Language of Illness

Is there language around rheumatoid arthritis I refuse to use? 

Well, yes. I absolutely refuse to use the cringeworthy and cutesy truncations of language used by some people in discussing the condition, the illness, and the professionals who treat it.

"Saw my rheumy yesterday. Looked at my BW and changed my meds from this to that..."

or 

"Ask your rheumy 'bout that..."

For starters, BW? The word bloodwork is exactly two syllables as is the shortened cutesy term, B-W. The user doesn't save anything by truncating the word it to two letters. Besides that, wouldn't a proper truncation of the word bloodwork be the single letter, B? 

There are so many examples of colloquialisms around illness, but I can't help but wonder, why?

Why do some people shorten the name of their specialist medical care provider, their rheumatologist to rheumy?! I wonder if they know that rheumy actually means watery. So the sentence, "I have rheumy eyes," is an appropriate use of the word. Would it matter if they knew that? Would they still shorten the title of their specialist care provider, their rheumatologist?

Rheumy?! I wonder if they are creating a familiarity through a nickname so they can feel more comfortable talking with the physician about symptoms. Is rheumy the physician equivalent of "Shorty" for the star center on a basketball team or "Mickey D's" for a golden arches restaurant that is so familiar by its nickname that I don't even have to use its proper name. Nicknames allow us to attach additional positive emotion and familiarity through language, e.g., The Cards for The Cardinals baseball team.

I can only speak for myself, but I don't have the soft and fuzzy feelings about my specialist care provider that allow me to assign a nickname to him/her. I can only imagine arriving for my next appointment and saying, "Hey Bud! Hey rheumy?How are ya'?"

Rheumy?! I wonder that the truncation of the name belittles the accomplishments of this specialist care provider who studied in medical school for at least 8 years and continued on to specialize in inflammatory conditions for several years, including arthritis, which affects more than 54 million Americans.

Maybe the rheumatologists do not care what they are called so long as the people in need of care continue to make the calls to receive treatment.

I can't choose language for other people and certainly have not and would not correct people who use what I consider to be minimizing language, but for me, the language used to describe this illness -this experience- is worthy of every syllable.

I will choose the vocabulary and use the appropriate medical terms as they shape my thoughts and guide my actions. I don't shorten the titles of my specialists. I don't truncate the names of my medications. 

I don't use any cute euphemisms for any of it. 

It's not cute. 

It's not fun. 

It's not worthy of a nickname.