I am absolutely fed up.

Sorry for the whinge. The good weather is making me want to get out and about, but I can’t go anywhere. And yes, I know there are many people who are worse off than me.

Actually it doesn’t matter if people are worse off than you.
This is you ,this is impacting your life and your wellbeing, I am sorry I can’t offer any solution but just wanted to say I understand your frustration.
The NHS is broken and I see no end to it.

Moan away 😥 I am horrified and sick to death of the awful sad cases that I know personally 🤬
You are not alone with comment Re Steeting.

Thank you both.

Shocking that you were refused a scan and a physio appointment!!!! Of course it is impacting your life. Another GP visit / phone appointment and make it very clear how much pain you are in and how this is affecting both physical and mental health. You have been treated very badly. Good luck , keep us up to date with your progress.

No wonder you are feeling fed up. 7 months is a long time to be hobbling around

I'm sorry I don't have any advice for you but didn't want to just scroll past

Is it possible to access some advice on exercises you could do to help the healing process?
I damaged a knee ligament about seven months ago, but was given a leaflet with advice on what to do. It is still a problem, but has improved.
At least you might feel that you are doing something to aid your recovery.
Good luck.

Sorry to hear this. Is there any way you could afford to pay privately for a scan? I know you shouldn’t have to but if it’s the only way🤔

Have you looked at physio exercise on YouTube for torn Achilles tendons? To be honest they are often better than what you get from an NHS physio. I saw one recently for tennis elbow and all you get is a link or a photocopied instruction sheet.

I do feel for you not being able to get around in this lovely weather.

So frustrating. No-one listens. I wouldn't want to work for the NHS as the staff have no control. They must develop thick skins, which doesn't help you.

Could you afford to have a scan done privately?
I believe they are in the region of about £200.
I most certainly would in your situation.
You need to know what’s going on and whether physiotherapy is advised.

Seven months seems a long time although I know it’s not a quick fix.

Surely you can self refer for physio? My husband had achilleas tendon surgery and it really does take a long time to repair, I only recently found out that apparently ligaments and tendons don't have a blood supply unlike muscles and that is why they take so long. I really feel for you 💐

Thank you everyone for responding. I have been doing exercises, luckily there is plenty of info on the internet. I can’t afford to pay privately for physio sessions and my GP told me that if I had a private scan I could be expected to pay for any further treatment as the NHS, in this area, only act on their own scans. I certainly can’t afford that.
As well as being upset my the dismissal of my needs - isn’t mobility an important factor as we age - I am horrified by this blatantly dishonest way of reducing waiting lists. It seems that my GP is every bit as frustrated as I am.

Elless

Surely you can self refer for physio? My husband had achilleas tendon surgery and it really does take a long time to repair, I only recently found out that apparently ligaments and tendons don't have a blood supply unlike muscles and that is why they take so long. I really feel for you 💐

You can self refer but that doesn’t mean you will be accepted. I don’t know if this area of the NW is particularly strict compared to others. It’s true that ligaments and tendons don’t have a good blood supply so take longer to heal. I am diabetic so injuries take even longer to heal. Ah well, onwards and upwards.

Isn’t it strange that GP’s surgeries have such different outcomes?
Apparently ours has a physiotherapist who is not too busy. I got an appointment at a time that suited me very quickly. Like Primrose’s he gave me a sheet of excercises! My hip is almost better but still has twinges.

Flippinheck I am sorry you are in pain. My other half has long standing Achilles problem (ruled him out of high level competetive sprinting in his younger days). He finds that as others have said the exercises on the internet are very good. My daughter is a runner too who seems to need regular physio. In this area you can refer yourself. I know physio is expensive but you may only need a couple of sessions to get you on the road to recovery. I hope rest and relief starts to make some difference. Best wishes. xx

This sunny weather doesn’t help as you want to get out and about but can’t. Things always take longer to heal as you get older but with an Achilles tendon tear which can take up to 6 months or even a year I would have thought physio was now an essential part of the healing process. It’s really rotten if you can’t get this and totally unacceptable, even dare I suggest ageist. Could you afford to pay privately? If so I would recommend someone who has trained in sports injuries as they will be very knowledgeable and experienced with Achilles tendon problems.

for Flippinheck

I cannot believe that a GP Referral for a scan, has been denied.
I am totally disgusted by your Hospital Trust. Any referral by a GP , should be acted upon asap.
Really sorry and shocked to hear this.

I’m not knowledgeable at all about the NHS - luckily, I’ve avoided most of it for years!

Seriously though, my hypochondriac friend refers herself for almost continuous physiotherapy - at the moment it’s her hands, last time, it was her back. She also gets x-rays, blood tests, urine dips and scans on demand!

I’m sorry for your situation Flippinheck - it’s obvious the NHS treatment in different areas varies so much.

