take a paracetamol, not good enough advice for chronic pain.

[Sassyfrassy]

I went to see my gp yesterday as I have been in constant pain for about a month, on and off pain for much much longer. My hips, knees and feet hurt and as soon as I have been sitting down I can't walk but hobble for a couple of minutes. The hip pain is often bad enough now that I walk with a limp. So, his answer was, you have quite flat feet, take some paracetamol.

I know I have flat feet, I told him so, but this is not the normal flat feet achiness, something isn't right. There is no way I will be taking paracetamol, which wont help, every single day. So what do I do, would I be unreasonable to seek another opinion or will another gp at the surgery just look at my notes and send me home. I can't afford a private podiatrist.

It just doesnt seem right to be told that I will just have to live with the pain and he wont do anything =(

nope because they might try it Tee and then have to live with the damage to thir liver or not live .Quality of life is severley restricted if you end up needing a liver transplant

Op i would look at anti infamintrays while waiting .I take regulary in a larger than normal dose but would not reccomeneding doing that unless you have been told to be a HCP as prescibed by specialist and yes i take Losec to prevent gastro problmes

I second just taking 2 paracetamol per dose, max every 4-6hrs (no less than 4 hourly). On the basis that everyone is different and their tolerances to certain medication are different. So where one person may be able to take 4 paracetamol in one dose regularly, another person may only be able to take 1 or 2 in a dose.

You an take 200-400mg of ibuprofen together with 1000mg paracetamol or you could check with your GP about a a slightly stronger painkiller.

Hope you get something to ease the pain . Take care

TBH although I think you need more help from your GP to address what is causing your pain, a month of pain on and off is NOT chronic pain.

OP I'm sorry that your dad had a bad experience with painkiller addiction, but as far as I know paracetamol and ibuprofen are not addictive, it is the opiate painkillers (codeine, morphine, etc) which are addictive. You shouldn't let that put you off taking them. Do push for more investigation if you feel it is justified, but this shouldn't stop you taking regular paracetamol doses to manage things for now, which, as others have said, if taken following the regular dosage schedule, rather than waiting till the pain gets bad, can keep on top of the pain very effectively.

I'm sorry I don't have any advice but am a little shocked at people recommending taking more than 2 paracetomol or 2 ibruprofen at a time! Surely not safe advice to be giving over the Internet?
Maybe I'm being too health and safety but that doesn't sit right with me.

OP I have fibromyalgia and mild hypermobility and your GP has been very dismissive. He should be ordering blood tests to rule out RA/Lupus etc and sending you to see a Rheumatologist if it doesn't clear up.

I initially took paracetamol with Diclofenac and Dihydrocodeine but now take Amitriptyline with paracetamol and diclofenac and dihydrocodeine when needed.

Paracetamol does work better if you take the full dose, i.e. 8 tablets in one day. I've always been advised to take 2 at a time, 4 times a day - if I were you I'd seek a second opinion from a different GP, say the paracetamol isn't touching your pain and you need something stronger.

The first GP I saw just kept insisting I take ibuprofen despite my allergy to it - she disputed that it could cause me an irregular heart beat and stabbing pains in my heart. I saw a different GP, and later a Rheumatologist, who both said 'never take ibuprofen again!'. Always worth seeking a second opinion if you're not happy.

OP, if you had flat feel from childhood and used insoles then, what are you doing now? Do you use any form of arch support at all?

If the arches have fallen, then this tends to invert the ankles - you mentioned knocked knees, that would be the effect you would get from inverted ankles. So, the ankles and knees would both be out of alignment, this would inevitably throw the hips out of alignment when you are on your feet.

I think you need to get some serious arch support inside your shoes for whenever you're on your feet (ecco shoes are good for that, and M&S secret support slippers) and push your GP for investigation into possible osteoarthritis in the hip, knee and ankle joints, as the wear and tear caused by the poor joint alignment may have caused some articular cartilage damage, which could be the cause of the pain you are currently in.

I'll second the take paracetamol regularly max 8 tabs a day every 4-6 hrs. It is a wonderful drug and is very very good if taken regularly. Once pain is already set in any analgesia struggles to get rid of it. If however taken before pain has a hold is much more effective IYSWIM.

Your GP might be trying to see if simple analgesia works for you, as per the WHO analgesia guidelines. Sometimes people don't take simple pain relief as they believe it couldn't work for them when in actual fact patients with very severe pain still take simple analgesia as well.

I'd give it a go for a week. If it doesn't see your GP again.