Re: So I don't need a cane?/Matt

[Guest guest]

Matt,

I think that VA is missing the big picture, not you. I wonder

sometimes if some of these VA doctors ranked at the bottom of their

class.

My dad retired not too long ago, and he goes through VA to get his

medications and such, until he's old enough for Social Security and

all that. He had high blood pressure, so they put him on a BP med.

Well, he was also having some edema problems, so they put him on

ANOTHER BP med that also acts as a diuretic....now his BP is too low!

And he sees the same doctor every time!

If I were you, I'd keep doing what you are currently doing until you

see the foot and ankle specialist again. If he says that you have so

much ligament damage to have zero inversion resistance, and arthritis

is causing it to lock up, not to mention that you have erosion of

your meniscus, I'd say protect it at all costs! Without protection

of a severely damaged ligament, a wrong turn, twist, or your ankle

giving out could literally snap it.

And if using the cane helps, screw that doctor. He's not a

podiatrist, orthopedist, or a foot and ankle specialist is he? I

totally agree with Kaylene that compensating for pain in one leg can

put stress on the other leg, and cause all sorts of problems with

your gait and in your back.

How many people work for your company? If it's over 50, or if they

employ over 50 people within a 75 mile range, and you've worked there

12 months and have at least 1250 hours in, you should apply for

FMLA. It protects your rights as an employee with an ongoing medical

problem. That way, your boss can't just " decide " he needs anything

from you.

Your foot and ankle specialist may be willing to fill out the

necessary forms for you, but if your employer is a qualifying one,

you would have to get the paperwork from your HR department. Under

FMLA, you would be able to go to doctor's appointments without

penalty, although since you switch with someone, I don't think it

should be a problem, and you could take days off if the pain is too

bad for you to stand on your foot (some companies have paid FMLA,

others take it from your vacation), and FMLA days cannot be held

against you according to Federal Law. And if your employer should

happen to want a second opinion, it would be at their expense.

JMHO,

Jen Z.

[Guest guest]

Actually, I think the visit might've turned out a bit differently, had

I actually seen my regular GP, rather than (I suspect) an intern --

given that I had to make this clinic visit on a walk-in basis. I did

tell my boss that the soonest they could've scheduled me to see my

regular GP would be in May, and that I was told that I'd at least be

seen by *a* doctor, if not my own.

My suspicion that he's an intern comes from his asking his boss what

she thinks about my situation. At least with my last visit, to see my

regular GP about some problems that had popped up since the physical

therapy appointment, the foot and ankle specialist will have more to

go on, the next time I see him. I don't think my regular GP would have

not paid much attention to my latest complaint about chronic swelling

in the ankle, for which I now use a compression brace (the type for

light sprains that one would recover from, in a week or two) under my

stabilizing brace.

This coming week, I'll be getting the ball rolling, toward getting

things in place for disability leave, for whenever the ankle surgery

is ultimately scheduled. When I'm talking to my employer's carrier for

that, I'll ask about the FMLA or I might have to wait until I go back

to work, in January, when the plant's operational again, after

our holiday shut down.

I don't see my regular GP again until June, for a regular check up,

and by then he'll have a better idea of what's up with my ankle, with

my next appointment with the foot and ankle specialist being in April.

The doctor that saw me, on Tuesday, was asking if I wanted it noted

that I should be allowed to use my cane at work, and it took me a few

times to convince him that it'd only get in the way, at work, and that

I do fairly good without it, while I'm doing my job. I may be on my

feet and going more at work, than on my off days, but just using my

cane on my off days, whenever I do get out and about, has made a

significant difference with my left ankle and knee.

Perhaps when my boss gave me grief about my using a cane, when I was

there on an off day, I should have asked him if it'd be better for me

to get my right ankle fixed, and be done with it, than to get my right

ankle fixed then have to go through the whole process, again, toward

getting my left ankle/knee fixed.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to y'all!

Matt