I ruptured mine completely and it was sewn back together. I spent five months in total in plaster with my toe pointing down and had to go back frequently to have the plaster changed so they could slowly raise the toes to allow more strain on the tendon. It's a horrible injury and I'm afraid the recovery is very long. If you have a partial tear, the treatment is less dramatic and requires rest, elevation and a gradual controlled return to walking which can take up to a year. I know because unfortunately my repair tore partially and I have a huge hole in the tendon. Mine hasn't healed because it was scar tissue that tore but a healthy tendon should eventually repair but it's very slow because the blood supply to the achilles is poor. I'm afraid time, rest and care is the solution unless you have a complete rupture and tbh that's pretty obvious as you are completely unable to walk. I got physio through my GP when I had the partial tear and they suggested using a heel lift to take some of the pressure off the tendon, I found it reduced the pain considerably.

Flippinheck

Thank you everyone for responding. I have been doing exercises, luckily there is plenty of info on the internet. I can’t afford to pay privately for physio sessions and my GP told me that if I had a private scan I could be expected to pay for any further treatment as the NHS, in this area, only act on their own scans. I certainly can’t afford that.
As well as being upset my the dismissal of my needs - isn’t mobility an important factor as we age - I am horrified by this blatantly dishonest way of reducing waiting lists. It seems that my GP is every bit as frustrated as I am.

I’m not so sure the Dr has given you the correct advice. We paid for a private hospital consultation and still use the NHS. My late friend paid for a private scan, got the result in 48 hours and was then treated in the NHS.

I appreciate it might vary in different areas. Wouldn’t hurt to double check.

I share your concerns about reducing waiting lists. What is also happening now is getting people to agree to have follow up appointments by phone rather than going to hospital and actually meeting your Consultant. I don’t agree with that either.

My son was supposed to see his Consultant a couple of weeks ago for the first time since he started chemo in January. We were all looking forward to finally meeting him, him getting a proper examination and an opportunity to discuss how he is feeling and for him to arrange a scan to see if chemo is working. It takes an hour to get to hospital so we just had our coats on to leave, the phone rang and the Consultant said he wanted to do a phone call instead! He just asked how son was and he was so surprised he just said OK, which he really isn’t and he asked if he felt he could endure the remaining chemo sessions and he said he hoped so. That was it! I think that is shocking and had it been me I would have said “too late, I’m on my way.” He has never even set eyes on my son so how can he tell if he’s doing OK?

Areas must vary a lot because here in my area in the south east, we can self refer for physiotherapy and I have never been refused when I’ve popped in to one in our nearest town.

A few years ago, knowing I was heading for a hip replacement, to speed things up I paid to have a scan done privately at our large NHS hospital, and then a few months later my hip was done under the NHS but at a private hospital.

I’m sorry you seem to be stuck. I hope you don’t have to wait too much longer for an improvement.

Have you contacted PALS (The NHS Patient Advice and Liaison Service) ? I know GPs are getting frustrated by the number of referral requests that are being "bounced" so it probably is not the GP's fault.

There is also a free helpline run by the Patient Association.

Primrose53

Flippinheck

Thank you everyone for responding. I have been doing exercises, luckily there is plenty of info on the internet. I can’t afford to pay privately for physio sessions and my GP told me that if I had a private scan I could be expected to pay for any further treatment as the NHS, in this area, only act on their own scans. I certainly can’t afford that.
As well as being upset my the dismissal of my needs - isn’t mobility an important factor as we age - I am horrified by this blatantly dishonest way of reducing waiting lists. It seems that my GP is every bit as frustrated as I am.

I’m not so sure the Dr has given you the correct advice. We paid for a private hospital consultation and still use the NHS. My late friend paid for a private scan, got the result in 48 hours and was then treated in the NHS.

I appreciate it might vary in different areas. Wouldn’t hurt to double check.

I share your concerns about reducing waiting lists. What is also happening now is getting people to agree to have follow up appointments by phone rather than going to hospital and actually meeting your Consultant. I don’t agree with that either.

My son was supposed to see his Consultant a couple of weeks ago for the first time since he started chemo in January. We were all looking forward to finally meeting him, him getting a proper examination and an opportunity to discuss how he is feeling and for him to arrange a scan to see if chemo is working. It takes an hour to get to hospital so we just had our coats on to leave, the phone rang and the Consultant said he wanted to do a phone call instead! He just asked how son was and he was so surprised he just said OK, which he really isn’t and he asked if he felt he could endure the remaining chemo sessions and he said he hoped so. That was it! I think that is shocking and had it been me I would have said “too late, I’m on my way.” He has never even set eyes on my son so how can he tell if he’s doing OK?

And I thought I couldn’t be more shocked. That is awful. My heart is with your so , and you,