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Ageing. It's a Bugger....

sp25 said:
Hi Mull, sounds as if your knees are worse than mine were, but I didn't have your heart problems to complicate matters.
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Thanks for taking the time and trouble to respond in such detail sp25. I'm not going to get into whose knees are/were worse, but lets just say that I have no hope of walking anywhere near 3 miles at present. Yesterday I walked about 1500 steps to the Pharmacy and back to get my repeat scripts. The last 500 steps were very unpleasant indeed and the pain continued for the rest of the day..even at rest.

sp25 said:
Thing is that the outdoors is a major part of my chosen lifestyle - I live next to the Peak District, and when the five miles became three a year later I went back and said that I wanted the op. He huffed but agreed, and the worse one (right) was done in 2019.
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I'm not so far from the Peaks myself and do (or did) occasional walks there. However.. I'm only a few yards from open country here, with the highest point in Merseyside about a kilometre away. I haven't been up there for months, whereas it used to be a minimum of once a week.. with other walks in between. In recent years I've come down from 20 miles, to 8 miles, to 4 miles..as my daily limit. In recent months I've been content with 4500 steps every other day as that appears to be acceptable for cardio health.. but I'm now struggling to do a third of that. It is very depressing.

I have a further consult with the physio lot on the 18th. I'll be interested to find out what the x-ray shows. I'm also wondering if I can request a print out of that image from the x-ray dept.. Should have asked when it was done I suppose. I've been sent instructions for exercises, including stretching and strengthening exercises. I will do these religiously until my next consult to see if they help.. but if they don't, I'm not wasting time on physio and demanding to see an orthopaedic surgeon. I first seriously 'sprained' my knee in 1970. I had a cartilage op in 1978. I was told I needed a new knee in 2008. I'm still waiting for action and meanwhile my other issues are making an op seen less and less likely.
 
Update:
Today I had the arranged phone call from the local Musculo-Skeletal service. First time, the physio listened and was polite, but seemed unconvinced I had a major problem.. based on my activity. She just recommended exercises and arranged an x-ray.

Today.. she had the x-ray results. Basically 'severe arthritic deterioration of all cartilage.. bone damage.. 'Bone spurs' etc.'.

How was I doing? Told her I am slightly better but still in constant pain . Able to walk a bit further,,.. but always at a cost in terms of pain. Exercises not helping... presumably because joint damage.. rather than muscle tone.. is the issue. Would I like to be referred to an Orthopaedic Surgeon to consider options? Is the Pope a Catholic?

So.. we shall see what the surgeons say.. but it's bound to still be a balance of risk.. Surgery with a heart condition.. or keep on trucking and unable to exercise properly.. with negative effects on heart condition. Hey Ho!!! :)
 
Mullardman said:
Update:
Today I had the arranged phone call from the local Musculo-Skeletal service. First time, the physio listened and was polite, but seemed unconvinced I had a major problem.. based on my activity. She just recommended exercises and arranged an x-ray.

Today.. she had the x-ray results. Basically 'severe arthritic deterioration of all cartilage.. bone damage.. 'Bone spurs' etc.'.

How was I doing? Told her I am slightly better but still in constant pain . Able to walk a bit further,,.. but always at a cost in terms of pain. Exercises not helping... presumably because joint damage.. rather than muscle tone.. is the issue. Would I like to be referred to an Orthopaedic Surgeon to consider options? Is the Pope a Catholic?

So.. we shall see what the surgeons say.. but it's bound to still be a balance of risk.. Surgery with a heart condition.. or keep on trucking and unable to exercise properly.. with negative effects on heart condition. Hey Ho!!! :)
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Let's hope you find a balance, and a positive way forward.
 
Mullardman said:
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to respond in such detail sp25. I'm not going to get into whose knees are/were worse, but lets just say that I have no hope of walking anywhere near 3 miles at present. Yesterday I walked about 1500 steps to the Pharmacy and back to get my repeat scripts. The last 500 steps were very unpleasant indeed and the pain continued for the rest of the day..even at rest.



I'm not so far from the Peaks myself and do (or did) occasional walks there. However.. I'm only a few yards from open country here, with the highest point in Merseyside about a kilometre away. I haven't been up there for months, whereas it used to be a minimum of once a week.. with other walks in between. In recent years I've come down from 20 miles, to 8 miles, to 4 miles..as my daily limit. In recent months I've been content with 4500 steps every other day as that appears to be acceptable for cardio health.. but I'm now struggling to do a third of that. It is very depressing.

