Am I a fraud?

rivendell

This is my first posting, and after reading almost all of yours in this forum, I'm not sure if I should be here at all. But here goes, I need some help.

3 years ago I went to my doctor because I was experiencing pain in my right hip. Not bad, just occasionally, enough to make me wince and slow down a bit. My doctor sent me for an exray and blood tests, the result came back that I had minimal wear and tear on my hip. Nothing was done, obviously not bad enough 'just take asprin when it is bad!'

I have carried on, ignoring the pain and just accepting it. It hasn't been life changing and i haven't had to have time off work because of it.

2 months ago, at work, i could hardly put any pressure on my right foot the pain was awful and the next morning i literally couldn't get out of bed. putting pressure on my foot gave me a stabbing hot pain in my groin and my hip wouldn't hold me up. the doc did a home visit, some pain killers, told me it could be 'lupus, cancer growth or arthritis'. Lovely! and was told to get an appointment for blood tests and xray.

the results were: blood tests fine, xray minimal OA and wear and tear on both hips. the consultant wrote that there was no change to the last xray. although on the last one OA had not been mentioned.

the doc put me on co-codymol to take when needed. these have made me very tired, although i am not taking them very often, the bad pain hasn't come back, but i am just feeling so low and the pain in hips is like a dull ache all the time and is all around my lower back and bum.

I work as a carer at a disabled day centre, they have been good and stopped me from pushing wheelchairs and any heavy lifting, but there is so much walking about and getting things for people. I went back to work last week, did the week hobbling about and not being able to get involved in the things i should be doing, and feeling guilty that the rest of my colleagues were having to cover me. Yesterday i just gave in and went to the docs again, he has now given me Amitriptyline. But kept saying 'your exrays are still the same as 3 years ago' as if i am making it all up.

I am so frustrated, i had to ask him to put OA on my sick note, he has given me another 2 weeks off work, as all he puts is pain in hips. I know he doesn't believe me.

Why is my pain bad now when it wasn't as bad 3 years ago, and why aren't my exrays different after all this time. I am really beginning to feel like a fraud, and i have no proof other than how i feel. can anyone shed some light on this before i get the sack from work?

Tina x

stickywicket

You are not a fraud, rivendell. It sounds like you have arthritis plus, possibly, an unsympathetic GP. ‘Wear & tear’ is how osteoarthritis is sometimes described, especially when it’s in the early stages and/or in someone who is of an age when it might be likely to arrive.

Your symptoms have worsened but I guess it doesn’t necessarily mean that enough further damage has been done to show up on an X-ray. The sort of pain you mention is typical. You can find out more about it, and about osteoarthritis, if you click on the ‘Publications & Resources’ button on the top right of the page. There is a wealth of info there.

The downside of strong pain dullers (They never ‘kill’ it) is drowsyness. Maybe ibuprofen would help. I’m surprised your GP hasn’t prescribed it. Don’t be afraid to go back to him and ask. Take someone with you for moral support if necessary. I hope you can get some relief soon.

elnafinn

Hi Tina and welcome to the AC forum.

You are not imagining any of it whatever your gp thinks. You know your body more than anyone else.

I presume you have been given amitriptyline to make you sleep better night. If this is so, many of us on the forum, find that if we take it quite early in the evening, say around 7pm we do not get that whoosy feeling so much on waking the next morning.

Coco's can make you tired and also constipated :roll: If you are taking the cocos as and when that may not be of so much benefit to how you are feeling on the pain and discomfort front. I would recommend to take them on a regular basis, you can take one/two every 4 hours, so you could take the minimum dose each time. I have been prescribed the 30/500 tabs but I do not know if you have the same strength prescribed for you or a weaker strength.

You did not mention if your gp had prescribed any anti inflammatories. If not, that may be a question to ask him as they help with OA or at least mine.

I do hope that by looking around the forum you will learn more about OA and what is on offer on the meds front and how we cope with the pain and so on and even how we get our gps to take us seriously. Armed with more information this makes us more confident when talking to our gps. Some of us go back time and time again or make an appointment with another gp. Gps views can vary so much regarding arthritis as some of us have found out.

Elna x

rivendell

Thankyou for your fast replies. i am feeling so annoyed with myself for being such a wimp with my doctor.

i do not have any trouble sleeping, i am very lucky, that seems to be the only time i am not in pain. i told the doc this, but he still gave me the amit. he didn't even tell me how often i was supposed to take it. so i don't know if i am supposed to take it every night regardless of the pain.
i don't fancy the idea of feeling drowsy. i hate taking tabs at the best of times.

i think i will try the coco instead on a regular basis instead of as and when. i am 58 this year, so no doubt the doc thinks i am near the scrap heap anyway. i just have to live with it. can i refer myself to a rheumatologist or does my doc have to do that.

i am reading through all of the fact sheets here and the forum, but i feel that i am just on the cusp of OA. but i do need to be believed.........its nice to get that here, thankyou x

hileena111

Hi,
Sounds like you have an unsympathetic GP.....like the one I usd to have.....pain in the hip was all I could ever get out of him until I asked him for a referral to the hospital. OA....wear and tear.
Keep going back about your pain killers and do check like someone said about anti inflammatories,,,,,,,,also check about a stomach lining tablet if you get anti inflammatories......I'm on omneprazol
Be polite but persistent and good luck


Love Hileena

elnafinn

Hi again Tina

If you are sleeping ok then I too am not sure why your gp prescribed amitript. Why not ask him next time you see him or another gp. This med can help lessen quite a few symptoms. I was prescribed it for IBSD and it works well for me. It can be prescribed for migraines and also as an antidepressant in larger doses. I started off taking 10mg and slowly upped the dosage and found that 25mg sorted my IBSD problem out fairly well. My consultant asked if I was sleeping better as a result of taking the amitript and I replied yes - it slows the body down - that is what the gastro doc told me.

