crocked

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  • Stuck in plaster for the next 4-6 weeks after breaking the 2nd metatarsal in my right foot.image

    So frustrating not being able to do anything!image

  • FB - that doesn't sound good.

  • Glad its not Osteoarthritis FB .. hopefully you can get the torn meniscus sorted. Can you let me know if they do offer surgery on that ? as mine had told me its not an option ( torn meniscus being one of the list of knee issues they turned up on my MRI)  . I am seriously considering seeking a second opinion re the options on mine.

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    surprised that they've not offered you an arthoscopy on the knee if you have a torn cartilage.  who told you that - GP or orthopaedic surgeon?

    I'm going to push for one as I think I now have more damage than the MRI showed since doing the run last week.  

  • Was the Ortho surgeon  FB... but very much got the impression that he had more important things on his mind and i certainly didnt have his undivided attention during the consultation .. Basically he just read out the radiologists report and tried to reconcile that with the MRI (clear that neither had been looked at before i walked in the room )  ..no options offered .. so i asked what could be done and was surgery an option for either /both   meniscus and the torn ligament and he said no.     Did get referred to a physio to try and get the movement back in the knee , and to strengthen the other aspects of the ankle to help compensate for the disconnected ligament. 

  • Slagiatt wrote (see)

    Glad its not Osteoarthritis FB .. hopefully you can get the torn meniscus sorted. Can you let me know if they do offer surgery on that ? as mine had told me its not an option ( torn meniscus being one of the list of knee issues they turned up on my MRI)  . I am seriously considering seeking a second opinion re the options on mine.

    But it depends how badly you've damaged the meniscus. It's a bit like saying "I've torn my wetsuit, will Black Witch fix it? For small ones, yes, but at a certain point, the damage is going to be too great. You can't just lift out the words you understand, match them to someone else's MRI report and then expect the same prognosis. In addition, all those words you dont understand might actually be describing a far larger problem than your torn meniscus and might also rule out surgery.
    That said, some would argue a second opinion is always a good idea. It does sound like that leg is a bit tattered though. You have my sympathy.

  • flyaway wrote (see)

    But it depends how badly you've damaged the meniscus. It's a bit like saying "I've torn my wetsuit, will Black Witch fix it? For small ones, yes, but at a certain point, the damage is going to be too great. You can't just lift out the words you understand, match them to someone else's MRI report and then expect the same prognosis. In addition, all those words you dont understand might actually be describing a far larger problem than your torn meniscus and might also rule out surgery.

    i dont disagree Fly .. and if the orthopod had said something like "surgery is not an option in this case because ..... "  (insert works like you are a fat old knacker ) , then i would feel more comfortable with the diagnosis .  Its the lack of any explanation for the why they can't or won't ( as either could be valid depending on rationale)   do anything that drives my interest in similar cases .    

    finding it hard to submit the withdrawal notice for wales so looking for what ifs i guess  image  

  • Is the surgeon writing you a report? You should definitely push for a full explanation that you understand - I think sometimes surgeons forget they're talking to lay people, or forget they're talking to real people who have a stake in the outcome, and either can lead to you not fully understanding why certain decisions have been taken about you. If nothing else, your GP should get a report from the consultant and he or she should absolutely take the time to explain to you how and why certain decisions were reached. You might have to make a little bit of a nuisance of yourself, but I think that's fair enough (and I dont think that people ought to have to, just that sometimes, sadly, it seems to be necessary).

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    I suspect in my case the tear is degenerative given my age and weight.  the radiologist's report recommends a full orthopaedic appraisal so that's for discussion with my GP on Wednesday.  sure, an orthopod may decline to operate but I'm going to push for an arthroscopy so they can have a good look inside, as even MRIs only give a partial picture whereas an experienced surgeon can have a better look and make decisions on what they see.   it could be that I have both the tear and osteoarthritis. 

    all I know is that it's fucking painful and very uncomfortable due to swelling

  • Additionally, in your case, flushing out all those inflammatory cytokines that are swimming around in your synovial fluid will be a good thing.
    I can highly recommend these (cooler knee braces) which you might remember from Nice 2008?

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    no - I don't remember them. might have something to do with the beer.....image  not cheap though at over £100 although there's a couple of unused ones on ebay for c£40

    me and P have been talking about whether I should look at getting a brace for everyday use as I'm finding it painful walking (or doing anything involving pressure through the knee for that matter) but I'm not sure. I'm kind of in the camp that says let nature do it's job but I'll see what the GP suggests on Wednesday, and think more on it.

    and of course this would be the year we didn't renew our private healthcare cover as it was getting too expensive for us old gits.   grrrrr..........image

  • Slagg - why on earth did they tell you no surgery for a torn meniscus??

    I've had it once and am having it again (+ a few bits and pieces) so it's certainly an option........**

    ** disclaimer: don't know your exact diagnosis imageimage and as Flyaway says a tear can be of varying severity obviously.......

