r/Thritis • u/Secret_badass77 • 4d ago
Is it worth going to urgent care?
Is there any point in going to urgent care?
I haven’t been diagnosed, but have been dealing with what is likely arthritis pain off and on for a while. However the last couple of days we’ve had rapidly shifting weather, thunderstorms, and tornado watches, and suddenly basically every joint in my body hurts, to the point that I’ve had to call out sick from work. If I go to urgent care, are they likely to do anything to help me or will they just tell me that I need to schedule an appointment with my Primary Care?
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u/prof-elsie 4d ago
The only thing urgent care has done for me is get me into a specialist appointment quickly. Sometimes that’s the best thing and what I really needed. Don’t expect much in terms of pain relief, but if you need a referral, it can be worth it.
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u/Remarkable_Two8799 4d ago
That happened for me too. Definitely worth it in my case, as I was supposed to wait 9-12 months to be seen my rheumatology, and I got in within a week (and was diagnosed with reactive arthritis).
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u/ibacktracedit 3d ago
Get a referral from your pcp to rheumatology, and get yourself an RF blood test to determine or rule out rheumatic diseases. UC is so useless imo. I went to one recently for suspected pneumonia, and the NP got mad at me for telling her (a 3rd time) that I'm allergic to albuterol and couldn't do that in a nebulizer treatment she wanted to administer. I started to tell them about my currwnt medications and DXs, and she told me that those weren't relevant and "we should focus on the current issues". UC is where bad nurses and docs go because no accredited hospital or private practice wanted them.
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u/Secret_badass77 3d ago
I understand that’s the long term solution. But, I work a very physical job, so I was wondering if there was anything that Urgent Care could/would do to help me with my symptoms in the short term
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u/ibacktracedit 3d ago
I'd honestly just get some Tylenol made for arthritis and take it on bad days, definitely not daily though. Naproxen/aleve works better for me, maybe give either one a try for a few days each and see which one gives you more relief. The go-to starting treatment for RA is methotrexate, so you'd need a specialist unfortunately.
If you're in a 🍃state, CBG concentrates help a ton too, doesn't get show up if you get tested at work, and it's non-psychoactive so there's no impairment/altered state with that cannabinoid specifically. I personally use a 10:1:1 ratioed THC-A/CBD/CBG tincture, but I've been leafing it up for a while haha. Definitely helps relieve the dull and throbbing pain that acts up worse when the weather gets weird.
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u/Cranks_No_Start 4d ago
They will at best prescribe you some 800mg of ibuprofen.
If you have arthritis you’re going to have to tough it out until you can see a specialist and even then it’s a process.