Out of interest what dosage did the gp prescribe when writing out the amitript script?

Elna x

skezier

Hi Tina,

Your are differently, definitely definitely NOT and fraud! I think in the start we all fell we are though.

Glad they Ave xrayed the hips and given you the co-co's they should help a bit.

Tina the thing is with oa it hurts... it also makes all the muscles and soft tissue try to stop the pain and help support the joint and thats likely some of your problem there.

That would be another reason why he has given you the ampi's even though you sleep well cus they help relax the muscles.

I have huge trouble with soft tissue trying to 'help'; the neck.... they really do get it wrong and well I wonder in your case if physio might be useful?

With work the amount of standing and walking will have an effect when the oa is on a burn. I don't know if you can do more of the admin side so you can sit more there?

Tina it sounds like its on a burn but just hang on the the fact that 1st and 2nd burn and then stop for a wile and the while can be a long time. Hang in there and nice to meet you. Cris x

elnafinn

Hi again Tina

Your xrays show minimal OA and wear and tear, (both mean the same). By this I understand it to relate to the amount of damage, not the amount of pain you are experiencing. Pain does not show up on xrays. It really depends on where it is, if it is agitating a nerve, mild damage could cause major pain. Likewise sometimes severe damage causes no pain.

You do have a very physical job and I feel for you.

Elna x

frogmorton

Gosh Tina

this is bad and no you are not a faker in my book, but your Gp is only being a bit helpful.

Do try the amitrip it will relax those muscles and might help the hip indirectly therefore.

Shame there is likley no money in the budget for extra tests....maybe anerve is being trapped and it is causing the pain....

Love and hugs and sypmathy

Toni xx

valval

welcome as most have told you it real the pain can be bad i get bad pain in hip but it coming from knee which has damage from inflammation it does fluctuate and is not the same all the time the doc started with wear and tear with my hands and feet then oa then when swelling carried on inflammation every time you go back to doc they give you stronger meds to help if your quality of life is affected tell them do not do as most of us do and say not bad tell it as it is keep a pain diary it will come in useful good luck we are here if you need us val

woodbon

Hi, Its so frustrating to be in the position you'r in but your not alone. I could have written your post, almost word for word. Its not that we want to have something awful wrong with us, its just that sometimes, being able to have a nice, 'proper' sounding label would make you feel more justified about the things that you can't now do!!!

I've lost count of the blood tests, x-rays, scans ect that I've had and nothing shown up accept osteoathritis. It is a real illness though and a some medical research doctors are looking at why some of us get it when we are quite young and others don't until they are older. Mine is deffinatly in the family, my Mum, me and now my sister! :roll:
Just to mention that I was a care worker with the elderly 7 years and the disabled 2 years. That's heavy work not good for arthritis so I was medically dismissed. Not easy to take at the time, but something I'm glad of now" I hope you manage to sort things out as the stress is not doing you any good!
Love Suexx PS Of course you are in the right place we have a great site here and it offers so much help and reasurement.

niecsey

Hi one thing l learnt after ringing up the arthur helpline was 1. early wear and tear does not mean the start of!! It means you have it at a younger age than expected. 2. THEY CANNOT TELL HOW MUCH DAMAGE OR PAIN YOUR IN BY AN XRAY. Please dont be like me and put up with 'it'.... lm the same with docs and everything l used to do has slowly been taking from me !! I do try to do some of the things l used to do but l will suffer with pain for it. I get so frustrated!! Im due at docs tommorow for blood and xray results thanks to an observant physio lady who suspects l have AS... l am dreading it my docs are sticklers for blood test results and we all know that shouldnt be the case!! Good look with everything and try some heat on your hip, l tried ice and it done nothing for me but made things worse. Take care xxx

dreamdaisy

For what it's worth I don't think you are a fraud, I reckon you are coping remarkably well. It is not easy to stand up to a professional, especially one who should be empathetic but is not. If you cannot say what you would like then put it in a letter and hand it to him, often the written word has a much greater impact than the spoken - writing fixes words, stops them floating away in a mix with all the other words he hears. If you feel you cannot do that then matbe it's time investigate the chance of finding a 'better' doctor. They usually live with the theory of disease, we with the reality.

I think that OA is defined as the 'wear and tear' form of arthritis to try to explain how it starts: it can result from the general wear and tear of life, come after an accident or perhaps just begin all by itself 'cos it feels like it. Like all other forms of this it is no respector of age, one can be young, middle aged or elderly, it cares not. The ones such as RA, PA, AS etc are immune-system based, hence the medications that people affected by those take. I have OA in my knees and I can empathise: it is pretty miserable, but you have found us and we do understand what it is like. I wish you well. DD