No joy from pain clinic sadly

[Nicknoc]

Hey all am at my wits end, ive had my current hip injury for around 18 months i slipped getting out the car jarred my hip and caused a flare up of the arthritis (which i wasnt aware i had before this)

Been seen by physio and ortho who decided that i need a hip replacement 😲 as my weight and agearen't ideal they decided to refer me to the local pain clinic.

I'm sorry to say its been a total waste of time.

I saw the nurse on my first appointment which I was surprised about but went with the flow. She made numerous suggestions of medication for my gp to try, although id have to wait until they recieved the letter tp start them

[Bananas5]

I am sorry Nicknoc you felt the pain clinic a waste of time. Many people who go there are seen by a very highly trained pain nurse as it isn't always possible to see the consultant. He is by profession an anesthetist and still have to work in theater. So rally consultants have 2 jobs to manage.

hat aside I am not sure what you were expecting? You have seen the physio, which may have been one of the pain clinic's suggestions to, and been given pain meds.

This is normal for the clinic to suggest there and your GP writes ut the script am sure there will be something among those meds which will help your pain.

Waiting for a hip replacement can be lengthy in some areas but pain relief should make you more comfortable.

Hope this helps

x

[Heltadelta]

Hi. I too was referred to a Pain Clinic by my GP. The Lady I saw contacted my GP to make suggestions on changes to my medication. However apart from that they really didn't do much else. I was offered a referral to a Pain Management Course once a week in a place nearly 30 miles from where we live which I really wasn't happy about.

I was then referred for Pain killing injections in my back by way of Epidural. My goodness the injection itself was so very painful. Sadly the injection had no affect on the pain at all, when I went back for a review I was told they couldn't offer any further help and I was discharged. I am now left with a GP with a very uncaring attitude.

[Trulysad-76 in reply to Heltadelta]

May I ask Heltadelta what your problem is x

[Heltadelta in reply to Trulysad-76]

Hi. I suffer with severe osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia and a curve at the bottom of my spine that is pressing on nerves in my spine.

I have tried just about everything, but have seen that someone on this forum recommends some type of cannabis oil drops. I am so desperate I will try anything.

[Redhots7 in reply to Heltadelta]

Heltadelta, have you tried a Tens Unit? I have one that I use when Fibromyalgia is really bad .

[Redhots7 in reply to Heltadelta]

So sorry the epidural did not work . I recently had 2 tests ( 4 shots on each side of L4&5) , when I sat up, I cried TEARS OF JOY because I was pain free for the first time in a very long time ! Since I received relief, the next visit was to burn the nerves! Suppose to last 6-18 months. They burn one side at a time. Left side is great, right side is starting to bother me again after 10 days 😔😔 not sure if still in L4&5 or further up in L3 but will contact doc. Sooooo sorry epidural did not work for you . Have you tried OTC Pain Relief creams or Pain Patches ?

[cyberbarn]

There are different kinds of pain, and some of them occur when you brain thinks there is more pain than there really is. That is when the pain management courses come into their own. The pain is real, it is just that different kinds of pain need different treatments.

At the moment you have the sort of pain that they think responds well to medication, so you need to try that first. that should help with some of the pain, and hopefully you will have the replacement soon, then if there is still pain the pain clinic can try something else.

And those nurses will actually be much better trained in pain than the GP is. In fact many nurses are now able to prescribe medicines and do pretty much all that a doctor can do. They aren't just 'assistants' anymore!

[Redhots7 in reply to cyberbarn]

Cyberbarn, where do you live ? In USA, only doctors can prescribe.

[cyberbarn in reply to Redhots7]

In America Physicians Assistants (we call them physicians associates in the UK where I live) can prescribe. In the UK they PAs can't prescribe yet, but our Advanced Nurse Practitioners can. They make up part of the group called Non-medical Prescribers. It is mainly Allied Health Professionals that take extra post graduate training in order to be able to prescribe medicines within their competency. The example I usually give for that is that my podiatric surgeon wouldn't be able to prescribe birth control pills!

So it isn't only doctors that can prescribe, in either of our countries.

[CtKathleenUSA]

Years back I was told "nothing more can be done." I later discovered it meant "there are no more medications to try." The pain specialists are more familiar with different treatments. Have they mentioned steroid injections, electric stimulation, etc?

With chronic pain there a many non-pharmaceutical approaches. Ex: massage, chiropractic, acupuncture, PT, diet, cognitive behavioral therapy (where you can learn techniques to feel less pain), etc, etc.

I hope your wait for surgery is brief.

[Redhots7]

Nicknoc , was it a nurse practioneer? To me, the communication should be with your GP. You have to wait for a letter? They should fax that info to your GP! I think you should call your GP and ask for referral to different Pain Clinic. I live in USA and they are called Pain Management. There are shots they can give in the right area to relieve the pain . If you were referred, you should have seen a doctor then maybe follow-up with nurse. 😘