Anyone else fancy a bit of a medical-moan?

[2kidsintow]

Cos I do.

I have a dodgy hip. I have since I was about 35. I got up one day from the sofa and couldn't move. My hip was dislocated, or so it felt. It went back 'in' and apart from going out occasionally it was ok.

I went to the gp to let them know and they
1st - told me it would probably settle down
2nd (6 months later) told me they'd send me for an xray and blood tests
3rd - told me my results were fine and I should be ok
4th - sent me for physio when I went back and complained all was still not well.

Physio aggravated it, not made it better. Referral back to the hospital.
Hospital (just some random triage type person) decided I needed more (you've guessed it) physio.

Phsyio aggravated it so I was referred AGAIN back to the hospital.

In Feb I saw a consultant who looked at my (by now 3 year old) xray and told me what was wrong. I should try a steroid injection and the results of that would inform his future decision (possibly surgery).

The steroid injection improved things initially but then it reverted to normal.

This week I foolishly ran to the car and 'out' went my hip. Not properly dislocated, but something wrong that causes pain and stops me having proper movement of the hip joint. Only it wouldn't go back in for the whole night and I couldn't walk on it properly.

And it's still unreliable. Many times a day when I'm walking normally I will end up with a spike of pain that causes me to instinctively hop onto the other leg (and look daft in the process!). It's annoying. Luckily my class of 8 year olds took the explanation that I do a silly dance occasionally because I have a bad hip in their stride. :)

So I'm in pain.
I can't walk properly without it all going wrong at some point.
And I'm most likely facing surgery I don't really want.

Hey ho. That's longer than I expected it to be. Feel free to add your own!

How rubbish for you OP

I'm about half way through recovery from encephalitis (infection and swelling in the brain). I have multiple challenges every day with fatigue, memory, balance, neuromuscular problems, muscle wasting, breathlessness etc.

There are lots of difficulties but I guess a biggy is that it is a hidden disability. I don't walk with a stick or use a wheelchair.

It's fucking hard this illness stuff. I've gotten over every other life challenge by sheer force of will but sometimes shit happens.

Oh that sound like a major challenge, worthy of a moan. I hope you get better soon.

I also have trigeminal neuralgia and that's pretty hidden too, so i know what you mean, at least my hip makes me limp and people know if I'm having a good or bad day.

2kidsintow tell me more about trigeminal neuralgia please. Gp thinks I have it :-( (sorry to hijack thread)

As for hidden disability, yep I'm with you on that! Imflammatory arthritis for me. Blooming horrible to have days where you could crumple in a heap and no one knows why x

Hi mand, my TN is in my jaw and cheek. When it started I thought it was tooth ache. A horrid painful ache that would come and go, so painful it really took my breath away. I had a tooth out at the dentist even because that was what they thought was causing the pain. But of course the pain came back. Brushing my teeth caused horrible pain, if my face got cold, if ate or drank something then it would trigger an attack.

I kept going back to the dentists then finally decided myself to go to the gp and ask if it could be TN as I'd heard about it by then.
He agreed and was great. He prescribed the medication I needed, referred my to a neurologist too.

I have a dodgy pituitary gland that from time to time produces too much prolactin. It has caused problems since my early twenties. It has had a profound effect on my life including fertility, weight and depression problems.
It is treatable but the medication is nearly as bad as the problem.
I take one tablet a week but it floors me for 24 hrs and then takes a couple more days before I feel ok. Trouble is if I don't have the meds I am like a zombie.
My endocrinologist assures me it will stop when I go throught the menopause but I reached 50 this year and have had another flare up.
Another side effect is potential damage to heart so I have to have heart scan every year.
I would love to be normal again.