After waiting nearly 2 years for an appointment with the Pain Management Team at my local hospital, what a complete farce it was, During the 3 years of a broken ankle, I have seen many specialists all saying that I had the condition Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, but to get it verified I had to see the pain management team, which this morning I did. The professor that I saw didn't have a clue, I know my own body and he was trying to tell me that I wasn't in any pain after all this time, that i didn't have the condition that other specialists told me that I had. he examined my foot but not my ankle, because it wasn't swollen and it looked in his opinion normal, I was limping and my foot is a weird shape. While he was talking to me he found out from my records that I am making a claim for negligence, he suddenly stopped talking, I asked him lots of questions that he wouldn't answer and the physiotherapist which was also present didn't say a word even though I was asking her questions too, so In the end I am no better off and still in a lot of pain, plus he has referred me to a Orthopedic surgeon who I have already seen and he referred me to the pain management team so in the end I am going round in circles. This hospital is supposed to be the best in the North of England, what a joke, if this is the best God help us.
UPDATE ON BROKEN ANKLE: After waiting nearly... - Pain Concern
UPDATE ON BROKEN ANKLE
shocking but yes we know our own bodies and if you feel pain you feel pain.my sister has struggled for years with pains in her knee and they said near enough the same thing to her.
I began with a stiff neck which my own GP diagnosed as spondylosis, this was 12 years ago, this without even leaving his chair, reached for his printer and gave me a printout of the cervical spine. Over the following years, all I have gained are enough printouts of the cervical spine to allow me to paper my sitting room. I requested physio but as far as I got was muscular skeletal and pain management, both a complete waste of time, but never any physio. After years and three GP practices and being told each time it was wear and tear, I managed to get an MRI on my spine. The report I took to a chiropractor, who told me I had serious issues, back I went to my GP, where I told him what the chiropractor had said. Almost immediately my GP practice where giving me all kinds of tests, and made me an appointment at a well known Northern hospital with a neurosurgeon. I had a phone call from the surgeon who said he had looked at my MRI and agreed I had a problem that required an operation. Today I am still waiting, but I was told that it will be next year sometime, when that time finally comes around I will have waited three years. But I am most annoyed with the number of GPs over three practices that I have seen over the period of twelve years, that have all told me wear and tear, each and every time I have asked for a diagnosis. Recently I returned to the original chiropractor in the hope he can help me, and I have an appointment on the 28th of October, as I feel that the health service in this country along with GP services has gone to the wall. I wish you well and hope you get the answers you obviously require. Take care.
I am so sorry to hear what you have been going through, it is ridiculous how any so called doctor can say that there was nothing wrong with you even though there was, You have waited absolutely years and still waiting, I found out from my hospital appointment yesterday that I have cervical spondylitis and there is nothing wrong with my back, this diagnosis was 8 years ago and nobody ever told me till yesterday, I personally hate going to the hospital because they have made so many cockups with my illnesses and medication, I will NEVER go to any hospital again, as for my GP he is still hiding behind his desk and still not seeing patients. This is like a third world country now and it will only get worse, I used to be such a positive person, not anymore, this is how the NHS has made me feel, absolutely useless. I hope you get the care you deserve sooner rather than later, please let me know how you get on. xx
sorry to here that you are having problems not to dissimilar to my own. Like yourself my confidence in GPs is at rock bottom, whilst our GPS are open, it still appears that you can’t make an appointment with one. In my practice you ring, speak to receptionist who asks lots of questions, who then arranges for a GP to ring you back. After two days you receive a call from a doctor you’ve never heard of, who spends 30mins asking questions then at the end, says I will report back to my consultant. Then two days later you receive a message granting you a face to face. Then you get there to come face to face with some doctor you’ve never seen before, you ask if he’s the one you spoke to on the phone, his reply no it wasn’t me, so you go once again through questions and answers. At the end once again he says I will report it back to my consultant. Again you wait, receive a message saying an appointment has been made at the local hospital. As the app date draws near, you receive two letters stamped NHS, delivered by the same postman on the very same delivery, one is confirmation of your app, the other is to cancel the same appointment . This recently happened to a friend of mine, who told me that while he was waiting for his face to face at the GP practice, he actually saw our own GPs there, every aspect of the national health service appears to be going crazy at present.
