Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staffWhile you might first discuss your symptoms with your family doctor, he or she may refer you to a rheumatologist — a doctor who specializes in the treatment of arthritis and other inflammatory conditions — for further evaluation.
What you can do
Write a list that includes:
- Detailed descriptions of your symptoms, including when they started and if anything makes them better or worse
- Information about medical problems you've had in the past
- Information about the medical problems of your parents or siblings
- All the medications and dietary supplements you take
- Questions you want to ask the doctor
What to expect from your doctor
During the physical exam, your doctor will check your joints for swelling, redness and warmth. He or she will also check your reflexes and muscle strength.
- Rheumatoid arthritis. American College of Rheumatology. http://www.rheumatology.org/public/factsheets/diseases_and_conditions/ra.asp?aud=pat. Accessed Aug. 25, 2009.
- O'Dell JR. Rheumatoid arthritis. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/156141423-3/0/1492/1022.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50290-1_12843. Accessed Aug. 25, 2009.
- Handout on health: Rheumatoid arthritis. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases. http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Rheumatic_Disease/default.asp. Accessed Aug. 25, 2009.
- Hunder GG. Mayo Clinic Straight Talk on Arthritis. Rochester, Minn.: Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2006.
- Rheumatoid arthritis and complementary and alternative medicine. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/RA/. Accessed Aug. 26, 2009.
