"A wonderful Physio"

OK, so maybe, finally the banging head and the wonky not so great hip against a brick wall may have finally come to a end? Uncovering a possible reason for continued yukky pain is looking slightly closer.

Its taken four years from the whipping out a rubbish looking hip out to the two lots of physio 'It's definitely your back I'm not going to touch your hip' and 'it's because you walking wrong', and the pain clinic saying 'pain is generally in the mind so if pain killers aren't working you just have to block it out' (I do already, but no one can do it constantly day in day out without a crumble every now and again) to a consultant saying I was just unlucky, I've just got rubbish bones and by now the replacement shouldn't be causing any problems so he'll just sign me off his list. 'It still hurts, ' 'Well it shouldn't'. A lot of crying later, trips for a second opinion with a consultant in Southampton, lots of cortisone jabs in various bits of bottom, X-rays, MRIs, Ultrasounds, Bone Scans revealing nothing other than what they originally found out (it's too big).

Doubting myself, feeling low, helpless and waiting a couple of months for the next investigation and then subsequent result a few weeks later hoping something would give a reason. I run a small business and finding it more and more difficult to run it to the best of my ability with this big unknown hanging over my head for this long... But recently a Registrar (after saying that everything is coming back 'normal' so they don't know what's wrong and me just sitting there crying for the 6th consecutive visit) in Southampton and a Physio at Laidlaw, seem to have come to the same suggestion independently.

In just two visits, the Physio has done more than anyone else put together. In just those couple of weeks he's taken the time to listen, be thorough, asked loads of questions, found out where, when, how it hurts and when I'm doing what. He never once made me feel stupid or feel I was making it up or it was in my head and certainly also hasn't told me 'by now it should be better', to him it clearly wasn't. He tried various exercises - some which have helped me be a little more stable but noticed several were just too painful to do. He has got more information from my GP, St Mary's and Southampton and seemed to know the ins and outs more than I did! He has finally said, it's not in your mind, you aren't going nuts, its definitely not right, it's definitely not your back, the way you walk, or completely your muscles, you do have a pain and someone somewhere should now help. He offered to write a report to the Southampton Consultant to state is findings which pretty much matched one possible suggestion of a few given by the Registrar on my last visit.

When you know it isn't right, you just have to express how you feel again and again. The frustration and ongoing pain has just made me cry each and every visit until someone, just one person, a small cog in the system listens, says actually this isn't right, you no longer need to doubt yourself when everyone else has just gone on what 'should happen'.

I am due to have an ultrasound and blood tests (just to check again for infection) to find out what the cause may be for an Anterior Impingement on Tuesday and a follow up appointment as soon as the results come back. I have pain getting in an out of a car, lifting my left leg, putting on socks shoes and trousers, it is painful when I sneeze or cough all in my groin. Sometimes I loose the power in it when it is really cold. It is rare but seemed easy enough to spot something wasn't right after a bit of listening, thought and finding out more.

It's taken seven years of pain to get this far, hoping its not another seven to get it sorted and resolved: -/

Some resolutions are made when staff are given time to listen, sometimes thats all it takes rather then rushing on to the next patient.

Thank you.