Waiting for Othopedic assessment appt

Jules70

Hi All,

I went to see my GP on friday last week,and have been told my good knee has oesteoarthiritis and i have alot of bone spurs,showing on my xray.they said it was only mild at moment.
I went for a follow up appt last week at hospital and they thnk i may have damaged my cartilage in my good knee,or damaged a ligament.
I had a feel round my joint when i was in bed,and it feels loose in my knee and im sure i could feel something in my knee on the inside bit.
I went to see my GP last week and theyve referred me to orthopedic assessment service,just wondered if anyone on here has been to one,and what to expect?
How long to wait to see somebody?
Im still in lot of pain after my knee giving way week half ago,and at weekend when i turned over in bed,i could feel this horrendous ripping pain from my thigh all the way to my toes.it hurt so bad!!!
When im walking downstairs it feels like something is ripping in my knee and pulling inside.
I have no idea how long i will have to wait for an appt,to find out what the problem is,and im feeling frustrated.that 4 weeks have gone by and im still no wiser as to what the damage is.
My gut feelig is ive either got ligament tear or cartilage tear,i am walking round on it very slowly and have difficulty walking up downstairs.
Any advice would be appreciated!!!

[Deleted User]

Hi Jules

So sorry to hear of the partial diagnosis of osteoarthritis in the knee. I say partial as you are awaiting further assessment and suspect damage in the good knee.

This is a horrible time, waiting for the completion of medical evaluations and thinking there’s probably more to come. It took over a year of return visits for everything that “felt broken” to be accounted for in my recent experience. :shock:

Stay positive and do go along with a list of questions each time: our doctor happily accepted the written list after the first time

Anyway, you probably know this but in case you haven’t seen it, here’s our page on osteoarthritis in the knee from the website:

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/conditions/osteoarthritis-of-the-knee/

Best wishes
Brynmor

stellabean

Hi Jules I went to my GP several times about my knee before they sent me to see a physio at the hospital ( that was August last year) she was able top order xrays. I waited about 6 weeks from referral ( it did take GP 3 weeks to write the letter). The report on the x-ray said it was clear but the physio wasn't convinced and when I saw the x-ray she was right. She sent me for a scan the appointment took another couple of weeks. Then she referred me to the orthopaedic surgeon. I saw him in March ( it took so long as she thought my rheumy would refer me but he didn't) I was listed as a day case and had surgery about 8 weeks ago.
I have OA and RA but also had a foreign body ( damaged cartilage and debris stuck to the patella). My knee is still going down but is so much less painful. I saw the consultant yesterday and he has signed me off.
I hope you find this helpful I know waiting is very hard especially when all you want is answers.

stickywicket

I think everything depends on your local area. They all do things differently. Meanwhile I think it's a matter of resting it when you can and taking ain relief when you can't. Please keep in touch.