Re: First consultation tomorrow

[Guest guest]

I wouldn't wait for NHS waiting lists!. Why put up with unnecessary pain?.

[Guest guest]

Good luck, Kathy. Let us know how it goes.

C. (Lt BHR 4 May 2002 - Mr. T)

> Subj: First consultation tomorrow

> Date:21/05/2002 09:31:29 GMT Daylight Time

> From:<A HREF= " mailto:khh@... " >khh@...</A>

> Reply-to:<A

HREF= " mailto:surfacehippy " >surfacehippy </A>

> To:<A

HREF= " mailto:surfacehippy " >surfacehippy </A>

> Sent from the Internet

>

>

>

> Hello everybody

>

> I have my first consultation with Mr Treacy tomorrow, plus CT scan.

> My main questions for him are whether I can afford to wait for NHS

> treatment and what exercise I should do to minimise damage during the

> wait. Many of the questions I would ask a lesser known surgeon

> (infection rates etc.) are kind of irrelevant. I just wondered

> whether anyone has ideas of questions that they wished they had

> asked.

>

> Thanks

> Kathy

>

[Guest guest]

If there is any doubt about whether a BHR is possible, I would talk

about THR options. It did not occur to me, but maybe Mr McMinn would

have mentioned it if necessary.

If you do go the NHS route, other surgeons' NHS lists are likely to

be shorter than Mr T's.

Nothing to do with your treatment, but it would be interesting to

know whether the recent NICE approval has led to increased numbers of

surgeons being trained in the UK.

Hope it goes well.

Vale

> Hello everybody

>

> I have my first consultation with Mr Treacy tomorrow, plus CT scan.

> My main questions for him are whether I can afford to wait for NHS

> treatment and what exercise I should do to minimise damage during

the

> wait. Many of the questions I would ask a lesser known surgeon

> (infection rates etc.) are kind of irrelevant. I just wondered

> whether anyone has ideas of questions that they wished they had

> asked.

>

> Thanks

> Kathy

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy,

All the best for tomorrow - hope it goes well.

By the way are you seeing him on the NHS or privately? If on the NHS I hope

you see him in person but don't be surprised if you actually see one of his

registrars who will order the CT scan. They seem to take their directions

straight from him and do keep him informed - but are not always the best at

answering all the questions!

Keep us informed,

Sue

First consultation tomorrow

Hello everybody

I have my first consultation with Mr Treacy tomorrow, plus CT scan.

My main questions for him are whether I can afford to wait for NHS

treatment and what exercise I should do to minimise damage during the

wait. Many of the questions I would ask a lesser known surgeon

(infection rates etc.) are kind of irrelevant. I just wondered

whether anyone has ideas of questions that they wished they had

asked.

Thanks

Kathy

[Guest guest]

Hi Kathy

No question is irrelevent if it's important to you. You need the

reassurance. I was the same as DAvid... it never occurred to me to

ask what THR he would use if he couldn't do a BHR!!! Naive I suppose

but I just ASSUMED that he would do a BHR. Assumption is a very

dangerous thing!!! Just ask away... no question is too silly. If you

are seeing him personally you will find he is a very nice guy who

will put you at ease. When I look back I realise he answered nearly

all of my questions before I'd asked them!!!

Good luck

Arlene

[Guest guest]

Dear / Sue,

Thanks for your continuing interest in my saga. The consultation with

Mr Treacy went really well: despite my crumbling joint (cysts

everywhere and bits of bone snapping off!) he told me that he will

resurface it. The pin will have to go right through the biggest cyst

on my femoral head, so I'll have to be really careful for ages after

the op.

The really good news is that in a couple of years the bone graft in

the cysts will harden and I can expect the same mobility as a person

with a less complicated resurfacing. I wasn't expecting that. As I

should actually have had it done 18 months ago I can't wait at all,

so unfortunately I can wave the NHS goodbye. Quite looking forward to

being spoiled in a nice private hospital tho'.

Waiting to get my date from - it should be June 29th at the

latest. So I have loads of organising to do so that my toddler ()

will have someone to chase after him.

Off to a stats seminar - will I be able to concentrate? Hope you're

both enjoying your mobility.

Regards

Kathy

> Hi Kathy,

> All the best for tomorrow - hope it goes well.

> By the way are you seeing him on the NHS or privately? If on the

NHS I hope

> you see him in person but don't be surprised if you actually see

one of his

> registrars who will order the CT scan. They seem to take their

directions

> straight from him and do keep him informed - but are not always the

best at

> answering all the questions!

> Keep us informed,

> Sue

> First consultation tomorrow

>

>

> Hello everybody

>

> I have my first consultation with Mr Treacy tomorrow, plus CT

scan.

