Finally seen my consultant/surgeon

babytiger

Been to hospital this morning and was told I would have to wait 2 hours to see consultant,great I thought ,I will finally get something done.How wrong could I be.... he said my knee was fully flexible in operating theatre and did I have pain afterwards,I tried telling him I told you the day after I was in agony but that went over his head.
Next I got the speel about younger people have more nerves etc and because I was in pain didnt do exercises enough, stiffening it up .I told him,me and physio tried our hardest to get knee moving,even at home I tried my darnest.. next he said maybe you were trying too hard.... I COULDNT WIN
xrays are fine according to him ,he cant give me answers as to why I cant walk or stand more than 5-10min without agony ,He doesnt know why my knee wont move,it may move in time it may not ,give it 4 years :shock:
Going to have to go back to docs. see if they can get me a second opinion at another hospital.surely they will now after seeing him today.
Also he said ,he wont try and put another knee in, and anyway those knees are a nightmare to take out as they are glued well in
So basically Im still going round in circles,nobody wants to know and Ive still got my useless leg as I call it now

elnafinn

All I can say is that I truly feel for you and I have, from the beginning when you posted here after returning home post op all that time ago. You have had no aftercare from your consultant at all, the physios did their best and tried to get information to him as I remember but some consultants think they are the almighty and will not back down at all and have a reply for any question asked of them. I do hope that your complaint is going through. That may give you some satisfaction. I agree you should have a second opinion. As I remember your gp has not been helpful either. I do not know what to advise anymore. You have had such shoddy treatment and amounts to total negligence. Cannot get much worse than that, can it? I really do not know how some of these people sleep in their beds at night.

Gentle hugs
Elna x

babytiger

Thanks Elna.... basically I was saying black,he was saying white.My GP wrote him a letter telling him what I thought,so\ maybe that agrivated him.Just waiting for the claims peeps to phone back,maybe they can get me a 2nd opinion

Folara

Oh poor you, that's totally rubbish. I agree that some consultants really do think they are god and won't listen to us mere mortals. I remember when I first had problems with my knee and could barely walk (I also had Arthur in hips and spine but the knees were just going). The consultant I saw told me there was little wrong with me and basically it was my own fault for being fat so go away, do some cardio vascular workouts and stop wasting his time.

Get a second opinion. I did and the next surgeon was lovely and said yep the knee was going as well but lets see what we can do to keep it going for a bit longer.

Good luck and don't let them just fob you off.

Fols x

babytiger

Just had the nice lady from claims depart. saying she can start the claim now AND if it could be operated on again,they would get me into private ,this she said would take at least 18 months but would be better if I could get 2nd opinion at different hospital, find out whats really happened,then go from there

stickywicket

That sounds like a plan, babytiger, and at last you have someone on your side. I hope it goes well.

Meanwhile, I'd keep plugging away at the exercises. Good luck and please keep us in the loop..

babytiger

Sticky thanks... I would love to do exercises but my knee is locked at 30/70 and as day goes on it gets even stiffer..I make myself walk or waddle for 10 min every day to try and strenghten leg

stickywicket

That's really tough for you. I'm not even sure if the walking's a good or bad thing in your situation. What does the physio say?

I'm not quite clear about who the 'claims' dept are. Is this through PALS? If you haven't already contacted PALS I really would. I don't know their areas of limitation but they might even be able to organise a second opinion. I do think time is of the essence.

babytiger

Physio dont want to see me either as theres nothing they can do,consultant doesnt want to see till my year review which is November.
I have started a negligence claim against hosp orI am trying to
I am learning to walk with 1 stick but still get a wobble occassionally ,even bought myself a nice tartan one instead of wooden nhs ones.... gonna try housing dep. tomorrow see if they can hurry and move me as I struggle especially going downstairs

barbara12

I am disgusted , like Elna says do these people sleep at night, I am sure if it was there family they would not be left in pain like you are
Good on you for taking it farther, I really do wish you well with it all.
You must be shattered with everything that is going on.
Take care and we are all behind you xx

bubbadog

I'm sorry you had such a bad rhummey appt baby, But as others agreed the best thing to do is get a second opinion and see what comes of that. You need a consultant that will listen to you and you to him, good comunication is the key. I hope your G.P gets the request off and you hear back soon. Take care.

babytiger

well ive phoned the docs,got an appointment on friday...so fingers crossed

stickywicket

Decide before you go in exactly what you want to say to him, babytiger. Write it down if necessary. Take someone with you for moral support and don't leave until you're satisfied.

babytiger

Hi Sticky, I'm taking my hubby with me for support and an extra voice.Only wish he could have went with me on Tuesday (but never mind) I need my meds reviewed again, the pain is starting up again especially at night.... so much for pain free....that didn't last long