Hip pain

lucylacey17

I have osteoarthritis in my hip that goes all down my leg most days, I had an x Ray last July, my GP said it’s not that bad at the moment, but I can’t put weight on it so I’m constantly limping it’s definitely got worse over the last couple of months, how bad does the pain have to be before he’ll refer me to see a specialist 😢

Anna

Hi @lucylacey17 and welcome to the online forum,

You were diagnosed with osteoarthritis in your hip last July and the pain is getting worse so you’re wondering how bad it has to get before you can be referred to a specialist. I would say you should speak to your GP again, and ask if they can prescribe something for the pain, refer you to a pain management clinic or to undertake further tests. You should not have to live with increasing pain.

I’m glad you’ve found the online forum - everyone on here has experience of living with arthritis and if you look through the forums, particularly Living with Arthritis, you’ll find plenty of posts and discussions about living with OA of the hip.I’m sure other members can offer you support and advice.

Versus Arthritis have a useful page on managing and treating hip pain - you might be interested in reading about the various treatments and self help suggestions that are available.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/hip-pain/

Do let us know how you get on,

Anna ( Moderator)

frogmorton

Hi @lucylacey17

I think sometimes we have to be a bit assertive with our Drs even if it's not in our nature. Sometimes images do not reflect the level of pain we are in or it's impact on our lives. What pain relief have you been prescribed?

If you want to hang on a bit longer there are things which might help and also strengthen you case for referral.

1. make sure you are a healthy weight. Drs seem to use this one against us sometimes.
2. try non-medicinal pain relief like a tens machine/warm wheatie bag (the kind you microwave?)
3. consider a walking aid like a stick to keep you moving and don't stop walking if you can manage it.
4. Do the exercises for your hip which I think are probably in the leaflet that Anna has linked to you above.

Oh I also take someone with me when I see the Dr there is a little bit of strength in numbers

Take care

airwave

The answer is how long is a piece of string, we are all in pain , some get increasing pain, some learn how to get on with life, some can grow scar tissue which helps, some need more help than others.

Although we all suffer pain, it and how we suffer is different from person to person and most tend to have to find there own answers. I get pains in my ankles that I can’t walk with but it’s my hands that upset me the most?

it’s a grin, honest!