> My main questions for him are whether I can afford to wait for NHS

> treatment and what exercise I should do to minimise damage during

the

> wait. Many of the questions I would ask a lesser known surgeon

> (infection rates etc.) are kind of irrelevant. I just wondered

> whether anyone has ideas of questions that they wished they had

> asked.

>

> Thanks

> Kathy

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Sue /

More news....

I now have a date for my surgery (so excited - some of my colleagues

find that perverse)- on 26th June at the Royal Orthopaedic. I missed

out on that 0% finance at the Nuffield because they didn't have a

date soon enough. Still finances are a minor concern vs mobility. You

would think that my condition would merit jumping the queue, wouldn't

you. I think the trouble is that my hip is borderline for

resurfacing - so the surgeon really has to be Mr Treacy. He's gone

1/2 time NHS, and his waiting list for consultation has shot up to 44

weeks.

- you must be about 3 weeks post -op by now - how's the hip

behaving?

Sue - I'd love to hear your ideas about coping in the home during the

non-weight-bearing weeks. I have NO idea how I'm going to wash. Our

shower is in the bath, which is up a step! Also, how long did it take

to progress from starting weight-bearing to walking? Then to walking

while carrying something heavy? Did you find the physio and

occupational therapy adequately prepared you for coping at home?

Regards

Kathy

> > > Hi Kathy,

> > > All the best for tomorrow - hope it goes well.

> > > By the way are you seeing him on the NHS or privately? If on

the

> > NHS I hope

> > > you see him in person but don't be surprised if you actually

see

> > one of his

> > > registrars who will order the CT scan. They seem to take their

> > directions

> > > straight from him and do keep him informed - but are not

always the

> > best at

> > > answering all the questions!

> > > Keep us informed,

> > > Sue

> > > First consultation tomorrow

> > >

> > >

> > > Hello everybody

> > >

> > > I have my first consultation with Mr Treacy tomorrow, plus

CT

> > scan.

> > > My main questions for him are whether I can afford to wait

for NHS

> > > treatment and what exercise I should do to minimise damage

during

> > the

> > > wait. Many of the questions I would ask a lesser known

surgeon

> > > (infection rates etc.) are kind of irrelevant. I just

wondered

> > > whether anyone has ideas of questions that they wished they

had

> > > asked.

> > >

> > > Thanks

> > > Kathy

> >

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Dear Chris

Really pleased to hear about your progress. Altho' my hip will take a

bit longer - the main thing is that in a few months we will both be

walking without a limp. I honestly don't know how I would be coping

without the opportunity to correspond on the site!

Kathy

> Kathy:

>

> Listening to Sue, I am a bit embarrased to report on my

progress... I think

> given your cysts that you will be much closer to her restrictions

than my

> story.

>

> Yes, I am three weeks exactly in a few hours (Sat 8:30am)... it

has gone by

> very very quickly and I can't believe how fast I am healing...

>

> From PO one week when I came home to PO two weeks, I went from

night to

> day... I was still very tender when I came home at PO one week

although I

> was able to walk with two sticks and had learned to climb and go

down stairs

> one step at a time while still in the hospital... but by two weeks

PO I was

> moving almost everywhere easily... able to twist out of bed (a big

deal as

> you will learn when you wake up PO... twisting is very very painful

at first

> and not something you volunteer to do) and I noted that on the two

> weakaversy, I just began to be able to climb the stairs one foot a

stair...

> that is normally rather than one at a time (with the sticks for

support of

> course)....

>

> With another week behind me at 3 weeks PO, it is another world yet

again... I

> am skirting around the house often enough without any canes (still

a bit of

> limp) although I still use both for strolls outside. I still feel

that my

> muscles are stiff but I am able to streach them just a little bit

more every

> day... and yes... today was the first day that I was able to put

my socks

> and shoes on all by myself... even tieing my own shoelace. ! ! !

(Not that

> it was easy or didn't take me about 5 minutes each to get the sock

and then

> the shoe on and tied....)

>

> Needless to say, I am tickled pink with the way my muscles are

coming back on

> line...

>

> But I was lucky... I didn't have any major complications... no

nasty bone

> cysts, no dysplacia... just premature OA which I treated as soon as

I went

> BoBone.

>

> I wish you the best....

>

> I am curious to know how much longer you would have had to have

waited for

> the other hospitals (Nuffield, Priory, Droitwich)... I have heard

that the

> Royal Orthopedic is very good but, being NHS is a bit austire in

comparision

> (perhaps you will have a private wing?) I never did visit it but I

know that

> there are several people in this group who have had surgery

there... you may

> do a search or they may write in their comments if you ask... I

seem to

> recall that they were still very satisfied.

>

> I know that you are right though not to take any chances waiting or

doing it

> with any other surgeon at this stage that you are at...

>

> Keep us posted... God bless !

>

> C.

