My family physician Dr. Kern referred me to Dr. Bonafede a specialist in rheumatology for the diagnosis and treatment of pain in the joints of my fingers and pain in the muscles of my neck. I had to wait for three months with my pain getting worse before I could see him. When I finally got in his office a nurse took my history and blood pressure then Dr. Bonafede examined me. He then ordered several tests and gave me an appointment to see him again in 2 weeks still with no treatment for my pain. When I saw him agin he told me what I have in my fingers is not rheumatoid arthritis or gout and he gave me a prescription for hydroxychloroquine 200 mg tablets which is basically Quinine. I asked him about the pain in the neck, so he prescribed cyclobenzaprine 10 mg which is a muscle relaxant and gave me an appointment to see him again in 2 months. On this treatment the joint pain just kept getting worse and spreading to more fingers and the neck pain spread to my shoulders. After one month both medications ran out. I called Dr. Bonafede's office to find out if he wanted me to refill and continue the treatment. Whoever answered the phone said they will call me back with an answer but they never did. I had some left over celebrex capsules that my family Dr. had prescribed for me in the past for joint pain. I started taking one a day and both pains almost disappeared within 48 hrs. I got a call from Dr. bonafede office to remind me of my next appointment and to make sure that I brought with me my insurance card and the $30 copay but there was no answer to my question about the medication refill. I cancelled my appointment because I was convinced that I was not getting any value for my money: neither effective medical treatment from Dr. Bonafede nor acceptable level of service from his office.\r
Adel Matar MD
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