To be annoyed at GP

and she yes that’s ok but it can’t be bone related as at 35 your too young for things like arthritis

But the gp said that the op, at 35, was too young for arthritis. They didn't say for what particular type. I'm just saying that young children get arthritis, so to say someone is too young for an illness is wrong.

Too young!
my friend had a hip replacement aged 27 due to arthritis she’d been suffering with since her teens

It depends what type of arthritis is meant.

There is Juvenile Arthritis (Stills Disease) Rheumatoid and Osteo. To make the situation more complex there is also Adult Stills Disease.

To be fair, the OP hasn't said what type of arthritis she has been diagnosed with.

Yanbu I don’t think many GP surgeries are fit for purpose. They obviously aren’t specialists and have what, 15 mins or so with you? That’s if you can even get a face to face appointment.

@Maisemoo I’m 51 and will have to have this surgery eventually. 😖 The way I see it, I’m going to keep going until I can’t anymore, then they can have at me. (I already have metal in my shoulder and arm, so will basically be a Cyborg, I guess…)

Honestly, I think you need to write a letter of complaint to the Practice Manager. Send a detailed account of your conversation like the one you wrote above, advising that this doctor has no therapeutic or personal relationship with you and has never met you IRL. When you questioned the doctor’s diagnosis, giving examples of your medical history and on-going treatment plan, the doctor was dismissive and continued to assert that they were correct. State that you don’t believe that they read your medical notes well enough to have made an informed decision on your treatment, and you would prefer to be seen by a another doctor as soon as possible - preferably one with better attention to detail and more of a focus of patient-centred care than simply being right.

*And if that doesn’t work, take to professional governing body.

Do you mean that you had a femoral osteotomy? In which case you definitely need an X ray, it it may be a problem with the metal work.

I assume they meant osteoarthritis, which generally tends to be caused by wear and tear. Rheumatoid arthritis is completely different.

Out of interest, do you have medical insurance or is your healthcare free like the NHS?
I also went to the GP with hip pain about a month ago. He prescribed Naproxen and told me to come back if it was still there in 2 weeks. It went after a week. If he had referred me for all the tests your doctor did it would have been a complete waste of money / resources.

Too young for arthritis! Maybe this gp needs to be retrained as my dd has had it from the age of 9! The JIA group I am part of there are babies who've had it at pre one years old.

Then you ned to ask your GP for a referral then.

This was why I was trying to find out what the referral was for, as the post was ambiguous.
As yet, OP hasn't returned, so we are none the wiser.

If OP is already under the care of a consultant it would be unethical of the GP to prescribe anything than simple painkillers.

People are too keen to go down the "GP is rubbish/uncaring/incompetent" road. GPs are constrained by Professional Ethics which means not "treading on another medical practitioner's toes".

I’d self-refer to the physio in the first instance, as they can then refer you to the appropriate specialist department - that way, you can skip the GP altogether. Generally, I don’t think GPs are great when it comes to bones (orthopaedics, arthritis etc).

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you've written but I read it as you've been referred by the original surgeon to a tertiary centre because the hip surgery was unsuccessful. If this is the case, realistically there's not a lot else your GP can add until your seen by the specialist other than analgesia. I may have got the wrong end of the stick from your OP though and agree that her manner sounds quite dismissive even if the end result was the same.

@Inmybirthdaysuit do you, or insurance, have to pay for those things?

I think given your history it’s completely reasonable to be seen. I would be annoyed too.

I'm not in the UK but went to the Dr for hip pain without your history, I had blood tests taken, was sent for an mri and an xray, referred to rheumatology and physiotherapy and prescribed naproxen for the pain. I'm 37 so about your age. So with your history I would definitely expect more than take nurofen.

I’d be asking for a referral to an orthopaedic surgeon or at the very least an X-ray.

My son is younger than you but had major hip surgery, we were advised he is now at higher risk of arthritis.

The GP has advised you to take ibuprofen. So take it for a week, see if the pain recedes and if it doesn’t, go back. That’s how medicine works - try the simplest solution first, if that doesn’t work try something else, if that still doesn’t work refer to a specialist or for X-rays / blood tests.

I doubt if another GP could do any more.

If OP has hip pain then it won't be from the hip joints as she doesn't have any! They have been removed and replaced by prosthetics which, obviously, don't have a nerve supply.

There are other reasons for pain in that area one of which is muscular. OP will have been given self-care exercises after the hip replacement, including exercises.
Being overweight also puts strain on the muscles in that area.

of course she should be reviewing you but as an ex-physio GP's aren't always the best for musculo-skeletal stuff. do you have any direct access physio at your practise? ps. physios do also treat TMJ pain but it sounds like you have systematic problem affecting multiple joints...are you under a rheumatologist as you often can get easier access to physio etc ? age becomes irrelevant when you have certain diagnoses or medical history (i've had physio colleagues need hip replacements in their 40's/50's because of work related hip problems)