Pain and GP

[michaelb62]

I am in so much pain and am sick of my GP I fell over earlier in the week and really hurt my face and of course the rest of my body was aching like mad. I had an appointment with my GP on Tuesday and what a waste of time he didn't examine me he didn't show any interest in what i was saying. My hands have got so bad again but he puts everything down to fibro but my hands have osteoarthritis he will no longer give me the steroid injections in my hands which if they get the right place it makes me pain free for at least three months. I am moving house next week into a bungalow which i am excited about as i will no longer be on my own i will be with my partner and my daughter and her partner its the only way we can all afford to live at the moment the bungalow is quite big so lots of space that we won't get in each others way etc. I tried to do a little packing today but my hands are now so bad and i only did two boxes and didn't lift anything heavy. I don't know what to do about the pain anymore. The GP gave me a couple of email addresses to look up and a you tube video called struggling to be me. I am not struggling to be me I don't sit and say oh I'm in pain i can't; do anything i have had fibro for over 25 years now and most of the time have coped but my joints are giving me problems i can't get referred to a rheumatologist and haven't had blood tests in years. I am not sleeping and haven't for months now i just feel like i a m being fobbed off now as he has run out of ideas to try. Others mention treatments that i have never even been offered to try. I have osteoarthritis in my knees, hips and hands and then the fibro but all i hear is fibro and nothing else. I have explained its not just the base of my thumbs anymore all my fingers are giving me problems but he won't listen. I am going to change Drs but i hope i find one who knows about fibro how do i find the right surgery for someone who knows about these things. sorry to go on but my hands are driving me crazy today and at night my hips and knees kick in really bad even with the meds if feel I'm in pain all the time and can't get it to settle just seems to be a flare up for the last couple of years. I just want someone to listen to what i am saying. Im sorry to go on just feel like crying tonight feeling low.

[hamble99b]

if you need to, then have a good cry!

hope you can change gp's asap.

do you have a rheumy? maybe give their secretary a ring and ask for an early app't (not the app'ts clerk).

go and listen to our dear friend michael and let your mind drift - gethsemane is one of my favourites.

nite hun,

sandra.

[michaelb62 in reply to hamble99b]

I love that song by him too Sandra he really sings it well. I don't have a rheumatologist i asked to be referred but was told it would just be referred back to the primary care giver which is my GP i don't understand that i have to beg for anything my last steroid injections i really begged for those and had to sign a consent form for them which i have never done before. But the injections worked for at least 4/5 months and now the pain is back with a vengeance i manage with the knees and hips but my hands are different it makes life so much harder i am struggling to even hold a glass to have a drink. I have splints that i wear when they are bad like this but even they aren't helping this time. I will definitely be changing GP's as i will be living well out of there area. thanks for your advice x

[Ginsing in reply to michaelb62]

Hi Michael I am just going to say snap - hands - both torment where to put them etc. I have splints like you now very worn but still just do the job well they would except my og as knicked one. Iy may have been a good thing cause I found some strong self adhesive bandaging so I have bandaged from my wrist to half way up my fingers - fingers crossed at the mo it is pretty good, See if you can find some it is blue came fro Asda bought for first aid box -

Good luck finding a new GP xxgins the hopefull ever after!

[bluebell99]

Hi

You sound as though you have come to the end of your tether. Moving house is stressful and can't be helping your condition either.

Is the move a good opportunity to change GP surgeries? I think your present GP is really not listening to you and you deserve better.

If you are changing to a large practice, it may be useful to speak to the receptionist and ask her which doctor may be more suitable for you. If you have a choice of surgeries, it could be a good idea to find out who your new neighbours use and if they are happy with the practice.

Once you have changed docs, explain all that has happened (or not) since your illness was diagnosed and ask for his help. Suggest if he thinks it would be a good idea to have x rays on your joints, blood tests or even a referral to rheumatology or an orthopaedic clinic.

Take someone with you who can confirm how your life is now, and also for moral support. If you are anxious, write down your main points. Don't be dismayed if he initially wants to hold off until he has blood test results or to see if you respond to different medication. At least he will be doing something, which is more than your current GP is doing.

I wish you well and hope the move goes smoothly.