I have a further consult with the physio lot on the 18th. I'll be interested to find out what the x-ray shows. I'm also wondering if I can request a print out of that image from the x-ray dept.. Should have asked when it was done I suppose. I've been sent instructions for exercises, including stretching and strengthening exercises. I will do these religiously until my next consult to see if they help.. but if they don't, I'm not wasting time on physio and demanding to see an orthopaedic surgeon. I first seriously 'sprained' my knee in 1970. I had a cartilage op in 1978. I was told I needed a new knee in 2008. I'm still waiting for action and meanwhile my other issues are making an op seen less and less likely.
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Oh don't. I used to take a dog out in the small hours, with a daypack with enough food and water for us both, we had a 30odd mile route, we'd just plug away at it. Lunchtime would see us at the picnic benches at lower town harbour, or in later years occasionally in the outside cafe area at the sealife centre in Fishguard, we'd finish up getting home about 7 or 8pm, those days are but a happy memory. Dog and I were both fit as racing snakes, my only issue with wasting a saturday this way was that I didn't hit the weights. Those days are also gone.
 
Glad that you have got a referral Mull, getting past the physio gatekeepers is the key and it seems that they haven't exactly helped in your case (I saw two at different times, first one useless but second one very helpful). You'll still have a wait to see a surgeon, and again to get anything done, but hope things work out well for you.
 
Mullardman said:
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to respond in such detail sp25. I'm not going to get into whose knees are/were worse, but lets just say that I have no hope of walking anywhere near 3 miles at present. Yesterday I walked about 1500 steps to the Pharmacy and back to get my repeat scripts. The last 500 steps were very unpleasant indeed and the pain continued for the rest of the day..even at rest.



I'm not so far from the Peaks myself and do (or did) occasional walks there. However.. I'm only a few yards from open country here, with the highest point in Merseyside about a kilometre away. I haven't been up there for months, whereas it used to be a minimum of once a week.. with other walks in between. In recent years I've come down from 20 miles, to 8 miles, to 4 miles..as my daily limit. In recent months I've been content with 4500 steps every other day as that appears to be acceptable for cardio health.. but I'm now struggling to do a third of that. It is very depressing.

I have a further consult with the physio lot on the 18th. I'll be interested to find out what the x-ray shows. I'm also wondering if I can request a print out of that image from the x-ray dept.. Should have asked when it was done I suppose. I've been sent instructions for exercises, including stretching and strengthening exercises. I will do these religiously until my next consult to see if they help.. but if they don't, I'm not wasting time on physio and demanding to see an orthopaedic surgeon. I first seriously 'sprained' my knee in 1970. I had a cartilage op in 1978. I was told I needed a new knee in 2008. I'm still waiting for action and meanwhile my other issues are making an op seen less and less likely.
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You are entitled to copies of everything.
You may have to pay for them and some secretaries seem unaware of your legal rights to have copies.
Just insist.
We have always had copies of everything my daughter has had done from x rays to scans.
A private referral to a consultant should get you seen pretty damn quick and cost around £200 - £300.
It was the only way I got my hip replacement actioned.
The GP didn’t think I needed to see a consultant and recommended staying on tramadol and naproxen.
I was in agony.
The consultant took one look at the X rays, laughed, turned the screen towards me and announced “you clearly need a new hip”…
It was then progressed on the NHS.
 
So.. after getting past physio.. I got an appointment with 'Trauma and Orthpaedics' tomorrow at local hospital. Quite remarkable speed ..which re-inforced by the appointments office calling me earlier to make sure I'm attending ..."because it is a short notice appointment". Maybe somebody has finally..after about 20 years. got the message?

Of course if I can get approval for an op..it's likely to be offered at Whiston Hospital...in Merseyside..which is sort of my local... But..the word on the street is to try to get sorted at Wrightington in Wigan..which is a sort of 'centre of excellence' for orthopaedic surgery. And of course waiting times and the rest are big factors at present.

