I’m in frequent, moderately-severe pain. Please help! Recommendations and “talk to the doc about ____” diagnosis are welcomed…
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I’m a healthy 22 year-old female who suffers from hip pain during rest and activity.
Back in Elementary school (~10 yrs old), I experienced discomfort in my groin– the tendons, I think– when running the mile. It was minimal and very temporary, so my family decided not to do anything about it: we thought it might be brought on by the gym teacher’s insistence on certain performance levels regardless of the student’s athletic ability.
There were no more problems until High School, when I happened to be walking with my hands low on my hips. I could feel the right joint ‘popping’ when I took my weight off it, but there was no discomfort The left hip was fine. Again, we decided to let it go.
In college (~18 or 19yrs old) I discovered that being highly active would cause temporary pain in my hips (localized in the outside-center of either buttock). My right hip was worse and inevitably, the pain started to occur more frequently, even when I was seated. My boyfriend (a paramedic) insisted that I go to the doctor.
I gave her the information above, and I asked her to feel the hip movement as I walked across the room. She told me that she didn’t need to, she believed me, and so she had me lay on my back as she manipulated my legs in different directions (looking for unnatural tension or movement, I guess?). I told her that I didn’t have problems while on my back and she told me that I might have a “loose” ligament that might require physical therapy, or some kind of deformity that might be keeping the joint out of proper alignment.
The x-ray came back negative, so she told me to take two asprin twice a day and call back in two weeks.
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I’m not ashamed to say that I was furious at what I feel was an act of incompetence. I maintain a healthy weight, am active and young, so I firmly believe that I was dismissed on the basis of my appearance. Since I was angry and had informed her repeatedly that I had a chronic problem, I decided not to take her advice and I never called her back.
Surprise, surprise, my hips got worse. It hurts a lot, so please don’t berate me for what I know was a stupid choice. At this point, the pain is interfering with my daily activity (driving, sitting at a desk, during sex, after visiting the gym, prior to going to sleep, etc) and so I don’t have any options but to return to the doctor and get a recommendation. I don’t blame a General Practitioner for overlooking what must be a fairly specific problem, so I’d like to know what I need to say to be fair and get her to direct me to the right specialist. For my hips, should I see a joint specialist or someone else? Is this something a Podiatrist would treat, or a Chiropractor? Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks so much.
#1 by Mach_RN on February 25, 2010 - 10:09 pm
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This is obviously impacting on your lifestyle and there is no reason why anyone should ever have to endure unnecessary pain.
I am defending the doctor but this is common practice and is not necessarily incompetence but they see so much o fhtis sort of thing that complacency can sometimes replace genuine concern. Also although you percieve it too be a “fairly specific problem” pain management is in its relative infancy in terms of medicine. It is generally poorly dealt with because it is largely poorly underrstood.
If you feel your concerns are being ignored get a second opinion from another doctor, this is your right as a health care consumer. It sounds like Bursitis or an inflammation of the joint, muscle or tendon. would definately see another GP and a physiotherapist, you should ask both for a referal for a second opinion if you are not happy with their diagnosis, any good health care professional will see the relevence of this to alleviate your concerns.
But stick with their treatments otherwise you will never get anywhere, sometimes it takes several visits until they “discover” what the real problem is.
Continue taking anti-inflammatory drugs to alleviate discomfort and start writing a list of: when the pain comes on including the type and location of pain, its severity, what brought it on, what makes it worse and what makes it better. This will help in diagnosing.
Good luck!
Chris- Registered Nurse