Nervous about going private

lindahippy

Hi everybody thank you for reading this post. I was told four years ago that i need a new hip, advice was to go away lose the last 3 stone as i need to have a bmi of under 30 ( I have already lost 8stone) and they ( muscle skeletal people)will put me on the waiting list. Well losing weight hasnt come easy and as the lists get longer the actual ability to get on this list becomes futher and further out of reach. The problems with my knee and the increase of pain (on the same side ) has now overtaken the pain of the hip and im in constant pain night and day. The g.p will do nothing for the knee until the hip is done meanwhile im becoming more and more disabled and its now to the point of me losing my business as a dog groomer.

So my query is : How do you even start to find somewhere to get it done privately ?? What are the pit falls to avoid ??

Thanking you in adavnce of any information

Linda in Lincolnshire😁

Trish9556

Hi @lindahippy

Under the NHS choices scheme you can choose to go to whichever hospital in the scheme you want to. Even if its a private hospital the NHS pay but you get shorter waiting lists, usually with NHS consultants who also work in the private sector

My msk physio referred me to the nearest hospital with short waiting lists. This sent me to a private hospital 5 miles away. Saw the surgeon in October, I've had two x rays, one injection and surgery happening in May.

Check it out and have the conversation with your GP or physio who is referring you.

Trish

lindahippy

Thank you Trish for the information,

The main problem i have is the msk consultant has not yet referred me . He will not get me on the waiting list until i have a bmi of 30. I also have a major problem with the same side knee of which the doctor will do nothing about until the hip is done its a never ending circle. Things have got so bad the pain of my knee now outweighs the pain of the hip. This is why i was thinking of getting it done privately but it just looks like a mine field and im not sure what is the best way forward

linda 😊

Denise68

Hi Linda,

I was in a similar situation and needed both hips done as they were equally as bad. I was totally disabled, unable to walk, couldn't drive, house bound, in chronic pain, unable to work and only 52. The NHS didn't want to operate as my BMI was 36 and because they said I was too young! The wait was around 3 years per hip, they will only do one at a time. The wait time but is even longer now where I live due to huge retired population and COVID backlogs. I explored the private route (no insurance) and found a clinic that specialises in hip replacements and the surgeon was highly recommended. I referred myself, the NHS consultant had no involvement. This cost me most of my life savings but was worth every penny, I had both done at the same time. I have arthritis everywhere but the hips were totally disabling and caused me to have lack of mobility, I had no quality of life whatsoever. Ironically my weight and age were not such an issue when I was paying for the surgery though the surgeon did suggest my rehab would be considerably easier if I lost some weight, it was just a totally different experience. I did manage to lose a couple of stone. I would encourage anyone who does have the funds to just go private, I am not a wealthy person but what price do you put on quality of life, I had none. Sadly my previous and ongoing experience with NHS has not been good, I have just been discarded by Rheum Dept with disabling arthritis and pain, they really do not care, no treatment or medication, just told I can come back when I need joint replacements. I think it really is a postcode lottery with NHS care. I appreciate that my experience is a bad one and it may not be the same for everybody. I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

shacklock25

Thank you so much for getting back to me. Amen so pleased your hips are ok now. I don't blame you for going private. At the moment I only need one doing. I'm 73. What I don't understand is that the x-ray shows only moderate arthritis so the symptoms don't reflect that. Did your x-ray show that or was it bone on bone?

Denise68

You are most welcome. I had been going to the GP for years complaining about lower back pain and pain down my legs, so bad I was unable to sleep. I never had pain in my actual hip area until the end. I was continually fobbed off, eventually I was sent for an x-ray and then it was all systems go! Private surgeon said it was bone on bone and as bad as it can get, he reckoned it had been deteriorating for many many years. From the initial consultation in NHS to the private surgery was 7 months and the acceleration in pain and disability during that period was unbelievable, almost in a wheelchair. The pain I am in now is bad, my whole spine (confirmed via MRI scan), shoulder, hands, wrists and feet are riddled with arthritis. My dad was the same and had to give up work at 45, he had Rheumatoid Arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis, they say mine is "only" osteoarthritis though my surgeon in private sector said he didn't agree. I don't know what to do next and no longer have the funds for private treatment :(

 

K9Sue

Hi, I’ve just joined and am Lincs too, my GP recommended I be referred to a private hospital in Grimsby to see the surgeon who works at the local NHS hospital, knee wait time 2/3 months although I’ve got a provisional date that is earlier than that. Worth checking with your Dr or research yourself where you can go. They do seem to deal with one thing at once, I could also have back surgery so to me that complicates the knee but to the surgeon it was a different issue.

Just been referred to the same hospital to see a rheumatologist privately whilst waiting for my NHS referral. NHS 22 weeks, private 1 week to see the head guy! It was definitely worth it!

swimmer60

@Denise68

I too went private in the end. I'd been going to the GP for about a year complaining about the pain from my dodgy hip, only to be prescribed unlimited opiates. Last September my hip started to collapse, I couldn't stand when I got out of bed and the pain was unbearable. X-rays revealed no cartilege at all in hip. I would've been in a wheel chair very soon.

