When I last saw the GP last she asked how I was feeling generally, and I mentioned that the pain gets me down sometimes. I thought a reasonable statement – chronic pain 24/7 is hardly going to perk me up is it? I meant it in a “Piers Morgan is still on telly” kind of way. You know, you really wish it wasn’t happening, but you’re not going to kill yourself over it! 😲 Anyway, given the pile of identical leaflets at the side of her desk, she did what I can only presume to be a standard response – grabbed one, passed it to me and advised I rang them. The leaflet was for the Steps2Wellbeing service. I was about to explain that I don’t feel depressed, but a) I’d pretty much given up trying to explain any more, and b) she said they help people with long term conditions as well.
Having put off calling them, mainly because I felt it would be a waste of time, I eventually booked an appointment, if only to be able to say I’d tried it when I’m told I can’t see the pain team if I haven’t given S2W a try. I duly filled in the questionnaire yesterday, most of which was about how close to suicide, self harm or my potential to harm others I might be. Some of it did ask about pain levels though. I then had a call with a psychology assessor today. He sounded like a decent bloke, and asked all the questions you might expect of someone whose job is predominantly to assess whether people need mental health support. Dutifully he explained what S2W do, that the GP is there to help as well, that I can call 111 if I need help or an urgent/out of hours GP appointment, that Samaritans are there not just for suicidal crises, and that there is always 999 if it’s that much of an emergency.💤 I explained my situation, read him the blunt synopsis of the possible outcomes of taking a surgical option, and my dealings with the GP. No surprise that he concluded my chances of self harm/suicide were very low, and I was on a low risk score for depression. I do have to admit that when he asked if I thought I might feel like causing harm to someone else in the future, the temptation to suggest the GPs would be on my list if they don’t refer me to the pain team was hard to suppress, but it wasn’t the place to be flippant. 😉
He went on to say that he would send me through some literature on cognitive processes for managing pain, but ultimately he believes what I need is to be seen by the pain team (no 💩 Sherlock), and he will be writing to my GP to explain that … in big bold letters! To be fair to the GP, he did also say that the pain team here are notoriously difficult to get a referral to, but that is no reason not to try.
Having reached that conclusion, he asked how I felt about having been referred to the service. I said it was like someone being told they definitely have a neuropathic problem, but rather than being referred to a neurologist or neurosurgeon, they are being referred to a cardiologist to see if they can help! He saw my point.
I asked if he thought Mr Sepahi might be able to refer me to the pain clinic, and he said that might actually carry more weight than a GP referral, so I will email him and see what happens. Meanwhile, I await a reply to the advice and guidance request that was made at my last GP appointment. Hopefully there will be something when I go again on 10th June, and either way there should be the letter from S2W saying a referral is advised.
To end on a positive note, the pregabalin seems to be keeping the burning in my right foot under control. I even managed to go for a few miles cycle ride at the weekend, with no apparent problems as a result.