    My arthroscopy in Sept has the main aims of:
    - remove and tidy up torn bits of medial meniscus
    - smooth articular cartilage on the back of the patella and the base of the femur
    - generally tidy and smooth anything else looking dodgy
    - double check the bursae as at least two are quite manky (technical term) to see if anything can be done

    I cannot emphasise enough however the importance of having an orthopod who understands sport and more to the point sports people - if you know anyone in the local medical community / hospital who knows the local consultants it's worth asking around and then getting a 2nd opinion from one of them...

     

    FB - back in Jan if I lay on my back with my knees to my chest (which with an ample stomach and bosoms is interesting anyway!) the heel of my bad leg was 4 inches higher than the other due to the swelling stopping it bending properly and getting up and down stairs was one step at a time like a small child or OAP!!  I could go on and on about all the things it hurt to do.......

    But........

    Physio, NSAIDs, lots of exercises to address muscle imbalances down the whole chain of muscles and not running at all and the improvement has been sufficient to allow me to by cycling a self organised Arch to Arc this weekend....

    There is light at the end of the tunnel even for those of us who are perhaps a tad older and more corpulent than some of our shipmates!

    Good luck and hope the GP is positive on Weds

  • Thanks POdd's ..  good to hear that your recovery has been positive . Definitely seeking a second opinion and am awaiting the names of some good orthopods that deal primarily with people who want to still do sporty stuff , rather than those who are happy just to walk to the toilet unaided image.     

    Good luck with the Arch to Arc  

  • Thanks........and good luck with a 2nd opinion image

  • It's going quite well (touch wood) for me at the moment.

     

    I'm easing back into training quite well ...although I am keeping the sessions quite short.

     - I'm commuting on the bike 4-days per week.... with one ride per week being a longer one
     - Im now up to 4 or 5 runs per week (just 2-3miles at mo)
     - Plus walking

     

  • I still can't do anything, despite intensive physio, acupuncture and seeing a chiropractor.

    I've been to see GP today to request a cortisone injection and was refused as the 12 year old doctor didn't think it sounded like bursitis. She wouldn't refer me for an X-ray or MRI either.

    Looks like I'll have to go private. Again.

  • I would change your doctor - can the physio not send a letter to the doctor requesting cortisone injection, scan etc?

  • Yes, he did write a referral which I duly passed on.



    I could try another GP but at the moment I'm in pain walking so it's something I want sorting ASAP. Even if another GP did agree that I need one, presumably there's a lengthy referral process? I go on holiday in 3 weeks and I really hope to be more mobile by then.
  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    my x-ray and MRI referral happened pretty quickly but I guess it depends on where you live and demand locally.   then there is an additional timescale for specialist advice based on results - especially as the summer hols are now here so there wil be fewer people around to do these things.

    I'm waiting to hear on an appointment with the orthopaedics team for assessment based on my MRI results and GP referral, but I'm not expecting it to happen shortly

    if you want speed - private is no doubt the quickest method but at a (large) cost without private health insurance

  • I've had a cortisone injection on a bursar in my ankle, and as painful as it was, it worked fine.  However, I did go private for that, bypassed my doctor, it cost me about £300 - consultant fee plus injection - but worth it. The specialist I saw was sympathetic to sports injuries and you can see him without a doctors note - I've had 4 lots of surgery with him.

    It just cheeses me off that we pay for the NHS privilege but, in some cases, they treat sports injuries as self-inflicted, yet smokers and overweight people they'll help as they think it will save them money in the long-term.

    Good luck with it.

  • Do you know how much a steroid injection costs, FB? I've been told that if it works, I will know immediately so I'm considering having it. After the amount of money I've spent over the past 8 weeks, it will surely be a drop in the ocean! Obviously I wouldn't opt to pay for a MRI privately as I believe they are thousands?

    Apparently an orthopaedic doctor will contact me over the next couple of weeks to discuss options.  

  • X-post Sue - thanks for the info. I agree with you, my 90 year old. Grandma gets regular cortisone injections in her knee, despite not really being very mobile. I can't get one despite not being able to even walk my kids half a mile to school. 

  • You can get an MRI scan for about £400/500 - that's in the north west of England - the cortisone is around £100.

  • I'm in the NW, so that's good to know. Thank you.

  • The specialist I saw was Mr Michael Hennessy, he's a specialist in foot and ankle injuries and is based at Spire Murrayfield hospital on the Wirral.  I've had nothing but excellent service from there - I've got myself medically insured now!

  • fat buddhafat buddha ✭✭✭

    this is the 1st year for many years I have not had PHC - at our age (we are beyond 60) we decided not to renew as the premiums are now daft.  it's a big regret now!  

    I've paid for some private consultations with a sports medic and physio but they didn't have the results of the MRI scan so were working in the dark a bit.  now I know that it's a cartilage tear they would no doubt refer me to an orthopod so I've decided to go back to the NHS for that.

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