Tulip Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Good luck for tomorrow Anjuli x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Good luck for tomorrow Anjuli x Thank you, Tulip - I do appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 I really hope it goes well for you today, dear Anjuli. x 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Legseleven Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Good luck Anjuli, thoughts and prayers coming your way! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Thank you, all - everyone - for your kind thoughts, prayers and well wishes. The kindness and human caring we give one another are our greatest gifts. I have 3 hrs till we leave - and I'm not allowed any food or drink this morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2dancersmum Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Good luck Anjuli, I hope your treatment is a success, thoughts and best wishes are with you 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dancer Sugar Plum Posted October 31, 2013 Share Posted October 31, 2013 Wishing you good luck Anjuli, my thoughts and prayers are with you for a successful treatment. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecatsmother Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 I am sitting waiting for surgeon to call as it's been 3 weeks since scans. Waiting for important phone calls is not much fun although it does force me to keep busy and have even resorted to doing the ironing. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Good luck balleteacher, hope it's going to be positive news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Good luck BT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I hope you get some good news really soon, BT. x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 You are entirely more patient than I am - I would send him a bill for the hours you sat by the phone. Three weeks to read scans? When I had the MRI the doctor read them the next day - early morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecatsmother Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 No call. Phoned them. The secretary I spoke to yesterday is now on leave until 21/11 and practice is closed for the whole day. On the plus side I have new found energy/frustration which I have directed at sanding my kitchen floor! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Grrrrrr! I HATE waiting for results. I feel for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 There is an imaging center here which does mammograms. The worst part of that, of course, is waiting for results. The staff (after many years) figured this out. The policy is immediate results. There is a wait of about 15-20 (dreadful) minutes while the films are being read. But - as the doctor walks through the door into the room where one is waiting - he says "good news." This - as much as possible - keeps the waiting time as short as possible and relieves apprehension as soon as possible. I don't know how bad news is conveyed and pray I never find out. There are ways to alleviate the tensions and fears surrounding these issues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecatsmother Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 Yes. Maybe I will use the experience by writing something in a medical journal at some point. To be fair the problem seems to have been the transfer of digital images from hospital to clinic but communication re the process and delays would really have helped. I do think there is an uneasy patient/consultant relationship at times because ultimately there is a natural instinct not to want to pester the person who potentially is going to have sole control over surgery. I am aware this feeds into some of the dynamics thus maintaining the cycle. Having said that my experience of new consultant was positive upon first meeting and he took time to fully examine source of problem which I only wish the last surgeon had done a year ago when I went back to see him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Doctors secretary's going on leave!!.......I know they need a break of course but why does it always seem to be when you are the one desperate to get hold of a consultant!! Went through this last year when my partner had two different consultants for separate complaints needing an op for each. He liked both the consultants very much......who were both leading experts and innovators in their fields(how lucky was that!) I did warn him (from own previous experience) that when it comes to it he may just get a member of the consultants team doing the op so when finally given dates he wanted to check who was doing the ops on those dates etc. They usually dont seem to like revealing this........and in the end......on the day ......the rota could change if an emergency arose etc. One of the ops was getting urgent the other less so but he was prepared to wait longer to make sure of getting the consultants he wanted. You have to be rather persevering and persistent (I would have just wanted to get it over with!) but he is now very happy with the results of his ops and got the consultants he wanted who were both lovely and didn't appear to take it out on him!!!! Anyway Balletteacher hope the results don't take too long......ive always thought that longer is slightly better as if something really horrible crops up they tend to get back to you quicker...... and lots of fun with the kitchen floor and the ironing.....ugh....going to put that in room 101 I think!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-24826323 Just seen this on the BBC website. Wasn't sure where to post it but could be of interest to anyone recovering from or having problems with knees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 Next stop - surgery. I've gained back three of the ten pounds I lost - I want to gain back more weight before surgery. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 If the surgery takes away the pain then it will be worth it. Good luck Anjuli x 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 7, 2013 Share Posted November 7, 2013 What will the surgery entail? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 "en-tail" is a good word. Surgery is supposedly out-pt - about the size of a bandaid - to enlarge the space for the nerve - removes a bit of the herniation to make more room for the nerve. The sucess rate is supposedly 90-95%. I say "supposedly" because I never seem to fall in the catagories of what's generally expected. It's like my body is from another planet. Recovery time is 6 weeks of careful living - no lifting of anything heavier than a quart of milk, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Oh, Anjuli! You will certainly be in my prayers! x 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 "en-tail" is a good word. Surgery is supposedly out-pt - about the size of a bandaid - to enlarge the space for the nerve - removes a bit of the herniation to make more room for the nerve. The sucess rate is supposedly 90-95%. I say "supposedly" because I never seem to fall in the catagories of what's generally expected. It's like my body is from another planet. Recovery time is 6 weeks of careful living - no lifting of anything heavier than a quart of milk, etc. Are they calling the procedure percutaneous discectomy, Anjuli? Or discectomy/micro discectomy? