Doctors!

I agree that the NHS seems to have an algorithm for hips and this starts with physio - they do not have the power to reverse osteo-arthritis - would that they did! If the x-ray is unequivocal then best to just get on with it.

My x-ray showed lots of osteophytes and my hip was locking in place - I do not think a physio could cure that!

Private consultants are nhs consultants. They are the same people. They dont suddenly lose all their morals on their private days.

I've gone private for a surgery which is not offered on the NHS. The surgery was relatively "conservative" and did what was needed. No more no less.

Don't you think a qualified GP is more likely to know what is wrong, rather than a chiropractor? I would go along with whatever your doctor recommends, and not spend any more money on private practitioners of any kind.

I went private for a fairly major surgery because I didn't meet NHS/NICE guidelines for it.

It was a bloody disaster, and the one thing I would warn anyone having surgery privately to be wary of is to know what your follow up will be like, especially if there are complications.

My surgeon stated that "he didn't do follow up of private patients" to the nurses when I returned two days after discharge with a serious infection, and refused to come down and see me. I was eventually - to my shame - seen at A&E and treated for the infection. As a result of the internal and external infection, it has not healed property and I am left with quite a mess inside and out.

Because I had the surgery privately, I (very fairly) cannot have it revised on the NHS. They will only treat me if the organ operated on ruptures, as that is a proper full scale emergency.

So I am left scarred outside and in, with an operation that has failed, and left me with considerable pain and sequelae, and many, many regrets.

Please, please find out what your follow up will be like before you sign anything.

Some GP’s are good. My husband went with hip pain on Monday. GP sent him immediately for X ray to check for fracture and arthritis. He went back yesterday and she told him it was not a fracture and although he has some arthritis it was not causing pain. She then gave him a thorough physical and finally diagnosed sciatica. He had been saying all along that it was a nerve pain. He is now taking Amilcriptyline.

Good point Muffin. My surgeon was at great pains to tell me that any direct complications would be covered and I could be re-admitted. I think there was a time limit.

The advantage of ‘going private’ was that I could choose the surgeon. I asked my GP, friends and anyone I met who’d had replacements who’d done their operation, and made an appointment with my choice. My GP happily forwarded all my notes and x-rays to him. I don’t know if that was because he also did NHS operations - some surgeons don’t. Plus, I was then able to ask for him when a year later I went for the other knee on the NHS.

I do have a good GP, but the problem for me was the system. I expect I would have got to see a consultant - eventually. But goodness knows what state I’d have been in by then.

Don't you think a qualified GP is more likely to know what is wrong, rather than a chiropractor?

Yes. If he LOOKED at the x-ray. Which he didnt....

My dh had surgery recently. Private consultation with Gp letter and then a switch over to consultants nhs list which had an 18 month waiting list. He got a cancellation in 3 months.

I understood that it was now standard practice, possibly via NICE, for patients to be referred to Physiotherapy before any further treatment. I've certainly been down that route several times and it's seems like rationing to me.
RE chiropractors, a good one is worth it. They study for 5 or 6 years and specialise in the spine and the associated physiology and anatomy. GPs are generalists and seem to know little in detail. I don't know if they do CPD but I wish I had a pound for every story I've heard of a GP out of date, I'll informed or plain opinionated.

The GP would not need to look at the x-ray necessarily. He should have a report to read which would have been done by a radiologist more skilful in interpretation and diagnosis than a GP.

For the time being we have a lovely GP who is kind and very thorough. I had to take my OH to him yesterday and he was lovely .
Unfortunately his is due to retire soon.
He is very well regarded in our small town.

To avoid back pain, you must reduce excess stresses and strains on your back and ensure your back is strong and supple.
If you have recurring bouts of back pain, consider:

losing any excess weight
wearing flat shoes with cushioned soles
trying to reduce any stress, anxiety and tension.

You all have very interesting opinions , but I do think that individual circumstances vary a lot. I asked the question because I am in a debilitating amount of pain and unable to do anything normal. Unfortunately for me our rural GP practice was closed down last year so have had to start with new one. The fact that I have had physio twice before, and have been continuing the exercises, does not count with new one and I must restart at the beginning of the system.