Xx

[michaelb62 in reply to bluebell99]

Thanks Bluebell I have a choice of three surgeries in the area i am going to be living i currently take MST 30mg twice a day, clonazepam 0.5mg at night, Amitryptiline 50mg (although used to be on 250mg) lansoprazole 30mg, and oromorph for breakthrough pain one of my worries with another dr is that they will take me off of the mST i have been on it for over 10 years now and my body is used to the morphine obviously which seemed to surprise my current GP that didn't make sense to me i know its addictive i used to be a nurse. I feel i have become nothing now. I have never said that to the gp though my daughter and 2 of my sons also have fybro and my daughter was at the same gps and saw him last week and he said don't let it control you all she was saying was that she couldn't get her hip pain under control but he didn't let her finish what she was saying and also gave her some websites to check out. The fact that i have had it for over 25 years i know what i can and can't do but things have got so bad at the moment. I am so looking forward to the move but feel useless because i have to wait for my partner to be here on sunday to help me pack which is something i would normally be able to do myself but now i can't he is deaf and texted me tonight to say not to worry we would do it together. I just want my hands to settle down I've already had surgery on my right hand once for arthritis but again the dr doesn't say about arthritis and it only got done when i left this surgery as i lived out of there area and the new dr referred me to a surgeon after X-rays showed that there was extra bone I had gone two years having steroid injections with the same gp I'm with now. I just need to find someone who will help and listen.

[TheAuthor]

Hi michaelb62

I have read your post with so much pain and sorrow for what you are being forced to endure. I genuinely hope that your move will be the key to a new life, a much better life. I also sincerely hope that you can find another GP surgery as soon as possible.

I was wondering if there is a different GP at your surgery that you could discuss your issues with for the time being? You could also make a complaint about your GP to the surgery, if you felt the need? By writing to your Practice Manager.

I want to wish you all the luck in the world and I genuinely hope that you can find some resolution and relief to these issues.

Take care

Ken

[michaelb62 in reply to TheAuthor]

Thanks Ken i was seeing a different dr at the surgery and i would go in and say i want steroid injections in my hands and he would do them straight away no hassle but he didn't always hit the right spot which is key to it working. he ran out of ideas for me so asked me to see the other GP who is more specialised in fybromyalgia we went through my medication and tried a couple of different things but when i said my fingers were getting bad etc he didn't listen. I can't believe he didn't even examine me when i said i had fallen and i had a very swollen eye along with carpet burn down the side of my face i told him i heard a really loud crack when i hit the floor and i thought i had hurt my neck. He didn't move out of his chair gave me a repeat for my oromorph and a weeks supply of sleeping tablets to try and help me sleep but they are not the ones that work on me so pointless really and that was it. Not once has he examined any joints or anything. I am really hoping that the new DR i find will be better i'm tempted to not even mention fybro initially as i want them to see me as me without the label which i find they sometimes use so never look for anything else or make you feel its all in your head when we all know its not.

You take care too

Jackie

[Hidden]

Sorry no extra advice for you but lots of hugs sue xx

[gillyb8361]

Is it possible for you to see a different Doctor in the practice or if not have you considered changing GP'S. What is his reason for not giving you steroid injections anymore and why can't you get a specialist referral? I hope you can get something sorted, it's bad enough having this illness without getting no support xx

[Hollytree]

Hope your move has gone well and you have found a new GP that will listen.

Stress causes so many things to be worse and makes it more difficult to cope so hope that life will be treating you better. I feel for you, especially with the labels thing. One does just feel invisible.

[michaelb62]

Hi hollytree

Thanks for your message the move has gone ok and i am going to see one of the drs at my new surgery tomorrow although i am not looking forward to it as it turns out he is the Dr who always has appointments which is normally the dr's i try and avoid but i need to see him as i need my repeat medications sorted but fingers crossed he will listen and maybe help as there are things the other dr at my old surgery had stopped listening about for instance my fingers have got so bad now that it is agony to just type this. I have osteoarthritis in my thumbs and am not sure if it is osteo or rheumatoid in my fingers but they are gradually getting worse but no one would listen. So we will see. The other thing which is so typical I moved in with my daughter and her partner as i had had a few nasty falls the last one being the most frightening and i was waiting for a council property but nothing was coming on there that i was qualified for i either wasn't old enough or many other reasons i couldn't bid on things then this morning i get a phone call saying i am top on a property i bid on on the 19th March and would i like to view it. I have had to say no as we have all signed a lease and it would be wrong of me to leave them in the lurch but it would have been so nice to have had my own ground floor flat but we have a lovely bungalow we all live in now the only downside is my daughter has 4 dogs 3 of which are very young and one is cocking his leg up on my furniture which is winding me up obviously. I am also the one left with them all day long. I will post how i get on at the drs after my visit tomorrow.

Jackie xx