That is absolutely crazy, I feel so sorry for people who are very ill or think they have cancer, they will never get an appointment, this happened to one of my friends, he was having man problems and he couldn't get through to his doctors, they didn't want to know and when eventually they did speak to him and told him his symptoms, it was too late, he died of prostate cancer 2 weeks later. We call it the National Hopeless Service, because this is exactly what it stands for. I have that many ailments all muscle, bone related and I just can't get an appointment. I feel like an 80 year old at the moment, having been very fit and active. They just don't care anymore and it is supposed to be the caring profession. xx
I've had chronic pain for many years and seen plenty of specialists. I'm sorry but I can't believe that a pain specialist would tell anyone they're not in pain. Are you sure that's what he said?
I can believe it, my daughter suffered from progressive MS for many years until she passed away in 2017. I used to take her once a week to our local hospital for so called exercise to help with her pain. Each and every time I picked her up I would ask, how was it, she always gave the same reply, waste of time. I watched as she progressed from walking, to using walking sticks to crutches to eventually a wheel chair, until she passed away, and throughout that time she always felt that she was never listened to.
The professor that I saw yesterday didn't believe a word I said, his words were are you sure that you are in that much pain, looking at me disbelievingly, I struggle to walk and I have a very bad limp, due to not having physiotherapy when I had my accident and now I can't move it because it is so stiff. So yes he didn't believe me and my husband was with me too. If it wasn't going through a solicitor we would have told him what we thought of his so called care.
I have rheumatoid arthritis in ankles. I’ve been on so many meds which haven’t worked. When i have a hospital appointment on my day off ankles aren’t swollen. So like you they try and dismiss me. I to am fed up getting passed from pillar to post. Had pain management they gave me meds that didn’t work and I never heard from them again. It is not joke being in pain all time. Also I limp and can’t walk properly. It a sorry mess with no light at the end of it. I do feel for you.
Thank you for your kind words, I am so sorry you are going through the same thing as me. It is awful how we are dismissed, if it wasn't for us and other patients they wouldn't even have a job. How can doctors? feel our pain, very clever aren't they? I am 55 years old and was very active, ran marathons, went to the gym 6 days a week, did dance/aerobic classes, I even played in a walking football team professionally, now I can't do any of this, my husband told the professor? yesterday about how my life has changed, he wasn't interested.
I find they think they no better and it is our bodies. Also I’ve had 2 mri scans which didn’t pick up anything just wear and tear. I going next week to neurologist again. I found he listened. I’m going to ask for tests ultra scan on my ankles. Also nerve test. Have you ever had ultra scan on your ankle.
No, I haven't had any tests only an Xray when the accident happened and I had to beg the doctor for that, she was absolutely useless, when I had the Xray and she got the results she didn't tell me until I was leaving and she said Oh by the way your ankle is broken and that was it, she never did anything and that is why I am seeing a solicitor and getting compensation after nearly 3 years of waiting. xx
Terrible to be dismissed like that. Also very hard to prove anything as the all stick up for each other. Keep us updated as to how you get on.
Thank you, I will keep you updated. xx
HI. I wrote quite a long reply above. I am so sorry that you are going through this and I really hope that you find somebody who will help you. 4 year's ago, I wrote to our hospital and complained about my lung cancer fiasco and they wrote back and apologised that I had gone through all of that and then proceeded to lie time and again and I could have proved that they lied time and again but by then I was too ill and now I have so many problems that they have ruined my life. I have no respect for the medical profession as I have now been told that nothing can be done for a " massive hiatus hernia " and I have to wait until it becomes an emergency before anything is done and I probably won't come through the operation because I had the Lobectomy! They could have done something long ago but no because it was all in my head!
All the very best and please let us know how you get on. Good luck to everybody!
Danni
I would have thought a massive hiatus hernia was in fact a pretty urgent matter and would not like to think what would happen if it became an emergency! I had a 10 cm one and was operated on successfully when I was living in Europe just over a year ago. If I were you I would get a second opinion from a gastric specialist even if you have to go privately for a one off consultation! Good luck, I hope you go for it and get the treatment, it made a big difference to my life.
