Where I live, you basically can’t get without a referral. And primary care doctors are clueless about rheumatic symptoms, so they don’t refer. You’re basically

Where I live, you basically can’t get without a referral. And primary care doctors are clueless about rheumatic symptoms, so they don’t refer. You’re basically forced to suffer until there is visible irreversible damage (crooked fingers, permanent hunch, eroded joints, eye damage) for them to say “oh shit, yea, you should see someone”. That’s not to say that the meds the rheumatologist will put you on will treat you any better.