I feel like I’m nagging my GP, but I’m in so much pain

[WeCouldBeNiceToEachOther]

I have a knee issue - suspected torn meniscus. I’ve contacted them and been told to book physio, so I have. It’s two and a half weeks away.

im in so much pain right now. Even sitting at my desk is painful. My knee is catching, I can’t straighten it properly and it’s feeling swollen and “full” inside. Walking is becoming more and more painful.

i want to put another form in to the gp because it’s getting worse, but I also think they’ll be annoyed at me because I have the physio in two weeks

Been there, done that. Physio was an absolute waste of time. Got me nowhere. After a few more months of nagging I was then finally referred to a surgeon and got the meniscus “cleaned” and here I’m back up running again.

go back to your GP and ask for an MRI. Tell them all the symptoms and that’s hugely affecting your quality of life.

good luck OP

What did you actually ask for in the econsult?

If you asked for scans or referrals I can see they’d say no as the physio is the designated gatekeeper/pathway for that, but if you said “I have self referred to physio but I need better pain relief to enable me to cope until physio starts” and they have refused to prescribe, I’d make a complaint.

This isn’t true- I had scans without seeing a physio. Think it maybe depends on local trust etc? Mine was GP- straight referral to a third party MRI provider working for the NHS

Yes, in fact I was referred by the GP to a private hospital under nhs and got an mRI and was seen pretty quickly.

I said I had physio but I was worried as the pain was worsening and I wasn’t sure how to manage it

‘She’ has been in pain for months but the timeline went something like this:

early July - felt the pop and was in a lot of pain. Literally one day later I got told I was likely losing my job.

July - interviewed for jobs, and then got told I needed surgery for something else. I pushed through the pain because I was so stressed I was physically unwell and it was my priority to find another job and have surgery. I just ignored the pain because I was in a blur.

end of July - had surgery and barely moved for two weeks. I was on a lot of painkillers after my surgery so the pain wasn’t really noticeable for about a month or so. I was on strong painkillers though.

through september - i was in pain, I meant to do something but I was settling into my new job and then I went on holiday. To be honest the pain wasn’t at the back of my mind until a couple of weeks ago as I was just so busy with everything else that I’ve not really had time to stop and assess my well being until now.

You got elective surgery with less than 6 weeks wait? WOW.

Not for my knee.

i was on the waiting list for this surgery for over 75 weeks by the time i was operated on.

Update: the physio thinks I’ve torn my meniscus and potentially ligament damage too. Face to face physio in 8 weeks and home exercises until then :(

I have torn my meniscus last year, I actually managed to recover it with 3 months of physio, but I went ahead with it privately as the waiting list was 6-8 months long and I was in crutches.
When the NHS finally called me, I had run a 5k Race for life the day before...

Hi OP, many physios do steroid injections in knee and that normally helps. In London it’s about £250-300. Where are you based? I can give you some names

I had a bad meniscus tear 20 months ago. I had an MRI and spoke to an orthopaedic surgeon who just said it’ll slowly get better but may never be 100%, in 53 though so age would have been a factor. I have to say it took about 12 months but feels ok now most of the time. I do have joint problems (inflammatory issues in all my joints - autoimmune condition) so that affects the knee also which you wouldn’t have so hopefully home will help
dod they tell you about using ice and heat alternatively?

haveyou done quadriceps exercises?

you need to strengthen your muscles around your knee

These are the exercises I’ve now been given

sorry i came to the thread too late
good luck op

I had a torn meniscus. It was absolute hell. I'm afraid your physio is right. Certain exercises are the only way.
At that point I was a member of a gym and I had to learn how to not compensate on the way I walked with my foot splaying out, so I used to go on a treadmill and walk and walk keeping my foot forward and aligned.
I also found strength exercise with weight on my knee/leg helped after a while.

The bottom line for me was time. It just took time to mend, probably 9 months. Or more. I wish you luck with it, the pain is horrible and it was all I could think about.

No, she’s very concerned I’ve damaged my ligaments because of how much instability there is in my knee (she saw it when she asked me to stand on one leg) so I’ve been referred for a face to face appointment to test my ACL etc

Can you wear a knee support? They do make your knee feel more stable and help stop you moving awkwardly and hurting it (more), not sure if they are suitable for a meniscus problem, ask your pharmacist?

Similar situation OP, Ive resorted to paying £50 to see private GP

You're genuinely in pain and that's literally what they're there for so don't worry about it! I think it's good that they attempt non invasive methods first, if there's a strong chance they'll work, but if the evidence is that it usually doesn't then voice your concerns. That's part of their job, too. There's a big difference between diagnosing yourself on Dr Google and researching your diagnosis on reputable sites to discuss with your Dr. Good luck!

I had a torn meniscus a couple of years ago. I was in absolute agony. GP not helpful. They sent me for a xray which I found out can’t diagnose a meniscus tear. They prescribed naproxen which I had an allergic reaction to and ibuprofen gel. I can’t take anything containing ibuprofen now. I think the gp writes you off if you’re older. They told me it was osteoarthritis (consultant later said it wasn’t!).
I got through it by researching and going to a private orthopaedic consultant in London. Had an mri and then steroid injections. I also paid for a private physio and pt to work on specific strengthening exercises. My knee is a lot better as I’m pain free. However it’s not good going down steps or slopes and on uneven surfaces. The consultant said I’ll need a partial knee replacement eventually. I’ll put that off for as long as I can. I know I’m lucky that I could afford to go privately, but I personally didn’t find the nhs helpful for such an injury.

My physio also thought it was an ACL issue as he could liberally move one of my lower leg bones. An MRI thankfully was set up by my rheumatologist consultant as she said we need to know what’s going on whether or not we can treat it would be the next step. She found a torn meniscus down to the root, really hard to self repair but the orthopaedic surgeon couldn’t care less. I could click my bone for a while still, but it’s stopped doing that now.
pwrsibally I’d be back at the GP for more / better pain killers and ask about an MRI, albeit it may just be orthopaedics who can do this for you, I was lucky I see a rheumy re my AI disease and she took pity on me