I had my private op. October 13th. So very expensive but worth every penny.

I read online there is a hip clinic in London that offers a new technique and is much cheaper. Access and support issues made that an impossible option for me, but I wonder if anyone here has used the clinic.

Denise68

@swimmer60

I hear this so much, being fobbed off and just given painkillers, my treatment was the same.

It is very expensive but so worth it. I was surprised how many people around me said there is no way they would use all their savings, I had no quality of life and until your mobility is taken and you are living in chronic pain 24/7 I think it is hard to relate.

I had the "new" minimally invasive surgery, small 5 inch scar, no staples it was glued and no muscles or tendons are cut, was the same price as the conventional method just have to find a surgeon who can do it. Mine was done at a clinic in East Sussex which only does hip replacements. I did a lot of research prior to my surgery, if I was going to pay a small fortune then I wanted to make sure it was done by one of the best. The downside was location and COVID, I had to go through it all on my own and no visitors but managed ok.

Wish somebody could fix all the other worn out joint I have! New hands, feet, shoulders and spine would be marvellous 🤣

swimmer60

@Denise68

That's very interesting about your surgery. Going to have to get my other hip done sooner or later, preferably later, and I will certainly investigate. How tremendous you did it all on your own and in the middle of blooming Covid! 🤚 My kids seem quite sanguine about me spending their inheritance, both said go for it!

Yes, new hands would be wonderful! I'm so clumsy these days, can't seem to gauge how much grip I need.

Take care 😘

Trish9556

https://community.versusarthritis.org/discussion/comment/720031#Comment_720031

Hi @swimmer60

You don't have to spend your savings to get a new hip, just ask your Dr to the hospital with the shortest waiting list and you'll probably fund the hospital you used last time on the list. It's covered by NHS choices, free ans exactly the same treatment and surgeon you paid for last time.

This is how I'm getting mine done in May.

Trish

swimmer60

@Trish9556

Thank you for that tip. Filed for future reference!👍️

However, in the end I couldn't have even waited 2 months. I need to be a lot more assertive with my GP who ignored

my pain and kept prescribing opiates, for months and months and months. In the end I was desperate.

Nurina

Same here @swimmer60 I couldn't have even waited even one month more. Like you, I was desperate. My mental health was deteriorating faster than my hips. One year on a waiting list and I'd need a straitjacket, not a hip replacement.

swimmer60

@Nurina

Me too!

Lilymary

I was fobbed off for months (wouldn't even xray) until a fall precipitated a rapid decline, my GP agreed to see me, referred me for xray, and put me straight on the list for THR and MSK consultation. Then lockdown started. Oh joy. After multiple lock downs and wasting time on pointless steroid injections (as I had no soft tissue left in my hip to inject), aafter 9 months I was told another 18 month wait loomed thanks to the NHS still being in covid-induced meltdown, at which time the pain was so bad I was barely functional, even on max prescription pain killers. I caved in and went private. It cost a fortune, but was only a three month wait, which I could just about manage. How I would have coped with another 18 months in that much pain I don't know. Just the thought of it makes me shudder.

Luckily we have a specialist orthopedic hospital relatively near us, and several friends had hip replacements there, so I was able to get an inside track on who to go to. When my MSK consultant asked me where I wanted to be referred to under the NHS, I specified this hospital and there was no quibble. I did end up changing surgeons as the one I was allocated to only did a type of surgery that required 12 weeks on crutches and no driving, but as I was self employed, this would have been a real issue for me.

I feel aggrieved that I had to pay for what should otherwise have been free on the NHS, but we were living in extraordinary times in 2020/2021, and normal rules didn't apply. Under the circumstances I don't regret having taken this route, and take the view that in doing so I gave a vast amount of money to the NHS for the use of their theatre etc, and someone else could take my slot on the waiting list.

I hope you can find something that works for you.

Nikbok

Check out Health at Every Size for resources on advocating to get the care you need - it's completely unacceptable to leave people in pain because they don't meet an arbitrary BMI limit (there's no evidence that losing weight prior to joint replacement surgery has an impact on outcomes). Smokers are still treated despite the fact there could be an increased risk of complications from surgery, but people who weigh more are left in pain, when the surgery would actually enable them to do more exercise and live a healthier life! It literally makes no sense, and you shouldn't have to put up with it.

https://haeshealthsheets.com/joint-replacement/

noddingtonpete

Hi @Nikbok the Health at Every Size looks like an American institution. As such what they are suggesting may not be relevant for the UK and the NHS. If you are looking for info on joint replacement I would suggest looking at the Versus Arthritis website or an NHS source to make sure you get the UK guidance.

Regards

Peter