How can I make the most of my appointment?

Sometimes I feel like a broken record.

"My hand hurts. Now it's better."

"My hip hurts. Oh, now it's a little better."

"My hand hurts again."

I suppose that's the nature of this disease.

My left hip has gotten a lot worse lately. Often I can hardly lift my leg by the end of the day, and I've been finding that getting up from a chair requires at least a few minutes of psyching myself up beforehand. At yoga on Monday I had trouble bearing any weight on my left leg.

I was just going to wait until my rheumatology appointment in February, but my doctor actually asked me to come in earlier to sign some paperwork for my drug coverage. So, I'll be seeing her next Wednesday and I want to make the appointment count.

I genuinely like and respect my rheumatologist, and I think, overall, we have an effective relationship. That said, sometimes I feel that she ignores my other symptoms when she thinks my bloodwork looks alright. (I had blood drawn yesterday and I'm really, really hoping it shows something. I'm crossing my puffy fingers.) She also likes to have me on enormous doses of methotrexate. And, she thinks I've had too many x-rays and is reluctant to order one for my hip, even though it's never been done. My hip has changed so very much over the past year, and I really feel an x-ray is in order this time.

So, what do you like to do to get ready for an important appointment?

I'm planning to write out exactly what happens when my hip flares, including what I can and cannot do, what specific movements and activities hurt the most, and when it happens. I also need to tell her that the prednisone push did nothing. And I need to think about what changes I am, and am not, willing to make to my treatment plan. Would I consider another biologic yet? Would I increase my dosage of MTX? (NO.)

Any other ingenious tips?