hands arms so much pain i feel sick with it not had any meds since dec requisted new specialist as i cant talk to him im in and out next appointment march my gp is on holliday and his only one that will give me steroid injection suppose i just suffer. cant get to have bloods done husband usses car for work and surgery hard to get appointment when got car how long does morphine patches last when havent been opened had spaRE for 3 months can i use it is it safe

Hi Lorraine, There is a way, I have done it myself when I have had flare ups, take yourself off to your local accident and emergency, tell them you have arthritis and are in a lot of pain. Only drawback could be, they keep you in to see a specialist ! They should see to your pain though. And with it being a sunday night the queue should not be to long,

Hope you get things sorted, John.

So sorry Lorraine, I have done it myself, I was given morphine injections, a bed for the night and seen by a senior doctor the day after who phoned my consultant and I was given an emergency appointment. Three times it has happened to me and I have never been refused treatment. Have you tried your arthritis nursing team ? they should help.
I do hope you get yourself sorted, John.

Dear Lorraine

I'm sorry to hear you're in so much pain, and I know how difficut it can be to get to see the specailist- I should have gone in Jan then it was cancelled til Feb than canclled again til March! I'm also in a lot of pain at the moment and haven't been able to get a good nights sleep as I can't get comfortable in bed.Ireally feel for you as I know exactly what it's like. I have felt dreadfulfor about 2 weks now even though I've been takng anti inflammatories, paracetamol, cocodamol . Someitmes I just sit and cry. A couple of years ago when I was really bad the gp gave me a course of steroids which really helped. For a week I had no pain and it wasnt too bad for a couple of weeks after I'd finished them.

What medication are you on from the speciaist? How long have you be taking it? I ask because if it's not long it does take a while for it to kick in. I'm on sulfasalazine and I have it on repeat prescription from my gp but it didn't happen for about 3 months, they waited to see if it was effective first.

But you shouldn't have to suffer in so much pain. There should be a rheumatology helpline at your hospital you can ring. Or an out of hours medical service -primary care?

I agree with John though- if you go to A&E they should be able to help.

I hope you get something sorted soon.

Look after yourself

Love

Maria x

Lorraine, you shouldnt have to suffer this way. Is your rheumy team and nurses quite good in general, do they listen? Try calling the nurses for emergency appt, they should call back within 3 days, I know that seems a long time, but sometimes its faster. They can see you, and give pain meds, and add to your meds that you are on (thats what I was told when they eventually called me back) then at least yu should get some relief.
I ended up going private, as I was getting nowhere, and am considering changing my rheumy team anyway, as they havent really listened to me. Where do you live? I only ask, as it seems some areas are better than others, i.e. John with his A&E dept, I have never gone to mine re this, but I think it would be a nightmare too. Good luck, its so wrong to be left like this, why cant they understand what we go through?
Even the nurse who does my bloods says "oh you dont want pred, its only a short term thing" and "depo injections dont always work" I thought they wre there to help us!!

Hi Lorraine,
So sorry you are in so much pain.
Can you ring the out of hours service to see if they can give you some pain relief for tonight?
Ring your rheumy nurse tomorrow to see if you can get an earlier appointment.
Hope you can get some relief soon.

Love, Doreen xx

I hope you manage to get something sorted. If you didnt go to A + E last night, ring the gp today. Surely the locum gp will be able to do something to help you, even if it is only to get you an emergency rheumy appt. They would be able to give you more morphine patches. I think it is disgraceful you A+E dept wouldn't help you last time after a 4 hour wait. I had a severe flare recently and had to call the out of hours doc who sent me straight to hosp where I was treated with great kindness. You deserve the same treatment.

Take care

Deb x

Hi Lorraine,

I can't add to the advice that has already been given and sorry to hear your in so much pain, it really is inhumane to leave you like this and think services should have responded better.

Take care,

love,

Barbara
XXXXXX

That's a great idea of Barbara's.

How are you now lorraine,ongoing out of control pain is a AE matter,its there job to gain some control for you and admit u until it is more controlled.
hugs melly