Rheumatology Associates of North Alabama

will say after my first visit with Dr*** *** *** back in May I did not feel right about herThe visit felt rushed, I felt she did not listen to me when I would try to explain things to her, when she would ask me a question right in mid sentence she would interrupt me and ask me anotherNot even giving me a chance to finish what I was sayingI also felt she did not thoroughly check me over as previous rheumatologists wouldWhat is prompting me to leave this review about her are events that happened back in late October-early NovemberOn October 26th I awoke with bad pain in my right elbow and right kneeI was walking with a limp and could not bend my armAt first I assumed I pushed my body too much and it needed a restThe next day the pain was still there so I called to make an appointment with the bone and joint clinicI got an appointment with them for October 31st but in between that time the pain spread and now both knees, feet, still right elbow, and left hand were badly hurting
I could barely walk and when I did I was walking like a paraplegicI tried multiple times to get in to see Dr.*** regarding this issue and each time her nurses kept telling me how she said it's not a rheumatoid issue, it's not Wegener's, and that I needed to go to primary careI called Dr.***'s offices in Florence and Huntsville on October 31st, November 1st, and November 2ndEvery doctor I saw about this referred me back to rheumatologyAt the bone and joint clinic they did xrays on me and the P.A I saw said since there was no significant trauma and my history with Wegener's that it's a rheumatoid issue and to go back to my rheumatologistI relayed that information to both Dr.***'s nurses and Dr.*** still ignored it and told me to go to a pcp and that it wasn't her problem
I even went to urgent care and the nurse there after doing blood work on me, checking me for sickle cell, lupus, and telling me my sed rate was referred me back to rheumatologyShe said my rheumy needs to see me and I let her know that she wouldn'tThat nurse put in a referral for me to see Dr*** another rheumy in the same practiceI had gotten so bad I could not walkI was basically bed riddenI had to walk on the sides of my feetI was forced to call my job and let the lady in HR know I could not walk and my job put me on a formal leave and wanted me to go on their short term disability leave until doctors could figure out what was going onThey also let me know my status as an employee was under review for termination
I called Dr.***'s office one last time November 2nd relaying all of this to *** her nurse and *** said Dr.*** did not think it was a rheumatoid issue, that it wasn't the Wegener's, and she would not fill out the paperwork for the short term company paid disabilityI begged *** if I could come in so Dr.*** could see the condition I was in and that I would drive to Huntsville*** said yes and that Dr.*** had an opening Nov.3rd at 10:30am*** then put me on hold and went and consulted with Dr.***When she came back she told me Dr.*** said I could not come inI then said are you telling me Dr.*** is refusing to treat me altogether and she said no to keep my appointment for the 7th but that there was no need for me to come in earlierThat Saturday morning Nov.5th when I tried walking to the bathroom I sat down on the toilet and my knees crackedI was shaking the pain was so badI had to call a friend to take me to the ERThat night my right knee started swelling
Long story short I ended up having to go to Emory ER and Emory rheumatology in Atlanta, GA because Dr.*** refused multiple times to address my apparent rheumatoid issuesWhether it was the Wegener's or not the issues I was having were rheumatoid related and Dr.*** could have treated it but refusedGoing on her personal opinion and not medical expertise which apparently isn't muchAt that point I was in a wheelchair which Dr.*** saw Nov.7th and still refused to do anythingShe refused to look at my knee to see how swollen it was and only said she would do an mri of it, get my blood and told me to come back in weeksThe rheumy at Emory took the time to listen to me, document my ailments, and then drained the fluid from my knee, injected a steroid in it, and put me on 20mg of prednisoneShe also sent the fluid off to be culturedWithin a day I could walk and was pain freeHad I listened to Dr.*** and waited an additional weeks I would have been worse off
Dr.*** also refused to prescribe me antibiotics for a UTI she saw I had from my urinalysisShe told me to go to primary care to get it treatedAn untreated UTI can spread to the kidneys and cause sepsis and deathDo NOT go to Dr.***She is uncaring, incompetent, inept, and negligentHer bedside manners are terrible, she is rude, and blatant about itThis woman once told me I was just a number to her