What would make my hip hurt for 7 months?

[CecyHall]

In August I thought a step was a different size to what it actually was and went down really heavily on my hip/leg joint.

It's been hurting since but I haven't been to the doctors because I'm scared they'll just say go away, you're too fat. Which is true.

However I'm in a bit of a catch 22 now as the hip has got worse (hurts at night and I'm struggling in the day) so it's making exercise difficult (nearly impossible) but obviously I still need to lose weight to help the hip.

I will go to the doctors I suppose now, but any ideas? Is it just one of those things now and they'll say just take painkillers (which don't really help) or could it be something?

Thanks

I'm sorry to see that you have avoided seeing a doctor for 6 months because you are sensitive about your weight

It can be tendinitis, inflammation, bursitis. Or you may have actually fractured a bone. There are anti-inflammatories to take, physio exercises to do. If theses don't work, there is ultrasound or shock wave therapy.

Get to a specialist doctor.

My first port of call for things like that is my local osteopath. Mainly because it's quick and easy to see him and he magically fixes my back when it freezes up. He wants to fix things and never fobs me off.

However, I go more because he is super quick to tell me to go to the GP if he something is beyond what he knows, so ask for a recommendation if you decide to go (if you're East London, pm me!).

Thank you both, I bit the bullet and went to the doctors this morning while I was in a lot of pain and while I was feeling brave.

Have been referred for physio, so hopefully I'll be able to stop feeling like an old lady soon.

I'd not even thought of an osteopath, I'll keep that in mind, but I haven't got a lot of spare money just now so even though I'm embarrassed about using NHS resources for this it's my only option at the moment!

What was his diagnosis?

Did you have an ultrasound scan? What about x ray?

If not, your GP has no idea what is going on in your hip. You need a specialist.

Good luck with getting physio - you might want to see an osteopath in the meantime. It can take a long while to get on the physio list, but I know you've been in pain with it for some time so another 6-8w probably won't seem that long.

I'm surprised the doc didn't want you to get at least an x-ray as well, tbh.

Actually, I'm going to disagree with myself and agree with Cote - get some specialist advice and make sure someone actually looks at (via xray / ultrasound) your hip. Thinking about it, when I took my son to the osteo for hip pain, the osteopath had a quick look and said that he needed to be seen by a GP and have further tests (which he did).

Don't apologise about your weight - there's no need to - or minimize the pain you're in. You deserve to be treated and not be in pain, that's what the NHS is there for.

YOu know, I agree too - chances are you have caused an inflammation in the hip joint that needs checking out and fast - inflammation can cause degradation of the tissues in the hip joint, which can lead to serious problems that might end up needing a hip replacement if not checked.

Go back to the GP and say you want an x-ray, and a blood test called an ESR, or even a CRP - both are markers for inflammation.