>

>

> > Subj:RE: Re: First consultation tomorrow

> > Date:24/05/2002 15:13:17 GMT Daylight Time

> > From:<A HREF= " mailto:suef.burton@b... " >suef.burton@b...</A>

> > Reply-to:<A HREF= " mailto:surfacehippy@y... " >surfacehippy@y...</A>

> > To:<A HREF= " mailto:surfacehippy@y... " >surfacehippy@y...</A>

> > Sent from the Internet

> >

> >

> >

> > Hi Kathy,

> > Great news that you have a date .. roll on the 26th!! I can

completely

> > understand your excitement. I think our reaction to this kind of

news only

> > begins to give people an insight into the type of pain we live

with before

> > surgery!

> >

> > In terms of coping .. here are some of the things I did:

> >

> > Our shower is also in a bath - all i did was get a large bath

mat - then I

> > would sit on a towel on the end of the bath, move my legs over

into the

> > bath - (with the help of my husband initially) and then I

actually took the

> > crutches into the bath - just being very careful to place them

carefully

> > down - in order to move to the other end of the bath where the

shower was.

> > And then just reverse the process to get out. It took me about a

week of

> > needing support (about 12 days post op) before I could manage it

on my own.

> > Fortunately from about the third day I had no dressing over the

staples (I

> > don't know if this is a std Mr T procedure) but it certainly

helped.

> > If you have a pair of crutches it is worth just trying the

process out

> > before surgery. Something I stupidly didn't do - not thinking

for a moment

> > that I would be non-weight bearing for so long. If I had of done

so - we

> > possibly would have fitted a rail just to help me stand up once

sitting on

> > the edge of the bath.

> > I found a raise for the toilet very helpful indeed. I have one

sitting here

> > if it is of any use to you - not sure where you live but perhaps

I can

> > arrange to get it to you.

> > Make sure you have plenty of pillows - these are often very

useful for

> > getting comfortable in bed and if you lie on the unoperated side

you have

> > to

> > do so with at least one between your legs.

> > What I found hardest of all was cooking - it is very difficult to

move

> > around the kitchen on crutches - if at all possible I would

advise as many

> > frozen meals stored up in advance! There have been some great

ideas on this

> > list eg an apron with big pockets - which I wish I had heard of

before.

> >

> > I had surgery just before Christmas so at least had my girls,

husband and a

> > friend who came to stay, around for a while. The real shock came

the first

> > day I was on my own and suddenly realised that if I wanted to

drink a cup

> > of

> > tea - i had to do so standing in the kitchen because I couldn't

carry it to

> > the lounge or my desk. Soon got wise to that one and had to get

myself very

> > organised - a flask and my lunch ready in the lounge by the time

everyone

> > left the house in the morning!

> >

> > Two other very useful things I did - organised a cleaning service

once a

> > week for the 6 weeks and shopped online. It also just saved my

husband the

> > hassle - and gave him more time to devote to me - smile!

> >

> > The physios were great and yes they talked me through everything

before I

> > went home - and made certain I could manage stairs. After the 6

weeks I was

> > on two crutches for a further 2 weeks - 4 point walk - then 2

sticks for 2

> > weeks - and then 1 stick - for 2 weeks and then free again!

> > It is a long haul - but hey it goes much quicker than you think!

When I

> > first heard 6 weeks non-weight bearing it felt like forever - but

worth

> > minute of it now. It also felt so strange to be free of pain for

the first

> > time in years - and not to be able to do anything! A huge

contrast to

> > dragging oneself through every day and soldiering one - when the

pain is so

> > bad.

> >

> > Can't say enough .. it is well worth it!

> > Sorry this has been very long already but I hope at least some of

it might

> > be useful to you.

> > Sue

> > Re: First consultation tomorrow

> >

> >

> > Sue /

> > More news....

> > I now have a date for my surgery (so excited - some of my

colleagues

> > find that perverse)- on 26th June at the Royal Orthopaedic. I

missed

> > out on that 0% finance at the Nuffield because they didn't have

a

> > date soon enough. Still finances are a minor concern vs

mobility. You

> > would think that my condition would merit jumping the queue,

wouldn't

> > you. I think the trouble is that my hip is borderline for

> > resurfacing - so the surgeon really has to be Mr Treacy. He's

gone

> > 1/2 time NHS, and his waiting list for consultation has shot up

to 44

> > weeks.

> > - you must be about 3 weeks post -op by now - how's the

hip

> > behaving?

> > Sue - I'd love to hear your ideas about coping in the home

during the

> > non-weight-bearing weeks. I have NO idea how I'm going to wash.

Our

> > shower is in the bath, which is up a step! Also, how long did

it take

> > to progress from starting weight-bearing to walking? Then to

walking

> > while carrying something heavy? Did you find the physio and

> > occupational therapy adequately prepared you for coping at home?

> >

> > Regards

> > Kathy

> >

>

>

>

>