Advanced Rheumatology is proud to serve as your Houston TX best rheumatoid arthritis doctor near me. Rheumatoid arthritis has been said to be and can be a debilitating disease. But with the proper care, you can live a healthy life. We treat everything from myositis to gout and scleroderma. Come to see the Advanced Rheumatology of Houston to start to receive Dr. Brionez’s expert treatment.

Houston TX Best Rheumatoid Arthritis Doctor Near Me

Dr. Tamar F. Brionez, M.D., CCD, is an expert in the field. She has over 11 years of experience under her belt. Dr. Brionez received her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutritional Sciences from Texas A&M University. She then went to the Baylor College of Medicine, where she earned her Doctorate of Medicine in 2004. She completed her board certification in internal medicine in 2007 and rheumatology in 2009.

Ever since then, Dr. Brionez dedicated herself to caring for those suffering from rheumatologic conditions. Many of these diseases need to be treated immediately so that symptoms can clear up, and we can keep them from getting any worse.

She uses the latest medical techniques in diagnosing and treating diseases. In fact, Advanced Rheumatology participates in three comprehensive research studies. As your Houston TX best rheumatoid arthritis doctor near me, we can help those still struggling with these complex diseases.

About Rheumatoid Arthritis

1.3 million Americans have rheumatoid arthritis. It is the most common form of autoimmune arthritis. RA happens when the immune system that normally attacks bacteria and viruses targets healthy tissues. For many people, it can become disabling. However, after diagnosing and treating the symptoms, you can live with RA comfortably.

Symptoms

Rheumatoid arthritis usually affects women from ages 30 to 50. When joints become impacted, they become inflamed, possibly causing irreversible damage, hurt, and swell. Joints, extremities like fingers and toes, and hands and feet are usually targeted with rheumatoid arthritis.

Joint pain, stiffness, and swelling are the primary symptoms of RA. All this can cause decreased movement in your joints. In the mornings, joint stiffness is worse. You experience a lack of energy, minor fevers, and appetite loss. Firm lumps form around the elbows and hands, and your eyes and mouth can become dry.

The lumps that form underneath the skin are called rheumatoid nodules. The disease can also result in a low red blood cell count and inflammation around the heart and lungs. Because RA is an autoimmune disease, non-melanoma skin cancer and lymphoma cancers are more common. Periodontitis and tooth loss appears more as well.

Although, symptoms vary significantly from person to person. So, if you do not have all these, then you should still have yourself checked out for a diagnosis to get treated. For example, only a quarter of those with RA develop rheumatoid nodules.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Rheumatoid arthritis is usually diagnosed through blood tests. While we start with external tests like examining your joints, we will go further and use X-rays and ultrasounds to identify the condition. The blood tests help us identify several different outcomes and viral infections affecting the disease or rule out any other sources of the symptoms.

While there is currently no cure for rheumatoid arthritis, there are several methods for treating it that have come along way over time. Physical therapy improves joint pain and stiffness significantly. Pairing it with medication can help one live a normal life. At the same time, treatments will vary across each case.

What Else We Treat

Advanced Rheumatology can help treat and slow the progression of several rheumatological diseases. Autoimmune diseases that attack other parts of the body, joints, muscles, ligaments, and cause inflammation and chronic pain are referred to as rheumatisms. These can affect vital organs and cause severe pain, stiffness, and swelling if left undiagnosed or untreated. For example, in scleroderma, the immune system targets the skin, and scarring and inflammation can occur.

• Gout
• Myositis
• Osteoarthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica
• Psoriatic Arthritis
• Scleroderma
• Sjogren’s Syndrome
• Spondyloarthritis
• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus)
• Vasculitis

Gout is a form of arthritis that most commonly occurs in the big toe but also appears anywhere. When uric acid crystals deposit in the joints, gout flares up and can go in and out of remission. Anyone can get gout, but a healthy diet and exercise lowers the risk. However, it is a chronic condition, but medications can reduce the pain.

Myositis is an inflammation of the muscles. This can cause weak movements and make daily tasks like standing up from a chair difficult. You may have no pain in the weak muscles, a weak cough, shortness of breath, and, if it is the dermatomyositis rather than polymyositis, then a rash.

The most common type of arthritis is osteoarthritis. Millions are affected. It is a chronic condition where the cartilage between the bones breaks down. Without the soft, spongy cushion for the bones to slide against, pain occurs with every movement.

Osteoporosis is bone atrophy. In this, our bone density begins to decay after our 20’s. But osteoporosis slows our bodies’ replacement of the bone tissue, accelerating the loss. This condition introduces high risks of fractures, and the skeleton has a difficult time. There are no outward symptoms for osteoporosis. It is usually discovered after one breaks a bone and is seen in an X-ray.

Current and Ongoing Research

We are proud to be a part of the worldwide research effort for rheumatological disorders. These are complex conditions, and not everyone can get help for their conditions with the same methods. So, with this research, we hope to find investigational new drugs that can improve the lives of those that cannot take the usual prescriptions.

Our research studies can often include free medication, clinic visits, and travel stipends. If you would be interested in helping in our effort, you can check out the requirements of the study on each one’s page.

Advanced Rheumatology is conducting research on lupus, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis. Our SLE-BRAVE research looks for a new drug for lupus, an incurable disease. The contRAst Program is actually three different studies. It is looking for a new drug to treat rheumatoid arthritis. KEEPsAKE has KEEPsAKE 1 and KEEPsAKE 2 that work to help those with psoriatic arthritis.

Contact Your Rheumatoid Arthritis Doctor

You find our office on Kuykendahl in The Woodlands TX. But we serve all the Greater Houston area. We are also bilingual. Hablamos español. Contact us by calling (281) 766-7886, or you can email us at info@advancedrheum.com. Advanced Rheumatology’s Dr. Brionez is the Houston TX best rheumatoid arthritis doctor near me.

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