referral denied by doctor

paul67uk
paul67uk Member Posts: 4
edited 20. Dec 2018, 08:46 in Chat to our Helpline Team archive
Hi, I have been suffering with back, hip & aches & pains for over 10 years and for most of them was told do some walking or swim, I do plenty of walking in my work but it has got worse and I now limp all the time and also have now got thickening of one of my Achilles tendons, physio seems to have no effect and I have had to be on tramadol for the last year as that is the only way I can do a days work if not I was getting too tired in the afteroon, after pushing my doctor he referred me to the hospital (pain clinic I think) the guy I saw did a blood test and said poss r/a as my grandmother had it or chronic pain, test came back neg for r/a but he said he would like me to see the arthritis team/people but would he to get referral from my gp, today my gp said its o/a and he wouldn't refer me saying the guy at the hospital was only a physio?? so why send me to him? Is there any other way to see them or tests I can have as I would like to get off the tramadol but if I did I would have to pack my business in and go sick. Sorry its a long tale.

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  • helpline_team
    helpline_team Posts: 3,777
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi paul67uk

    Thank you for your post, I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been going through a challenging time, and it sounds as if the area of referral from your GP is a little unclear and confusing.

    You are very welcome to give us a call on our helpline 0800 520 0520 (9am – 8pm weekdays) here we can take our time to talk things through informally and in confidence which can sometimes be helpful.

    If you have Osteoarthritis this is diagnosed in the surgery by your GP, he/she may take a family history and examine your joints. There is no blood test for osteoarthritis, and a referral to an orthopaedic consultant would normally happen if surgery was to be considered.
    Here is a link to our booklet on osteoarthritis which may be helpful:
    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis/

    Our Versus Arthritis website has some helpful information and suggestions for managing pain. Follow this link: https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/managing-symptoms/managing-your-pain/

    It sounds as if a review of your medications might be useful as you would ‘like to get off tramadol’, if you find your current GP unsatisfactory and he/she is part of a group practice you might like to see a different GP.

    I hope this is of some help and once again please give us a call if at any point you would like to talk.

    Lynda
    Helpline Advisor

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