Where can I get affordable diagnostic treatment after many years of increasing pain and getting nowhere

[Heathercoral59]

I have been in pain for years in my lower back, my flank and my wrists and hip also now my groin all on my right side... the pain has increased so that I often cannot function or even walk but sometimes feel almost normal...I do have arthritis which I can feel in my knees and hip joints etc but this does not feel like the same pain I have inside me which prevents me from moving normally and comfortably...I had a ripping tearing type of pain from inside my right flank in 2015 and recurring bouts of pain walking standing etc in veins bulging wrists... then lump in my groin...

referrals take about 6 months and each one send me for a different one nobody will look at the actual site of my pain which is inside my belly and after 2-3 years of playing the NHS referral game I want to get a scan for myself. How can I do this for a reasonable price as I have no savings and on low income part time work only due to my pain.

I have Low vitamin D levels, an underactive thyroid, age related arthritis, have had an intersusseption and IBS and am currently mid menopause I know about diet and posture exercise etc but still have this problem I need the NHS to diagnose but have years of being pushed about from dept to dept.

[Bananas5]

Hello Heathercoral59

I have listened to your other posts and advice given. Did anything we suggested help you?

With all your conditions it is hard to think of one consultant who could diagnose the whole package..

By all means ask you GP and he may be able to suggest someone but it would have to be more than a consultation you could end up paying for.

Have you been to pain clinic? Very good although long waiting lists these days but they are the experts on pain.

x

[Calwal]

Hi yes you could be sent specialist from referral from your doctor or you may find one that takes self referral. But be warned as bananas5 says you may end

Up paying more than consultation. I self referred for oral specialist 160 plus then an x ray 90 pound for him then to refer me to private pain management specialist 220 pound! Which his recommendations didn't suit and my doctor took me off. Pain management specialist wanted to see me in 6 wks for review another 150 pound! I wouldn't mind paying the money if I'd been sorted got to bottom of the problem and pain free. But I'm not. I'm back in system on nhs for app dental hospital 5th November!! So be aware if you go down the private route. Good luck

[scholey23]

I think the first question you have to ask is are you listening to what they are telling you. Do you understand what the results of all the tests mean? If you don’t you have to ask for an explanation. Be persistent but not annoying. Scans are very expensive and it depends on what they are looking for and is it life threatening.

[Heathercoral59 in reply to scholey23]

Hi scholey23 the results of the tests are from an examination that was exactly what my GP did. At different times and the swelling in my groin and prolapse had moved as it does when I massage to ease the pain and also when I manipulate the inner organs myself, they do stay where I try and push them to make the pain go away and gravity and simple walking and passing motions etc make them slip back down, I also have the same continual pain inside possibly colon, bowel or between uterus, bladder and rectum... I have not been given any results other than from blood tests which show not rheumatoid and not cancer...

the pain is in my hip or groin but is not joints rubbing and veins swell not just joints the only tests I have had was a scan of my wrist but I had pain in several places but the focus was then put on my wrist and I was offered physio for my wrist not my back or hip/groin. I was referred to the colorectal clinic in March and had an appointment offered for 25th May but in between I had a hard lump come up in my groin that my GP wanted to be seen by surgery in case it was a Femoral Hernia ...the hospital cancelled the colorectal appointment sent me to another hospital and I already was waiting for the prolapse clinic since February the appointment was due In August (just the other day) ...and the result is that they do not assess I have a prolapse of Vagina but bowel so need to be referred again to colorectal which was the appointment they cancelled... It is like a game of snakes and ladders and I am fed up I sometimes have such severe pain I cannot move even when lying down it hurts and for no reason the pain disappears and I can even walk without a limp(very rare) my wrists hurt so much I cannot even use a pair of scissors and other times the swelling goes down and my wrists are better (not perfect not much strength) .. I actually feel like killing myself sometimes as the knawing pain that stops me doing anything makes me feel what is the point I know I will get another appointment probably in about 6 months in the meantime I can't even do the same work I used to and the part time job is only just enough to get by on. The most annoying things is that if the GP could tell what is causing the pain it could be managed better.

[johnsmith]

A scan will be a waste of time. You need an area to scan. Wrong area being scanned will result in nothing seen.

You have something that does not make sense to the medical profession. Nothing new there. Thousands of chronic pain patients have the same problem. The only thing you can do is to do things that will help reduce the discomfort. Better re-phrase that. Do the things that will enable you to reduce the discomfort.

You say: "I know about diet and posture exercise etc". I do not believe that you do. Diet is something the scientists are still struggling with. I read the science journals and still do not know what is a good diet and what is a bad diet.

Exercise and posture is a lifetime study. See an Alexander Teacher. They will help you develop strategies to reduce discomfort. When you take your first steps in that area you will find that you can do something to reduce your discomfort. Posture and exercise is not something you can learn from books, You learn it from people who have living experience of what good posture and exercise is.

Arthritis is a brain problem. The brain is not sending the appropriate commands to the muscle groups. Not going to describe the ins and outs of my research into the issue here. Sill looking into how to develop brain instruction work arounds.

Maybe, not what you were hoping for in a reply. This is the best I can think of at the moment to move things forward.