To not want to wait two months to see a physio

[Poopoopoo]

My shoulder is agony,and my hip is sore (left side), I’m not getting much sleep, I don’t want to bother A+E, I have seen the GP four times- no offer of pain relief- finally I have been referred to physio and the appointment is the end of February. I’m taking co-codamol from the pharmacy and using ibuprofen gel. Working full time. I assume physio will refer me for a scan to see if there is anything torn. So then I wait again. I realise/ hope it’s not life threatening. Am I being unreasonable to not want to wait two months!

Maybe she can't afford it? Did that not cross your mind that people might be less well off than you? You've been really helpful there Pamela.

OP of course you are not being unreasonable. It shouldn't take two months to see a physio. I had antibiotics in early December for a chest infection (over the phone, no in person appointment available). Told to come back if the didn't clear it. I tried to go back on the 12th of December . They did not have a single appointment until the 28th of December. Nothing. Instead on their advice I had to ring 111 and go to hospital to see the duty GP at a and e. Absolutely ridiculous. Although I'm sure some clever dick felt I should have ponied up 80 quid to see a private GP. I needed a chest x-ray on the 13th. Still no results to this day.

And forget about getting any help with my menopause symptoms. I fought to get an appointment with a GP last year. Male locum who told me it was normal for a woman my age to have hot flushes. Cheers mate I didn't know that! Meanwhile in America (whose healthcare we all love to deride) an old friend has seen a female menopause specialist, had bloods done and now has personalised HRT. She looks and feels like a new woman. Whereas in December I couldn't even get a deep breath let alone any assistance with life altering hormone level changes.

We're like boiled frogs, things have gotten slowly worse and worse and we're all like, oh well two months in agony is absolutely fiiiinnnne. No. People in pain deserve quick treatment.

Where does our tax money go? Police aren't bothering to investigate burglaries. Leisure centres and libraries have been shut down. The nhs is fucked. A friend whose mum has dementia was hoping to get her meals on wheels but the council in that area no longer does it as they are effectively bankrupt. Someone I know broke their leg, the ambulance took 5 hours. They're a 15 minute drive from a major hospital.

It didn't used to be like this. We're a failed nation these days, even decent healthcare is beyond us, but we brits love to suffer. The French would be revolting by now.

For your poor shoulder, try to keep the range of motion going, even if the strength is down. You can use you other hand to lift and rotate it, and walk it up the wall like doing Incy Winch. Don't forget to put it behind your back like doing your bra. Have a look for some NHS Shoulder Exercises, and focus of range of motion

I was referred for NHS physio in July 2022. Still waiting, but was lucky enough to be able to afford to pay privately for enough sessions to get it (foot) to a bearable level. I had a letter in November 2023 saying they were sorry the wait was so long, and here were some exercises I could do!

NHS physio is pretty shite. See a private physio who will actually massage the area (highly recommend acupuncture too), get some Naproxen from the GP and that should help.

I am a very similar age to you and have back problems. OTC painkillers are a bit rubbish if they are not relieving the pain. Go back to the GP. Ask for Naproxen and/or codiene/stronger co-codamol than OTC. You can also talk to the pharmacist and ask their advice - they will likely say go back to the GP for ... which adds weight to your request. You would not be advised to be taking cocodemol for 8 weeks without some checking up (many folks on it for years but know what to look out for/get blood tests etc).

I do find it unacceptable for GPs to leave people in pain which impacts their quality of life / ability to work when simple pain relief could be prescribed.

I cancelled a physio app as didn't feel well on friday and they rebooked for this week, so don't have much of a wait at all in my area.