If you have never been to a rheumatologist, you might not be familiar with what they treat or when you might need to seek out their help. In order to know whether you should schedule an appointment with this type of specialist, you will want to review the following:

Your Blood Work Is Abnormal

Your primary care doctor may order blood work in order to look for the cause of the pain and discomfort you have been experiencing. If any of the blood work comes back abnormal, showing signs of possible rheumatoid diseases, you may be referred to a rheumatologist. This way, the proper specialist will be able to examine the results of your latest lab work, and they can order additional testing if they deem it appropriate to do so. 

Your Regular Doctor Can't Figure Out The Cause Of Your Pain

Even if the blood work comes back just fine, that does not mean that there is not an issue that needs to be dealt with. If your primary care doctor is not able to determine the cause of the pain that you are experiencing, they may send you to a rheumatologist. This way, through the process of elimination, your medical team can try to figure out the cause of your discomfort and limited mobility in some of your joints. Since the rheumatologist knows more about the specifics of varying types of arthritis, they will be able to spot issues before other types of doctors could. 

You Have Been Diagnosed With Arthritis

There are many types of arthritis and there are different problems that can present themselves in patients in a number of ways. Therefore, if you have just left the hospital with the diagnosis of arthritis, you will want to make an appointment with a rheumatologist. If you did not get a referral to a specialist upon leaving the hospital, you can talk with your primary care doctor. They can refer you to one that is within driving distance for you and that accepts your insurance. You should also be able to get a list of rheumatologists from your insurance company. You can even ask for a list of doctors from a particular nearby city.

Do make sure that you are setting up an appointment right away. This way, you can get confirmation on whether or not the issues that you are dealing with are something that they can help you with given their area of expertise.

A clinic like Sarasota Arthritis Center to learn more.