I’m in so much pain I feel sick but my GP won’t see me

[SweetSilverLark]

I injured myself five months ago. I’m seeing physio but it’s a two month wait for a face to face appointment and every night doing the exercises the video physio set me is leaving me in agony.

It’s to the point I feel sick and can’t concentrate on my work, I’m taking the highest dose of ibuprofen and paracetamol I can but they’re not doing a thing. The GP keeps pushing me back and saying it’s a physio issue and because of that, they can’t prescribe me anything.

I have been in this pain for five months now and I just can’t keep doing it. WIBU to sit in my GP’s reception on Monday until they’ll sit me in front of a doctor and let me explain the impact it’s having on my life?

Volterol gel is amazing! OTC and not too pricy

ice max20mins each hour or it makes things wors

get a tens machine - they are amazing try your local Facebook marketplace

contact the physio again and ask how to proceed as exercises increase your pain

put any gym memberships on hold whilst you are injured and use the money for the above

Lol

Only time I have ever requested zopiclone was after an emergency out of hours appointment with the crisis team (after not sleeping for 72 hours) who instructed me to book a same day appointment first thing the next day and that they fax (yes they still did that) the request across....

So I booked the appointment, and explained all of that to the GP. Who then informed me there was nothing from the crias team and proceeded to treat me like a drug seeker , give me a telling off and said "I will issue it on this occasion but you will never be given it again" so I'm pretty sure I have that marker even though I was literally doing what the crisis team instructed me to (and the acre up was on their end) 🙄🤦🏼‍♀️

That said the GP who has zero interest in finding out WHY I'm in pain and thinks it's all anxiety is still happily repeat prescribing me naproxen for it 🤔

True, I didn’t clock that. If you are so skint how can you afford the gym. It doesn’t sound like you have children and a mortgage so why are you so skint? I think you are having us on and other posters are correct in you are looking for attention.

This isn’t the case. I can’t speak for every GP surgery but I have had a debilitating shoulder and arm thing for months and, after an online consult, I was advised to self refer to physio. I was also sent a link to some YouTube videos for shoulder exercises which are impossible for me to do. The waiting list for physio will be months and I struggle with basic tasks like dressing in the meantime. It’s pretty depressing and it’s made me understand just how broken the NHS is.

How are you managing at work? Can you ask for an occupational health assessment of what you should and shouldn’t be doing, they may be able to refer you as it is in their interest to get you back to work?

Call 111 they should be able to help and change your GP.

OP, I get it.

In your shoes, I’d turn up to A&E and explain you’re in agony, can’t see a GP and are struggling to walk.

All of which is true.

Your need for a scan or xray or just to be properly seen is an emergency so I would have no qualms about going.

I appreciate there are difficulties with this but it’s possibly your only course of action.

You can go to any GP outside of your area, so try that! You can just drive to a location an hour away and say you want to sign on as a temporary patient for an urgent issue. They are obliged to see you and this should not be any problem; I moved around the UK for a couple of years and never found it difficult to get a GP appointment within 24 hours by just signing on as temp.

Tell them you are holidaying. It doesn't matter where you live when you sign on temporarily.

Or look for a private orthopaedic consultant; that would cost a few hundred pounds, more if scans are needed but this could put you back onto your GP's radar when something serious is discovered!

There are also some GPs you can consult online and pay for, so there are a few options.

I have crippling lower back pain from a separating sacroiliac joint, and the GP's physio took the opposite stance to yours; they say no way must we do exercises that cause debilitating pain because this will make the injury worse.

One painkiller and anti-inflammatory that may help you is Naproxen; this can now be bought over the counter or if the pharmacy is awkward, buy from online pharmacies.

Did they say why they prescribed you folic acid for a B12 deficiency? Untreated B12 deficiency can cause serious and irreversible neurological damage, and prescribing folic acid can mask the symptoms of deficiency.

I just read that you cannot afford a private consultation. I would then say, try to get to a different GP an hour away and say you're on hols/staying to look after your sick mum/whatever you can think of, that means you could not see your usual GP.

Take a cab even if it means you incur a bit of credit card debt, assuming you cannot drive there. But it is worth it because if you can find a practice with good patient ratings, they are obliged to fit you in and you can say it is an emergency, I have had such amazing treatment from temporary GP practices.