Beaty
Hi. Thank you so much for your reply. My idiot Gastroenterologist told me a few week's ago that they would not operate because the hernia was so " massive " and I would have to wait until I become an emergency when they would have to operate but I probably wouldn't survive because of the Lobectomy and the operation would take 4½ hour's and because I had the top right lobe which had the tumour taken off, it would make the operation more dangerous! Oh joy!I will discuss what you have said with my Dr. if I can get a face to face appointment !
Take care and I'm so pleased that your operation worked.
All the best,
Danni
I am so sorry you going are going through all this, it doesn't surprise me though, all the NHS care about is money, not people, all they want are pay rises all the time, doesn't everyone? I have looked on the website of all the NHS cockups that they have done and all the compensation they have had to pay out, still they doesn't care, because it isn't their money. I will never be the same again as I was because my foot is that bad now by the time I get home from working, my husband has to help me get to the car because I can't walk, I have to work because of the cost of living, if I do manage to get a big amount of compensation I won't need to work and then I can try to get my life back to near normal, at least get physiotherapy that I should have had in the first place, I would pay private for it because I don't trust the NHS, If the physiotherapist worked for the NHS there is no way I would use them. Absolutely useless. The professor who I saw at the hospital said that it was in my head because the pain shouldn't be there still, well it is, so what are you going to do about it, absolutely nothing after waiting nearly 3 years.
Hi. Thank you for replying. Isn't it horrendous that almost all of us here have had horrendous treatment from Dr.s and Consultant's. At one time, Britain had a good reputation regarding health but now we are treated as though we are nothing, of no importance and the medic's look down on us. It's a disgrace and I really wish that there was something that I could do to change attitudes. Pain is exhausting and I don't want to be this pathetic person! Before the cancer misdiagnosis I walked our dog 's every day and for year's I did so much...looking after my parent's, painting, which I loved and tutoring adult Art Classes. Now I can't paint or tutor and I can't have a dog but I try to keep going but have to go to bed every afternoon because the pain is overwhelming. The medic's have stolen my life and I have no respect for Dr.s or Consultant's! I so hope you find some help and get some relief. Please take care and let us know how you get on .All the best,
Danni x
I will definitely let you know how I get on. I can't understand how many people have had diabolical treatment by the very people who are supposed to look after you and care for you. I shouldn't have to go private for my treatment, it should be through the NHS, I can't afford it even with compensation, why should I give any money to the very people who are supposed to do their job. Please take care of yourself. x
I too have been in the same situation as all of you. I have suffered with chronic pain in my right leg for over 3 years following a work related injury and after seeing doctors, physios, osteos, counsellors and nerve specialists I finally spent 3 weeks at a pain management clinic only to be told the pain will never go and must be managed. The most soul destroying thing to be told by health professionals who can't cure pain problems. I also had confused doctors and foot specialists who were reluctant to give me an official diagnosis until they said it was CRPS but even now I'm not 100% sure. I am going to see my GP again as I have pains in the left leg now. It is just so tiring never getting proper answers.
I am so sorry that you are going through so much pain, I know how painful CRPS is because I have the same condition, the professor? said differently yesterday and said that I haven't got it, I know exactly what is wrong with me, I have been diagnosed twice with this condition, just because it wasn't swollen when I saw him didn't mean that I haven't got the condition, the appointment was early on in the day and I hadn't got the chance to walk on it, I told him this and he said most peoples ankles swell when they have been walking on them, what a load of crap? he just wasn't interested, I just wasted my time going and I had to have a day off work too.xx
I am so sorry that you are going through this, I know that if you suffer from CRPS it can affect other limbs even though they have not been painful or injured. I also have CRPS in my hand along with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Tensynovitis in my thumb on the same hand, I was offered an operation on it but I refused because the surgeon said because I suffer from CRPS it could come in my hand, how ironic, I didn't have the operation because of what he said and now I have the condition and I didn't even get the operation, you can't make it up can you?.
I feel for you I've been fobbed off for nearly 11 years with pain in my ankle after breaking it. I had plate and 10 screws taken out two yrs later as having ongoing pain then arthroscopy taking out scar tissue. Still pain only found out last yr it's nerve damage from original operation where the nerve was cut in my ankle as I'vealways had two outside dead toes. Nobody ever listened but last yr saw an older consultant who actually exaimed my ankle and diagnosed the problem. He said it's too late to do anything about it now even though i told the orthopaedic dept the problem from the start! He referred me to a pain clinic in Worthing which was an absolute waste of time. Told me to just do anything I want to do physically and meditate. I take amiltriptiline which helps to some extent but he told me to come off them but the consultant said to up them! I wrote a letter of complaint months ago and have just been told to go back to my gp.
