Do I go to the Doctor?

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Kits
Kits Member Posts: 3
edited 19. Dec 2013, 04:53 in Chat to our Helpline Team archive
Hi there,

I am just looking for some advice on whether or not I go to the doctor for a diagnosis or if it is not worth it at this stage.

I am 36, I have had hip pain on and off since my late teens, it used to only flare up badly when I got cold (the pain would run down from my hips into my legs and would take several days to abate), I used to work with driving horses and sitting in the carriage on a cold winter day the cold would set in, I stopped this line of work after a few years and for a while it was better. The knee pain has been since my late twenties, after sitting for any length of time it would seize up, my left knee is worse. I lost some weight which helped for quite a while but in the last couple of years it is back, sometimes now becoming stiff when walking up hills or stairs also. The hip (again mainly my left) gets painful sometimes even though I haven't been cold for a long time, sometimes at night it interrupts my sleep as I'm woken by the hip pain. This isn't all the time, although my knee is stiff and sometimes painful pretty much every time I get up (and I work in an office so I'm sitting a lot), it's not agonising at the moment. My hip also sometimes seems to lock and then a massive and painful grinding click back into place. I was born with hip dysplasia (I think this is the correct term for it now, they called it clicky hips back then!), and had a splint on for the first few months, I don't know if this is relevent?
I did see a doctor briefly many years ago (when I was working with the horses), about the hip pain, he just said oh it's probably a bit of arthritis, take some painkillers, so off I went! I also went to the doctor when the knee pain started, but it was over the winter when I went, by the time I got to see the specialist it was summer and the pain had stopped at that point so I was sent away saying come back if it starts again.

Sorry for the long rambling post. I just don't want to waste the doctor's time really, there's no point me going if they are going to just say go away and take some painkillers that I can buy over the counter :)

So anyway, that's it really!

Thanks very much for your time in reading this :)

Kits

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  • helpline_team
    helpline_team Posts: 3,493
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Dear Kits,

    Thank you for your enquiry to Helplines. I'm sorry to hear about these problems with pain and joints locking, that must be a concern for you. Here we cannot offer individual medical advice, but try to listen and signpost and be here if you'd like some support.

    You are entitled to a thorough examination and some answers about what's happening. Stage one is to ask the GP to refer you - to a musculoskeletal clinic (in some areas you can self refer online). It may be that the GP may want an x-ray or two first. Most GPs don't specialise in arthritis, so it's often one step beyond the GP that you may start to get the more substantial advice and support.

    As you've known about your hip displacia for a long time you may already have some views what support is available. But if you want to try to self manage whatever the diagnosis, people such as physiotherapists can be very helpful.

    I'm attaching a link to some information on hip pain, but do give us a ring or email helplines@arthritiscare.org.uk with your postal details if you'd like us to send you an information pack.

    http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis-information/conditions/hip-pain.aspx

    Kind regards

    Guy
  • Kits
    Kits Member Posts: 3
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    Thanks for the reply :)
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