SX between appts...who to call & when?

[Audrey_M]

This is both a general question and a specific question to an issue I am dealing with.

What are some basic guidelines for reporting symptoms to your doctor, and how does one decide whether to report it to the PCP, neuro or both? My gut says that if it is worth reporting, the neuro should be included so that he/she has the big picture of what is going on.

Specifically, I have been experiencing extreme pain in the outer right side of my hip joint. This started about 5 days after severe back pain. The back pain has subsided, but not completely disappeared. The hip pain, however, has been constant and probably is on a level of 8; enough to bring me close to tears (I have a high threshold of pain) and is unrelenting.

It wakes me up at night and the last few hours in bed are very uncomfortable. It does not seem aggravated by any kind of activity, such as walking up stairs. Does not seem like bursitis, because pain does not change with activity, and there is no tenderness or swelling. I've used ibuporfen, Tramadol and liodocaine patches with only minimal change in the amount of pain.

Saw a neurosurgeon on Friday and mentioned it, but I guess it was outside his "specialty", so he did not do anything about it in his exam, nor did he make any recommendations.

This has been going on for 18 days now, so I should not ignore it anymore.

Audrey

[Audrey_M]

Back pain is in the lumbar spine, but is a different kind of back pain that what I experienced years ago.

I did fax both the neuro and PCP on Sunday. Neuro called me yesterday and wants me to see a rheumatologist at Yale. They take patients by referral only, so I emailed them last night after choosing one whose interests include autoimmune disorders and my neuro  will be faxing necessary papers over so that they can schedule an appointment.

Hope its not too long of a wait as this pain is wearing me down.

Audrey

[jensequitur]

Audrey, definitely call the neuro or the PCP.  Just at a guess, I think that you're experiencing spasticity in the hip.  You said you were having back pain?  Was it in the lumbar region, or the thoracic?

[missy72450]

I read and re-read Audrey's post and could not find for the life of me where she was getting sex in between her appointments untill very late in the conversation.

Quix you are awfull. But I mean that in the most respectful way. I had to wait a good while to write because it is hard to write  and laugh at the same time. Heck it is hard for me to do any 2 things at the same time.

Anyway Audrey i hope you are feeling better.

Missy

[Audrey_M]

Still waiting on an answer about the hip pain, which is getting worse. Could barely sit in one position for more than 5 minutes yesterday.

Faxed both the neuro and my PCP on Sunday, but left my cell phone at home yesterday. There were no messages when I got home. If I don't hear anything by 3 today, I'll call my PCP.

Audrey

[Sumanadevii]

I had to read this post three times to figure out where the SX came from before realizing it was in the title..lol...How funny!!!!  I have enjoyed the laugh tonight!!!!

[Lulu54]

Did we ever answer your question about the hip pain?  I hope you've forgotten about it by now.

[Lulu54]

So glad you got that practice in with all that SX.  LOL

[Audrey_M]

So I'm crossing off one thing on my list of what's up for this week:

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Audrey

[essdipity]

What I think is interesting is that you didn't just have sx, you had SX!

Must really have been something!

ess

[Audrey_M]

From this day forward I will spell out SYMPTOMS and not use any shorthand.

I faxed the neuro today and cc'd my PCP. And no, I will not talk about sex with either of them...it's none of their bleeping business.

Still laughing...

Audrey

[Lulu54]

SX has fallen out of favor around here ....  at least the abbreviation for symptoms.  Everytime I see it, my brain immediately reads it wrong.  

I say you should talk about sx with both of them.

[Audrey_M]

Have to stop laughing so that I can type.

Just wish that were the case...could be like Miss Scarlett after her visit with Mr. Butler where she was cheerful as a button!

Maybe DS is right about me being grumpy....

Audrey

[Quixotic1]

Gee, I think it is great that you are having sex between appointments...

[HVAC]

I go to my PCP mostly she deals with symptoms. It is easier and $100 less a visit to see her under my insurance. Then again every ache and pain is not MS so I go to her first. I see my MS Specialist twice a year. I frankly could not afford to see my MS Specialist more than that. There are many symptoms I have learned there is little I can do about so I just log them to tell my doctors at regular visits. My PCP is very good at managing the symptoms that can be addressed especially the pain.

Alex

[jean_619]

My neuro is very clear that if I have a symptom that might possibly be MS-related, I should call her PA.  So her PA is very accessible, and will discuss the issue with me.  She'll then discuss it with my neuro and call me back about what I should do.

My PCP kind of *****, so I don't bother talking to her.  However, most of my symptoms have clearly been MS-related, so talking to my PCP wouldn't have helped a lot anyway.

[RedFlame]

Hi Audrey,  

I think you should report this to your PCP as well as your neuro docs.  18 days is too long!  I would call it in first thing tomorrow.

Hopefully, they can call in something stronger to help with the pain level.  They should know so they can decide if you need to come in sooner.  Tramadol doesn't really help for extreme pain as you describe.  

I have called my neuro in between visits 2 times now.  Each time it was the PA that called me back but it was reassuring that what I was experiencing wasn't too serious.

If you have a good relationship with your PCP, he/she may call in some stronger medications.

Hugs!

Red

Red

[Sumanadevii]

Well sounds to me like the neuro didn't pick up on the hint.  Call him back.  Explain the pain in detail to him.  Yes, MS does cause both back and hip pain.  His job is to treat the symptoms of this horrible disease.  He isn't doing his job.  And no, liodocaine patches are a joke for this type of pain.  Been there.  Done that.