So don't give up as my life has been really curtailed by things i can't do.
I am so sorry for your pain, I just don't know why we are not listened to, we are human beings not lab rats, we know when there is something wrong with our bodies, the worst of it is when we are not believed, I have had to claim PIP due to my illnesses and it took me absolute years to get it because again I wasn't believed, it is up for renewal soon and again I will have to beg to keep the money. Since becoming disabled I can see first hand how they are treated, disgustingly. xx
Did anyone do and MRI of your foot or ankle?
No they never did, having asked them too, When I had the initial injury I eventually had an Xray, the doctor kept saying it was a sprain, my foot was misshaped and I could tell it was broke, I was right the Xray confirmed it but she never put it in a cast or airboot and expected me to walk, even though I couldn't. I think she hated the fact that she was wrong, it wasn't a sprain and that is why she did nothing about it. She should be struck off.xx
I had a metatarsal fracture and suffered with that pain for 8 months my doctor at the time would only do a X-ray which won’t show a fracture as I found out the hard way and finally I got a cat scan which showed the metatarsal fracture and you know she said “well I guess I should have done cat scan sooner” I wanted to punch her in the face I suffered for 8 months I did get put into a boot and eventually I healed whole nightmare took over a year … doctors can be so ignorant.
I Hope you can get your foot fixed soon.
I am so sorry that you have had similar problems to me, it is absolutely ridiculous how they can leave patients just like that, in agony and you was right which they hate being wrong, they think they are some sort of Gods because they wear the NHS badge, I would be embarrassed to be a nurse or doctor, My life has changed dramatically all because of a useless nurse who didn't know what she was doing, I just hope other patients she sees, she doesn't treat them in this way, otherwise she will be struck off. I knew that day when I injured my ankle it was broken it was so obvious but she just didn't want to know and SHE has left me disabled.
i had torn ligaments in my foot which never healed properly,that was five years ago kept asking for help with it but nothing happened,was sent to a pain management clinic as arthritis had taken over and could not walk without the aid of a stick, but they were as useful as a chocolate teapot and I still cannot put any weight on it as too much pain,and being allergic to painkillers ,the NHS just do not want to bother. I hope you will not have to suffer too long. Good luck hopefully coming your way.
Thank you for your reply, I am so sorry that you have had problems just like me, the NHS are useless, not fit for purpose, they don't feel our pain so they are not bothered. I feel like an old lady well before my time, I work part time and I am on my feet 6 hours a day by the time I get home my foot is so swollen and sore I can't walk. If I didn't work I don't know what I would do with my life. I have waited nearly 3 years to see the pain management team to not be given anything, no advice, no medication, nothing, I feel like chopping my foot off it is that sore and useless, the so called professor said I was suffering from PTSD, why I don't know, I don't think he knows what he is talking about, he measured my legs and calves and I have one leg longer than the other and one calf is wider that the other and he said that they were normal, obviously his tape measure wasn't working properly haha.
Reading all of these replies makes me SO angry because what is going on with the Dr.s and Consultant's that they are so arrogant and patronising. I so wish that there was something I could do to change their attitude. Name and shame springs to mind. It's all so frightening. I'm in so much pain with the "massive " hernia and the 2 vertebral fracture's and if the medic's had listened to me when I first complained I wouldn't now be left with a life threatening hernia which they refuse to operate on . Mind you they left me for 15 month's with lung cancer while telling my husband that my symptoms were all in my head ! All of us here have gone through so much and I think that you are all wonderful. All we want is our lives back but it's difficult when we have pain that is indescribable! I don't ever want to have anything to do with another Dr. or hospital but according to my Gastroenterologist ( who is awful! ) I will have to go one day when my hernia gets worse which will be an emergency and I probably won't survive the operation! How encouraging ! I wish all of you the very best and I hope that you all get the help which you, definitely, deserve. Love,
Danni x
Thank you for your encouraging reply Danni54, The NHS are NOT it for purpose, They are a waste of space, they don't care about you or me, just themselves and how much wages they will get. You seem a very strong person to be going through all this upset and uncertainty and I wish you well. Take care of yourself.
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