Arthritis in ankle

jule

Well where do I start. I have been struggling with arthritis in the ankle for over 10 years and it has been very hard to keep smiling. I had a consultant that I had been going to for well over 5 years who had talked about ankle fusion and when I was ready to come back. Obviously this was after all the injections which had failed and on morphine etc etc. I had to give up a full time job and go part time as my ankle will only take walking around for 2/3 hours and I am not able to sit down in this time as if I do I cant move. So after going through this I then returned to my consultant to say I was ready as couldnt deal with the pain any longer and all the pain killing medication. Only to be told by him that I was overweight and refused to do the operation. I have always been a yo yo dieter but had gone back to him after loosing 1 1/2 stone but this was still not enough and I had said I am doing all the exercise again but after work I can not walk and once my ankle was fused I would then be able to do all the exercise and reduce my weight. His reply was stop putting food in your mouth that works. I was horrified and this has now brought on depression.

Anna

Hello @jule,

What an unprofessional and unkind response from your consultant! I’m so glad you’ve posted on the community forum because everyone on here knows what it’s like to live with the pain of arthritis, and also understand how difficult it is to explain your pain to others. You’re among friends here, and I’m sure that our members will respond to you with support and kindness.

It can be so hard to talk to doctors and consultants. If you want to speak to your GP, or if you have another appointment with your consultant, you might find the guide below helpful - it’s got some suggestions for how to get ready for your appointment, and it might give you more confidence.

https://versusarthritis.org/news/2023/june/how-can-i-prepare-for-a-doctor-s-appointment-if-i-have-arthritis/

If for health reasons it’s not considered safe for you to have surgery at the moment, you should at least be given an opportunity to discuss your pain medication to see if it needs to change, plus given some idea about how you can begin to lose weight.

with best wishes, and do keep posting,

Anna ( Moderator)

jule

Thankyou for your response and after that consultation I felt so depressed and worthless. I was offered surgery to help me loose weight, which I declined as due to my age I was happy with my life and had excepted my weight after many years of dealing with weight control and depression. So can have an operation to loose weight but cant have surgery to help with continuous pain and being able to deal with every day life and work part time.