My mobility is becoming more restricted by the week with the worse joint affected being my left knee. Walking is very hard now and I fear that I will be housebound before too long.
i did have a steroid injection a while ago but it didn’t help.
Nothing has been suggested by my GP about a referral. I am wondering how bad and how long it should before I should see a specialist.
Ask for a referral to a surgeon who will sort you out. Once you get to bone on bone it gets very painful and difficult to move. Surgery will see you pain free and moving around like normal. You have had the first step of the steroid injection sounds like you need more help
Hi Taff
You should ask for a referral. Tell your GP your fears, and how it is affecting your life and (presumably) your sleep. The very least he should do is send you for an Xray to determine the extent of the wear and tear. For my hip, my bones were literally rubbing together by the time I got my op, and although I'm not suggesting you lie, you really need to stress how much pain you are in.
Good luck 
I suppose I should have gone to see my GP more often so partly my own fault. I have been thinking recently maybe it was time to make an appointment and ask for a referral.
Now the system is that you are referred to MSK (Musculoskeletal disorders ) and seen by an ESP who is a physiotherapist who decides the next step. It is all out of your GP's hands but he should first send you for an X-Ray at least.
I don't know if you're from the UK or the US or some other country but I will talk to you about the US way to go about it in case you are from the US. Unless your insurance requires it you really don't need a referral you just go to an orthopedic surgeon. Some orthopedic surgeons I do require a referral from your GP. But I would call and ask first that way you might very well be able to just skip over that part.
An orthopedic surgeon should want to do an MRI but may want you to have an X-ray done first. And he or she can make the proper recommendations to you. And if he wants to do another injection on your knee I would do it. I discovered that if my orthopedic surgeon did the injection in my knee it hurt like hell but it worked. If his PA did it then it didn't do any good but it didn't hurt very much either. My thinking is that the orthopedic surgeon did a better job of finding the right place to stick the needle in.
What you need to remember ear that if you are in the UK then this is not a quick process, it can take weeks or mo this to get the first appointment and then another month or so for the next one and then you go on a waiting list so it could easily be almost a year from now when you might have surgery, which is why it's important to start the process now
I did have X-rays a few years ago and was told would need a new hip in a couple of years time, but I maybe wrong but it’s my knee that’s causing me the most bother. When I asked my GP how bad it was at that time, he replied ‘bad’!
I live in the UK.
I'm in the UK. Scotland to be specific. I'm 51 and have osteoarthritis in both knees. I was told for 4 years at my doctors surgery I was too young for a knee replacement. One day I had an appointment with a new doctor who sent me for up to date x-rays. Long story short, she referred me for a tkr and was done really quickly. My knees were described as horrible and the surgeon said it was worse than he thought when he opened me up. I'm 6 weeks post op now. Speak up! I will from now on. Even the nurses in hospital said they're seeing younger people in for surgery now
If you are in Wales the wait will be longer than in England.
I have spoken to my GP and he says he can refer me, but has said I am high risk so wants me to think about it as having a replacement as it may not improve my lifestyle.
High risk in what way?
One surgeon said that while he would do a hip replacement for me he thought that it would not solve my problem and that in a year I would be back complaining to him.
What was his explanation for saying you're high risk?
I am diabetic so could cause infection plus overweight. He said it would take the pain away but I may still not be any more mobile as the
OA is in several joints.
Speak to your diabetic nurse. This won't be the first time they've come across this. My son is diabetic and I know there is complications. Take their advice
did your doctor shoot the needle right into the middle of your knee while you sat with your knee on the ground when the shot worked? Where did the pa shoot it when it didn't work?
I had the same thing happen. I got my first shot right in the middle of my knee joint while I sat and had my foot on the floor..it worked..
then I had the dr do it the 2nd time. He had me sit..put my leg on his lap and he shot it above my knee..didnt hurt at all but the shot did nothing.
very curious if that is the same thing that happened to you.
thanks!
When the doctor did the injection in my knee I was sitting on their little bed that they have in the room and he held my leg at an angle as he did the injection. The injection went into the inside of my knee. The PA did it in the same spot. I'm guessing that the doctor hurt so bad because he got it in the right spot and the PA didn't. I would guess it was a lucky shot by the doctor (pun intended) but the PA has done it twice and I didn't get any results. I know the goal is to get into the joint because that's where your pain is coming from. Good luck to you.
thanks for the quick reply. I just made my appt the other day with the dr (the one whose shot didn't hurt but had no relief from), Im thinking I need to call back and ask for the pa to do the shot (the guy whose shot hurt like hell but I got relief from!) All I know is my knee f'ing hurts like hell and is really stiff now...damn winter in the midwest..only 51 but have been told Iam close to bone on bone..thanks amkoffee