Also, the private hospital has advised that it is no longer an option to see the consultant privately and then go across to his nhs list. You either continue to a private op or go back to the beginning and start again on nhs. And round here the internet tells me that the waiting list for joint surgery is 35 weeks - awful.

MrsJamJam I don’t know if it still applies, but at one time the NHS operated a Choose and Book scheme.
Basically you could ask for a referral to anywhere in the country.
It might be worth checking out the waiting times at different trusts near to you. I know that waiting times in the northeast aren’t as bad as that.

Go back to G.P. surgery and see a different doctor. They are obliged to look at your x-rays and refer you to see NHS consultant if there is a problem. I would also make a complaint, there is absolutely no excuse for not looking at the X-ray results, he/she sounds very arrogant!

Poppyred, I had the impression that he (being in his 30s) perhaps regarded me as so old at 69 that I should expect to be settling in an armchair with some knitting - not trying to continue walking on Dartmoor! or perhaps i am just oversensitive to ageism. I hate being treated as a little old lady who knows nothing.

Show him up for what he is then Mrs JamJam -an arrogant git! ??

I've had these sort of doctors MrsJJ. They're not confined to male doctors either. When I see my GP I want to make an informed decision about treatment after discussion and in partnership with my doctor. I don't want to be patronised and sometimes we just have to be polite but assertive.

I used to have the GPs wife for English Tuition, and once she came to see me and I was in pain with sciatica. She said all doctors know that sciatica takes 16 weeks to get better, but then goes away.
GPs don’t tell their patients this because it would depress them. Well my sciatica did go away after 16 weeks and when I had it again years later, it was the same.

They say there are too many OPs for the back which is then not cured permanently. Take enough pain relief and hope that in 16 weeks there will be an improvement

Yup. Anti inflammatories and keep moving was what I was told when I had a bad back due to a trapped nerve. It took time but it worked!

Much the same here. Groin pain for months, thought I had pulled something. Had KCR which seemed to help initially but discomfort came back. Saw another physio who after poking and prodding said she was sure it was osteoarthritis and advised me to see gp and get x-ray. After pushing for an X-ray results showed moderate osteoarthritis in my hip. Called back to discuss and gp discussed results and I pushed to see consultant. Awaiting an appointment.

MrsJamJam I am in a similar predicament re inability to stand /walk for more than a few minutes. This has happened since September prior to which I lived a very active life, gardening, walking 3-9 miles each weekend, DGC childcare & p/t work etc etc. I tried a chiropractor but made little difference so went to GP after 6 weeks of pain. Referred for MRI and appt with Muscular Skeletal Clinic at local hospital early Dec.. I was diagnosed with stenosis of the spine and a week later had an epidural with steroids. Unfortunately it seems I am in the 50% that feel no benefit. I am now waiting to see consultant for next option. The pain is in my lower back, hip, thigh and sometimes all down my leg. Walking for more than a few minutes is excruciating. In August I was playing on a Cornish beach with DGCs and walking everywhere feeling young(ish) and healthy.

MrsJamJam I, too, was "treated as a little old lady who knew nothing" over a completely different medical matter to yours, but my GP just brushed me off. I saw another Dr in the practice who did the same.

Eventually, thanks to the Net, I found a private doctor who offered blood tests and it cost me a lot of money, but the results were absolutely dire because by then I was much worse. My GP told me off for having private tests until he looked at the results and panicked because they were so bad. Since then he has been brilliant. He knows I take responsibility for my health (I have a number of different illnesses) and we discuss treatments/outcomes and work as a team. Sometimes I have to wait 3 weeks to see him in particular, but it is worth it for the continuity.

Two of my problems are osteoarthritis and osteoporosis, but GPs have a tick-list now for referring for scans such as DEXAs, one of which is a fracture or break, so it's a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

Shame on your GP for not listening to you or looking at the X Ray.

Mrs JamJam re your concern re young GP..the chap I saw only qualified in 2017 and he signed me up for everything going!

PECS Find a cranial osteopath. I have almost exactly the same as you and I have osteopathy every month to keep the pain at bay. In case you don't know, a cranial osteopath doesn't just work on the head but also on the rest of the body, but it's a very gentle treatment and not manipulative.