How long to wait for health appointment, NHS and/or private

[Liz1tummypain]

I doubt I'm posting this in the right place so sorry if it seems wrong.

I haven't got private health insurance but I will pay to go privately if that seems the best way to go. I've got an appointment with my GP in 3 weeks time. The issue is an ache down one leg from hip to top of my right foot. Painful particularly at night time. Mainly from the shin down to the foot. Because of some really bad nights, yesterday I googled the closest private clinic. Called them up. If I want to book a neurology consultant the wait is 12 weeks. This is going private. She then said that on the NHS the wait is likely to be 60 weeks, - over a year!!

So my question to anyone who reads this is, what would you do? I haven't even seen anyone so far who has confirmed it's likely to be a nerve issue. My mum has neuropathy in her feet. Hot and tingly sensations that are bad for her but they say the only treatment would make her dizzy and only give her other complications so they won't treat it. This is perhaps why I'm assuming I have something similar. Most days for me it's not too bad, the nights are the worst times. Although generally fit, I don't take regular exercise and certainly couldn't do anything much now that my legs feel achey/ twisted most of the time.

Could I make an appt to go privately, in 12 weeks and meanwhile keep the NHS apptmt and if it turns out the private appt is unnecessary will I have wasted that money? Presumably you pay when you make the appointment to go private- is that correct?

Any ideas, thoughts etc would be great. I just can't work out what I should do. Thank you!

I recently saw a private consultant and didn't pay until I attended the appointment.

No point in booking an appointment with a consultant unless you’ve seen a GP to signpost you down the right route. It sounds more like sciatica which isn’t an issue that neurology would deal with. Many private consultants won’t see you without a GP referral for this reason.

The private clinic don't know how long you'll wait for neurology on the NHS. They're saying that to make their service look better.
If I was paying I'd want to see the neurologist tomorrow!
I'd just stick with GPs appointment, ask for a referral and then they'll tell you how long. It could well be much quicker than that. I didn't have to wait at all to see one a few years ago when I had a couple of seizures.

Thanks Melbourne. Do you know if sciatica is brought on, or exacerbated by the cold please? I can do some googling. I did have sciatica after my middle one was born and always imagined the pain would be quite high up, sort of hip region whereas the worst of this is in my shins and on the top of the foot. But yes, I hadn't considered sciatica. That's still a nerve thing though isn't it?
Thanks for your help here.

They’ll have a fairly good idea of how long the wait will be - I could easily believe it being 60 weeks or worse. Where we are in the UK you’d be lucky to be seen within a year! Things are so bad that even private clinics often have waiting lists nowadays

Cold conditions can often make you feel worse due to increased muscle tightness. Severe sciatica will often go right down to your foot - where the pain is depends on which spinal nerve is affected. It’s a nerve problem however an orthopaedic spinal surgeon or a neurosurgeon would be the right person to see about it. Neurology is totally different.

I'd also suggest you see your GP before self-funding an appointment with the wrong sort of consultant.

Also bear in mind that if you self fund, you are looking at the cost not just of the first appointment but any scans, other tests, the follow up appointment before you even get to treatment.

What you are describing does sound like sciatica which would be Neurosurgery or an Orthopaedic Surgeon specialising in spines. Are you prepared for the cost of a spinal op privately?

I’d start by seeing a physio. My husband has sciatica and his physio sorted it out. At least you can rule out anything muscular whilst you wait.

@AnnaMagnani thanks for your post. I have good days and bad days. On a bad day I would say yes, I will pay for whatever to be done to put it right as soon as poss. But of course I have no real feel for what costs are likely to be. I suppose I'm just impatient to see any medical person at all.

I changed GP surgeries recently ( having moved about 4 yrs ago), and my daughter said she got an apptmt really fast for whatever she needed to see them about. I registered with them and was amazed that you can talk to real humans to get an appt, that was a significant improvement on the last place, but they couldn't give me anything for 3 weeks, which is probably much the same as the previous GPs, who knows.

