 hour round trip.  Dr. Scheinost has helped manage our pain levels, paying close attention to the necessary blood tests done at each office visit.  We get a phone call from Amy Fairbanks, (the medical assistant) usually a week after our visit, giving us the blood test results.  All the staff at Rheumatology of Brazos Valley are upbeat and caring.

Dr. Scheinost prescribed Enbrel for me late last year, but so far I have been unable to get the VA to provide this medication.  I have an appointment with the VA Rheumatologist in Houston later this month, and I hope that they will start providing my RA meds.

If you have persistent swelling in the hands or feet, make sure that your doctor does an RA blood test.  In my case, it would have saved two years of additional suffering.  RA is a degenerative disease, so the faster the diagnosis, the sooner the treatment can begin.