Unanswered pain

[teecee46]

5 months ago I had a sudden onset of pain in my upper arms and thighs, generating into my hips and buttocks. I have had an x-ray which showed no degeneration of my hips, varying blood tests which showed raised crp level of 16 which have now reduced to 8 but no abnormality in esr test. I have a b12 deficiency and am now being tested for Intrinsic Factor Antibody - no results yet with a view to pernicious anaemia although I don't think that this would be responsible for my pains. I have had a few sessions of physiotherapy in which the therapist has said she is satisfied that I do not have osteoarthritis but would query rheumatoid arthritis and has referred me for hydrotherapy. However I have absolutely no pain in my fingers or toes and feel that the pain is more muscular than joint.  If I extend my arm too far the pain in my upper arm is excruciating.  Trying to go from a kneeling to sitting positions is almost impossible and I struggle to go from sitting/lying to standing position. I'm at my wit's end as I feel that my practitioner is not taking my concerns seriously - can anyone point me in the right direction?

[teecee46]

Thank you for replying! I have an appointment with a different doctor on Friday so I will ask if there's any other tests that can be done.

[BetterGetBetter]

There are only 2 things that one can do: more tests, and therapy. Under your doctor's orders, not only can you can get all the "western medical/medicine" blood tests available, but you can also get the more fringe 'holistic-style' blood tests (where they check levels of vitamins, protiens, minerals, hormones, etc., in your blood), so you can see if there are things outta whack in your blood. And then there are the non-blood tests (like the MRI/CAT/x-ray style tests). So, you can say to your doctor, "Are there more tests that can be run, even if there is only a slight chance something might come up?"

Regarding therapy, I was pleased with a physical therapist that I went through who was trained in the "Mackenzie Style" techniques. Now, that may or may not be "right" for you, and only your doctor can recommend or say if that is good for you or not. But what I particularly liked about my therapist is he used a style that was totally "free-form" where he be like this: "Does this movement hurt?" "Yes." "Okay, then, we won't do this." "Does this movement feel good?" "Yes that makes me feel better." "Okay, then we will do more of that. I want you to do this twice a day," etc., etc., so the idea was that he was custom-building a therapy regime designed around how MY OWN BODY reacted.

The most concerning part of your post is where you said your "practitioner is not taking my concerns seriously." Um, I'd be outta there in a heartbeat (assuming your town is like mine, and there are a bazillion other doctors to go to).I mean, if she simply "disagrees," well, that's one thing. But for someone NOT to 'believe' you .... that ain't the basis for a good doctor-patient relationship!

For whatever reason, I like to use Mechanical/Car analogies.... so I'm going to use one here. You take your car to your mechanic and tell him, "My car does this and that." And, your mechanic does NOT believe you.

Do you see how absurd that is? You would say to that mechanic, "Well you just have a spiffy day now. Buh-bye now!"

Oddly, we sometimes allow a DOCTOR to be that way. Perhaps it is the white coat, or the stethoscope, we are intimidated by "all their knowledge." So, we sometimes feel it is okay for a doctor to "not take us seriously." We (all) have to be aware that doctors are people, too, and if you have someone NOT taking you seriously, then maybe you gotta be thinking of finding someone that does take you seriously. Heck, I'M taking you seriously! And, I don't even know you! I'm just some bigmouth on a forum talking outta my ***, and I'm taking you more seriously than your doctor. And, that's not right. LOL At least get your doc to take you as seriously as I do, or maybe it's time to consider the possibility of finding another doc :-)