We shall see.
https://www.wrightingtonhospital.org.uk/knee-replacements
 
I was under a specialist at Burnley for six years and getting nowhere. I could barely walk sometimes because the pain would become unbearable. Then a good friend suggested I get my GP to refer me to Wrightington. Three months after my referral I had my first knee replacement and my other two months after that. It's coming up for seven years since I had my knees done and I can't thank them enough :)
 
Well. An interesting morning.
Very personable and apparently genuinely interested and young-ish Orthopaedic chap asked me about history, etc. showed me the x-ray of my shagged out knee joint and then launched into "so..if you're going to sign up for this op.." Whereupon I stopped him and explained 'with the greatest of respect" that I'd been advised by numerous people to go to Wrightington, and that it was only the physio 'gatekeeper system' which had pointed me to him. I also pointed out that the physio woman had been convinced I didn't need the op, until she saw my x-ray. He told me, in so many words that he thought she was 'less than capable'. Eitherway he was unphased and agreed to write to Wrightington on my behalf..so basically I finally have expert opinion that I need the op, and a referal to an excellent hospital. Only unknown now is waiting times.
 
Such a shame so many people in pain, imho the nhs is great for emergencies severely substandard for chronic conditions.
It’s overrated full stop, it’s sacred place in uk is long past sell by date, staff ok service poor. Reasons complex.
Won’t list ailments as took 3 sides of a4 when last applied for disability living allowance.
I’ve accepted fact I prob won’t make 72, I’m now 58 ,c’est la vie. When I got my current pets I took into account the fact they may outlive me so made provision in will.
I’m still a positive person, luckily born with happy genes if not healthy ones. My sister has good health good family and nice lifestyle, but still a deeply miserable greedy Waste of space.
 
Sounds like your on the way Mulardman.

I know quite a few people who have had their lives transformed by knee/hip replacements - all of them bemoan that they hadn’t done it earlier.

Good luck.
 
Spraggons Den said:
all of them bemoan that they hadn’t done it earlier.
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Well. I did try in 2008 and got told no... but maybe I left it too long before pushing again..

Surgeon told me I had options... 1. Put up with pain and decreasing mobility for the duration. 2. Have the op.

Interesting stuff on the news tonight about waiting times in different regions. No surprise that SW London and I think parts of Surrey had low numbers waiting, whilst some places east of London and also Blackpool had massive waiting lists.

Seems that basically, places where poverty and disadvantage are high..are likely to also be more thrown off course by Covid, but are still expected to pull back on backlogs with no extra funding. Quel surprise.. as we say in these parts.
 
MikeMA said:
Has your Consultant considered operating on/replacing your knee under epidural anesthesia (you, not the consultant) ? I know people for whom general anesthesia was considered too risky who have had their hips replaced that way with no problems. Knees are different of course but it might be worth asking?
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I was originally told that even this wasn't a smart move in Cardiac patients because it was still 'a big shock to the system'. Chap I saw today was more precise. It seems that the 'epidural' doesn't just numb the pain..but also affects the response of lower body arteries and veins, which can cause problems in the heart... sudden hypotension (low BP) etc. He also pointed out that it's not usually an 'epidural' for surgery, but a 'spinal block'...though he joked that it is really only Anaesthetists who get exercised about the difference...

https://askanydifference.com/difference-between-epidural-and-spinal-block/
 
Hook said:
At 63, my main gripes are a broken lumbar (scoliosis and stenosis) and an enlarged prostate.
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I’ve just been diagnosed an enlarged prostate too.
A bugger it is indeed. Peeing takes me ages… when I manage doing it at all.
Add a myelitis problem (spinal tap tomorrow) and neck and lumbar hernias to the picture.
Yummy.
 
chartz said:
I’ve just been diagnosed an enlarged prostate too.
A bugger it is indeed. Peeing takes me ages… when I manage doing it at all.
Add a myelitis problem (spinal tap tomorrow) and neck and lumbar hernias to the picture.
Yummy.
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Unless it turns cancerous, the last thing I want is prostate surgery. Most men pee more slowly as they age, but at some point, most of us will have to do something about it.

Technically, this device can be installed without surgery, but it is still a very invasive procedure. Might be worth checking with your urologist if something like this might help.

https://www.urolift.com/
 
This looks promising. Has anyone here had it implanted?
It’s been fully approved since March of this year in France, fully paid by the social security.
 
Having thought this over, being 64 years and 363 days old today I don’t think ageing is a bugger at all. I’ve done two hours gardening, made some bread, concocted a new flavour of moustache wax, had a five mile walk, and having had dinner outside (it’s cooling down now, but not moanably so - I’ve put a jumper on) I’m finishing off the wine whilst watching the bats and listening to jazz (on the internet) and sheep (in the field.) Ill-health is a different matter altogether of course, but one doesn’t necessarily mean the other.
 
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