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Are they calling the procedure percutaneous discectomy, Anjuli? Or discectomy/micro discectomy? I haven't the faintest idea - I stopped computing at the word "surgery." Actually, after suffering through two episodes of this in the last year - each one lasting over 3 months - I'm ready for a hopefully better fix than a steroid shot - which works only marginally. The doctor said he is going to enlarge the space for the nerve. He might be snipping off a bit of the yellow goop (my word, not his) coming out of the disc. He said the disc is very slightly dislodged but not enough to make a difference. This is his specialty - he does nothing else. He is Johns Hopkins trained - a very "get 'er done" type of person. He makes things happen now. If he wants to talk to my generalist - he walks out of the room and calls him NOW - and then comes back in and tells me about the conversation. He had four x-rays taken NOW - while I was there -- no having to come back another time. He read the X-rays immediately and talked to me about them NOW. A surgery coordinator came in and told me she will be setting up all the arrangements - schedules, coordinating medical records, insurance paperwork - NOW. She will be calling me with a date. So far I have confidence in this doctor - besides he is good looking. A long time friend - we met in ballet class in the 1970's - had this surgery in the 1990's and was able to dance after it. She is calling me this morning with coping mechanisms she developed during the recovery (6 weeks) period. Meanwhile, she is having surgery to remove a bone spur in her shoulder - which I had in the early 1990's - so I'll be sharing with her my coping ideas - and especially the physical therapy I designed which saved my shoulder range of motion - restored it completely after the doctors and PT had given up. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fiz Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 He sounds a terrific person, Anjuli! I do like the proactive type. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 He sounds a terrific person, Anjuli! I do like the proactive type. .....and don't forget good looking, Fiz. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I haven't the faintest idea - I stopped computing at the word "surgery." Actually, after suffering through two episodes of this in the last year - each one lasting over 3 months - I'm ready for a hopefully better fix than a steroid shot - which works only marginally. The doctor said he is going to enlarge the space for the nerve. He might be snipping off a bit of the yellow goop (my word, not his) coming out of the disc. He said the disc is very slightly dislodged but not enough to make a difference. This is his specialty - he does nothing else. He is Johns Hopkins trained - a very "get 'er done" type of person. He makes things happen now. If he wants to talk to my generalist - he walks out of the room and calls him NOW - and then comes back in and tells me about the conversation. He had four x-rays taken NOW - while I was there -- no having to come back another time. He read the X-rays immediately and talked to me about them NOW. A surgery coordinator came in and told me she will be setting up all the arrangements - schedules, coordinating medical records, insurance paperwork - NOW. She will be calling me with a date. So far I have confidence in this doctor - besides he is good looking. A long time friend - we met in ballet class in the 1970's - had this surgery in the 1990's and was able to dance after it. She is calling me this morning with coping mechanisms she developed during the recovery (6 weeks) period. Meanwhile, she is having surgery to remove a bone spur in her shoulder - which I had in the early 1990's - so I'll be sharing with her my coping ideas - and especially the physical therapy I designed which saved my shoulder range of motion - restored it completely after the doctors and PT had given up. Good. He sounds like an excellent doctor - and handsome is always a bonus. ;-) Things have progressed hugely in the 20 or so years since I had my first discectomy. I have two friends who had the surgery within the last couple of years - one is competing in triathlons again and the other is riding his motorbike all over the country. If you are careful, and patient (with yourself AND your back) during the recovery period, all should be well. I will be thinking of you. xx 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thecatsmother Posted November 8, 2013 Author Share Posted November 8, 2013 Well, I still have no results but ended up at A & E as my foot turned a different colour and I could not weight bear. Although medical professionals v nice they all tend to express confusion around what is best to do and ask me what I need. At least I know the blood flow in my foot is intact which was the greatest fear. I now have crutches and anti inflammatories but that's not easy especially when nurse set them at differing heights. Hopefully if I can get swelling down I will be able to cope without the crutches. I really am at a loss around what to do next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LinMM Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 I really do hope they get your foot sorted out soon. It's somehow okay when things seem to be moving forward with actions being taken albeit slowly but when there's such a wait for decisions to be made and nothing is changing it must be so frustrating. Mind you they've found a new piece of structure in the knee very recently which seems quite unbelievable so perhaps there are new pieces in the foot still to be discovered. Shows how complex these things can be then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anjuli_Bai Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Well, I still have no results but ended up at A & E as my foot turned a different colour and I could not weight bear. Although medical professionals v nice they all tend to express confusion around what is best to do and ask me what I need. At least I know the blood flow in my foot is intact which was the greatest fear. I now have crutches and anti inflammatories but that's not easy especially when nurse set them at differing heights. Hopefully if I can get swelling down I will be able to cope without the crutches. I really am at a loss around what to do next. You need an advocate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna C Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Well, I still have no results but ended up at A & E as my foot turned a different colour and I could not weight bear. Although medical professionals v nice they all tend to express confusion around what is best to do and ask me what I need. At least I know the blood flow in my foot is intact which was the greatest fear. I now have crutches and anti inflammatories but that's not easy especially when nurse set them at differing heights. Hopefully if I can get swelling down I will be able to cope without the crutches. I really am at a loss around what to do next. Oh my goodness! That's all you need! :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip Posted November 8, 2013 Share Posted November 8, 2013 Make sure you are resting balleteacher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now