SYMPTOMS
If you have any of the following symptoms, you may require an evaluation by a rheumatologist.
Joint pain
Chronic joint pain at any level, can be a symptom of a chronic disease, among the most common causes are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and gout, whose treatment and severity may differ in each case. Go for an evaluation if your joint pain lasts more than 6 weeks, wakes you up during the night and in the morning your joints feel “hard” or “stiff” or if your joints feel hot, swollen or red.
Fatigue or tiredness
Tiredness or chronic fatigue is a common symptom in several diseases, approximately 20 to 30% of people who go to the doctor describe fatigue as one of their main complaints. Many conditions can cause this symptom and its cause can be due to rheumatological, infectious, psychiatric, endocrinological (hormonal disorders), cardiovascular diseases, among many more). As an internist and rheumatologist, Dr. Sofía Cepeda is trained to address your case, find the cause of your fatigue as well as refer you to the appropriate subspecialist if necessary. DON’T GET USED TO LIVING TIRED!
Dry eye, mouth, or skin
Rheumatological diseases can be accompanied by symptoms of dryness, however they are not the only cause of this, through a proper interrogation and physical examination the cause of these symptoms can be found, treated or identified if there is a reversible cause.
If you identify with the following statements, it is a sign that you need to go to a rheumatology consultation:
- I have felt dry eyes for more than 3 months
- I have a constant feeling of “grit, dust, or trash” in my eyes
- I need to use lubricating drops in my eyes more than 3 times a day
- I have felt my mouth dry for more than 3 months
- I have trouble eating dry food if I don’t drink water at the same time
- My salivary glands have become inflamed during my adult life
Lower back pain
Low back pain (low back pain) is a frequent cause of seeking medical attention, however there are certain characteristics that make an assessment by a rheumatologist necessary, some of these characteristics are listed below:
- Onset in patients under 40 years of age
- Feeling stiff in the morning
- Pain wakes the patient up very early or at night
- Improves with exercise
- Feeling that pain alternates from one buttock to the other
- It is accompanied by red eye, mouth ulcers, joint
- inflammation in other sites
- Skin diseases like psoriasis
- Chronic diarrhea or digestive system disorders
- Onset after genitourinary tract infections
Unexplained thrombi (clots)
If you suffer or suffered from a clot in any part of the body and your doctor did not find any cause for it, talk to your doctor if you think it is necessary to have an evaluation by a rheumatologist. A rheumatological disease may be the cause.
Miscarriages or loss of your baby
If you lost your baby during your pregnancy or suffer from recurrent miscarriages, ask your gynecologist if they think a rheumatologist evaluation is necessary. A rheumatological disease may be the cause.