Which part of the country are you in? If it happens to be Norfolk, I would gladly collect you and take you to my GP. She is wonderful!

Op, you’re clearly in a lot of distress. Health care workers have a duty of care.

If I were you I would go to your hospital A&E. I would wait the 18 hours if necessary and say something like this… ‘I believe I may have torn ligaments in my knee, or severely damaged it. I think I require a scan. I am in excruciating pain and am struggling to function due to this pain.’

I cannot imagine they would just tell you to go home. You are being slightly negative and putting up barriers, which I suspect is because you’ve been dealing with this alone, but one shitty health centre doesn’t mean the whole profession will fail to help you.

Good luck with it and I hope you get sorted soon.

Say you have breathing issues to get through the e consult.

Exactly. We don’t have uber either. Also striking how people assume you have a car or access to one, and assume that people have the money for long-distance taxis and private appointments, or that the OP who is in severe pain can do a 20-minute walk on crutches. Quite shocked at some of the responses here.
The OP shouldn’t have to do any of this anyway - the GP can’t refuse to treat you or refer you, but you do have to be a bit firm with them and insist on it.

You could try speaking to a pharmacist and explaining the situation to them. Our local ones are amazing and will phone the GP themselves to request an appointment if they think something requires attention and you’ve been fobbed off (not sure if all pharmacists do this but surely worth a try?).

Op if you've torn your ligaments, painkillers won't help you "get back to the gym".

You take painkillers to manage pain, not to hide it to allow you activity levels that are damaging to the underlying cause. I feel bad for you but you likely need to accept it may be several months before you can resume exercise - it needs to be fully healed

I injured my knee in September, I finally had an MRI yesterday. I could barely walk. I was given Naproxen, advised to buy a knee strap from Amazon and I smeared my knee with a pain killing gel before putting it on. It wasn't volterol but similar. I work up 2 flights of stairs which I go up many times a day which helped, despite the initial agony. I did the exercises I was given 4x a day, but not the ones that hurt and had an ice pack with me at all times. Knees are complicated and take lots of time. Mine is still not right but getting there but I have worked hard at rest, raising it, ice etc. Pain killers were neither here nor there after the first two weeks. Buy a support. Mine was £20 ish.

Do another e consult and this time say you’d rather discuss the issue directly in a face to face appointment. Don’t say what the issue is.

No, @PuppyMonkey lots of people don't have spare cash for emergencies like this.

Many people, even those in full time work, don't have enough to cover the basics never mind fork out for an Uber an hour each way which would cost a bomb.

Are you so out of touch that you're finding that hard to grasp?

Sorry if this had already been suggested but could you see a physio face to face privately? It's not that expensive. Virtual physio is one of the more stupid post 2020 developments. They need to see you and look at you!

In terms of accessing a consultant, going in through a minor injury unit can be better than A&E. We have discovered the MIU in my parents' small town (or my PILS' northern suburb) are much more accessible and helpful than our overcrowded London one. You don't have to live in the area.

My daughter is hypermobile and accident prone and specialises in injuring herself away from home!

OP it's appalling that GP wont see you but you must take action yourself and get to A and E or the walk in centre. Borrow money for a Uber from the train station if necessary. You can't go on like this.

It’s not a reasonable suggestion actually.

Going through someone’s previous threads and accusing them of not being a genuine poster is against the Talk Guidelines. If you have an issue with the poster, report the thread to Mumsnet, you’re not the thread police.

Why aren't you pleading with your parents for a lift to the walk in centre?

I have an ankle fracture and saw the physio(before we knew it was a fracture) and he told me if the pain goes over a 5/10 then to stop. Also the GP was very happy to prescribe me painkillers so may be worth a second opinion and speaking to another GP at the practise.

Motusol max gel is the same as voltoral max gel but cheaper. I've got it in morrisons, savers and amazon.

(Don't take ibuprofen at the same time as using the gel.)

Stop the exercises in case it's making it worse, they're obviously not actually helping.

You definitely need imaging.

Prioritise somehow getting to a minor injuries unit, but tell them you recently hurt it, you could say you have an injury from months ago and fell down the stairs yesterday and it's 100 times worse now.

Can you pause your gym membership and use that money to pay for these extra expenses?

Forgot to mention celebrex. It's a strong anti-inflammatory , not an opioid. Works well for most people. Coul you ring your GP for a script? ( may be called celofcicob or something similar in UK)