So yes, I will probably do as you say and wait for the GP appt to roll round. I'm wrong to self-diagnose, I probably knew that underneath. Many thanks.

Have you thought about seeing a physio?

Can confirm in northwest in 2 separate trusts neurology wait for first appt is over a year.

i agree with advice to be signposted by your gp to the correct service, go on the nhs wait (or choose to go nhs via a private hospital) whilst also obtaining a private appt with the appropriate specialty.

Gawd..that's bad if true. But I'd still say OP should go down the NHS route, then if it's too long use the private place.
I guess maybe I've been lucky. I've been getting referrals to specialists and scans really quite swiftly. I guess different area, different illnesses etc.

Thanks @Liz1tummypain I have self funded some private treatment for myself and my family.
But I'm a doctor so I already knew how to find the right consultant and what costs I could cope with.
DH self funds his long term eye condition - but he has a large inheritance to spend on it.
When my DM needed a shoulder replacement we didn't bother going private as the cost was very high and so she waited years on the NHS. We speeded bits and pieces up of the process along the way by going private but the whole op was out of the question.

If you are self funding 'going private' will be likely be quicker but if you are scraping together the money for a first appointment, for a lot of conditions that is only the start of an expensive process.

Hi Alexandra, thanks, no I hadn't considered that. Is that not a bit risky ? Have to say I don't like the thought of anyone manipulating that leg right now .

Physio is usually the first step for treating sciatica, they are experts in it.

@Ffion56 thanks this is really interesting. Going to look into this idea

They will assess at initial appointment. There are tests they can ask you to do to understand root cause ie neuro or mechanical issues

I'm another one suggesting physio.

The problem could be coming from your back, rather than your leg. The pain just travels down the nerves in your leg.

I’d wait for your GP appointment. It sounds annoying, but not life threatening. I wouldn’t pay privately to be seen, though private providers will certainly scare you into thinking they are the only way.

Definitely sounds like sciatica to me too. That would have been my first thought. I personally would also see an osteopath in the time you’re waiting. Mine is really effective at dealing with SI joint dysfunction, which sounds like you may have had after birth previously. I personally would opt for that over physio. My physio doesn’t touch me at all, just gives strengthening exercises, which is really not what you need. You need whatever is pressing on the nerves to be released.

This doesn’t sound like a neurology issue. So I wouldn’t be going down that route, at least to start with.

GP is your best bet as they will help work out what the possibilities are and if you need referral.

physios can also help very helpful specially with soft tissue pain or sciatica which this does sound like.

i have nerve issues including peripheral neuropathy and there are lots of possible drugs to take.

Thanks @Octavia64 , I know I'm totally ignorant about these things. Can you please explain the difference between sciatica and peripheral neuropathy ?

With sciatica ( approx 20 years ago), I would have shooting pains down my bum and leg. With this it's not a shooting pain it's more dull. I can rub my foot in the night when it's bad and that seems to make a difference whereas when I had sciatica there was nothing I could do about it. It was immediate agony, a little like an electric shock. What I've got now lasts for longer in each occasion.

I would be calling around for recommendations for private consultants and going with the one with the shortest wait time. You don’t need to see a gp for referral and they usually email you the invoice.

Well, technically peripheral neuropathy is any problem involving the nerves (that’s the neuropathy bit) on the periphery of your body (so hands, arms, legs, feet).

however in practice if there is a known other diagnosis you’ll get that instead.

i have peripheral neuropathy. I was in an accident and lots of nerves in my foot were damaged.

I have motor neuropathy (the motor nerves are damaged so I can’t always control when and how to move my foot).

I have autonomic neuropathy. So the nerves that control temperature and sweating in my foot are damaged. So sometimes my foot will sweat buckets even though I am not hot. Sometimes it will be cold to the touch even though the temperature outside is 30 degrees.

i have sensation and pain neuropathy. So sensation is damaged - I cannot always tell if something touches the skin on or near my foot. If something does touch it, I might get sensation or I might get pain.

so there are lots of types of neuropathy depending on which nerves are damaged and why they are damaged.

That just means you had a rubbish physio..!