<s>[INST] I have had hip pain for some time. It comes and goes with the weather. More recently the pain travels down my thigh to my knee and sometimes all the way to my foot. I have had vein removal done about two years ago and I have had arthritis but it appears it is advancing. My general practitioner thinks aI should see a orthopedic doctor. What do you think? [/INST] Hello, My first diagnosis for you would be hip osteoarthritis. Usually, this kind of hip pain travels down in to thigh and knee but not below the knee (unless you have knee arthritis too). Normally, a pelvic x-ray and consultation with orthopedic surgeon will confirm or exclude this diagnosis. If the pelvic x-ray does not show any hip arthritis then I would go to the second most common problem which is sciatica from lower back problems such as lumbar fiscal hernia or spondylarthrosis or other lower back problems. Even though you do not have any lower back pain, sometimes lower back disease can refer the pain to the hip, knee, and foot and toes like you have. Normally, this would require a lower back MRI and consult with neurologist or neurosurgeon. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further. </s>