How can I get help?

Post your questions about pain management for our experts here.

Moderator: talkhealth

Locked
3 posts
Guest Posts
Posts: 796
Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2016 4:12 pm
Quote

by Guest Posts on Thu Oct 20, 2016 9:52 am

How can I get help?

On behalf of our guest visitor, Desiree:
I have been telling my GP that my pain around the left knee has been really painful. It is a constant pain and I find it difficult to stretch my leg/knee. I find it hard to bring my leg to the bed and to swirl it around to get up and I find it very hard to go up the stairs. I complained about it twice as it has been like 3 months but I was just told to take pain killers or just do stretching. I have been walking but it does not solve the problem. And because of the pain and difficulty in going up the stairs, I fell down from our stairs and it added more pain around the area. It's been 2 months after falling down but still it's painful.

According to the nurse, the GP won't diagnose it as arthritis right away. It takes a year to investigate and when it's confirmed it's arthritis, that's the time I would be referred to the arthritis clinic. Such a shame. It's like they will let the patient suffer first before being referred to the specialist. I asked my GP if the beans or lentils will make the pain worse because I read in the article that if a person has arthritis those foods can trigger the pain. But the GP said he never heard of such thing. So as of now, I'm in pain and just on paracetamol. Due to allergies,this is the only pain killer I can take. What shall I do to convince the GP that it should be investigated further? Plus my foot is increasing the discomfort due to the unbearable pain caused by my plantar fasciitis. I have been suffering with it for 5years already!
talkhealth team on behalf of a guest visitor

User avatar
Arthritis Action
Posts: 97
Joined: Wed Sep 28, 2016 1:27 pm
Quote

by Arthritis Action on Mon Oct 24, 2016 11:50 am

Re: How can I get help?

Hello Desiree,

It sounds as though you have been through a difficult time. If you have constant pain it is important that you get the correct diagnosis as there are many possibilities, so if one GP has not been helpful you should seek advice from another and if necessary ask to be referred to a specialist such as a rheumatologist or musculoskeletal clinic or a physiotherapist. If you are unable to completely straighten one knee, it is likely that your knee muscles have become weaker and this can then affect the balance, hence your fall. It may be that x-rays or blood tests might be necessary and it is definitely not true that it takes a long time for arthritis to be diagnosed. There are no special diets or food that will make arthritis worse, but if you do have arthritis it is sensible to eat a generally healthy diet and try to keep to a healthy weight, as obviously excess weight puts pressure on the joints, especially the knees. It might be helpful for you to get some more advice on things you can do to help yourself from Arthritis Action (www.arthritisaction.org.uk).

Good luck,

Wendy

Dr Wendy Holden
Consultant Rheumatologist and Medical Advisor to Arthritis Action
www.arthritisaction.org.uk /
info@arthritisaction.org

User avatar
Nicola Footman
Posts: 16
Joined: Mon Sep 26, 2016 12:11 pm
Quote

by Nicola Footman on Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:03 pm

Re: How can I get help?

Hi Desiree

I would definitely speak to another GP. Explain your symptoms again and hopefully you will be referred to a specialist who can offer some advice/help.

A physiotherapist can assess the knee and find out why you can't straighten it fully - it could be a number of reasons such as limitation of the knee joint itself, tightness of the muscles, problems with the cartilage, dysfunction of the hip joint....the list goes on. Once an assessment has been done the correct treatment can be given and hopefully you will start to feel much better!

Arthirits is diagnosed with clinical presentation plus the use of x-rays. It does not take a year to diagnose. You may not have arthritis at all....it's definitely worth pursuing with your GP to gain some answers/help.

Good luck!
Nicola
Nicola Footman
Senior Physiotherapist - BSc (Hons) MCSP SRP
http://www.talkhealthpartnership.com/on ... ootman.php

Locked
3 posts