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Thursday 18 April 2019

A pain in the arse

Last week, I had a pain in my upper left leg; it was so bad, and continuous, I couldn't sleep. I went to the doctor, he poked it a bit, and prodded, and told me he thought it wasn't a DVT (I had a DVT in that leg a couple of decades ago) and sent me home.

Then it faded, and I was alright for a few days.

But on Tuesday it returned. Ladysolly was out playing bridge, but when she got back, I told her that I needed to go to A&E. Because 1) it was very painful, and I was facing another sleepless night, and 2) the GP hadn't done anything. So, round about midnight, we set out for Stoke Mandeville (because they dealt with my broken ribs so well).

Again, they dealt with me very well. I was obviously not an urgent case, and while I was waiting, a couple of babies came in and they were, rightly, pushed to the head of the queue. And there was a man there who was clutching his chest in great pain. I was also in pain, but a pain in the arse isn't as threatening as a pain in the chest.

After an hour, I was triaged. After another hour or so, I saw a nurse who took my blood pressure, temperature and oxygen level. After another hours, I saw another nurse who put in a cannula and took four blood samples, and after another hour, I saw the doctor.

His opinion is that it's a trapped nerve (the blood samples came up clean). He gave me Diazepam for it (a muscle relaxer) and suggested paracetamol as a pain killer. I got home at about 6am, and went to bed.

I checked the internet for additional recommendations, and it suggested heat treatment, so I'm applying a small electric blanket, and I think that also helps.





1 comment:

  1. You're lucky you don't live here in Worcestershire!

    A few years ago I was referred to a consultant at Worcester hospital. Went in and he asked, in a very leading way, why I was using a wheelchair. (Gave the obvious answer - the distance from the car was further than I can walk. Have needed to use a wheelchair part-time since my mid-teens, when I became too ill and was forced to abandon school prematurely.)

    He responded dismissively with 'someone of my age should be able to walk a few hundred metres without any difficulty.'

    Yes I quite agree doctor, maybe that's a good indication that there's something wrong and it should be investigated? ...is what I almost said out loud and would have walked out had I been able to.

    The ultimate insult was that the referral (and his area of expertise) was for something completely different. But that was a complete waste of time also, as it was obvious he had not read the referral letter from my GP.

    That encounter was pretty typical, in my experience. Over the last 25+ years, none of the doctors I have been referred to have shown any interest in doing their job. I recall a neurologist who spent the entire consultation from start to finish explaining why my problems were nothing to do with him, without ever discussing symptoms or anything else. Another consultant actually began by saying "I can't see why you've been sent to see me."

    The message from all of them was loud and clear - 'go f*** yourself!'

    It would be wrong to describe the health service here as third world, as from what I have seen doctors in poor countries generally appear to be highly motivated to help their patients.

    Round here I strongly suspect in some cases you would genuinely be better off seeking medical help from a vet.

    But this is just my experience...

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