Waiting, waiting, waiting.

[2kidsintow]

I'm inching closer and closer to having my hip problem resolved.

I waited for a referal for an xray and blood test.

I waited for the results - not aided by the fact that they had lost them, then assured me that they were clear.

I waited for the problem to get better based on the assurance that things were clear.

I waited for a referal to physio when I went back to the GP after a year of waiting to improve. (12 weeks waiting list)

I tried 12 rounds of physio appointments, which made my symptoms worse - so they referred me back to the hospital. I waited 9 weeks for that appt.

The hospital triage person referred me BACK to the same physio dept. After 5 weeks I went to see them to be told that their standard waiting list was no longer 12 weeks, but 18. They did find me a quicker appt once I asked whether I needed to be on that list as I'd only just been sent away from them, only to be sent straight back.

I tried another set of physio appointments before the new guy realised that yes, it was making it worse.

He referred me to a consultant for a scan. Another 12 weeks or more.

He said I didn't need a scan and told me what the problem was and that I would have steroid injection, followed by keyhole surgery.

That was 4 weeks ago and I'm waiting for my letter to book the injection. Then there will be another 8 or more weeks before they decide on whether to put me n for the injection.

This isn't a complaint, per se. Just resignation to how-things-are.

And it's the reason that, when I developed trigeminal neuralgia recently, I paid privately to get to see my neurologist within 2 days, not 26 weeks and to have my MRI in 2 weeks, not another 2 months.

[RandomMess]

Yep if you don't have something straighforward to diagnose and treat it's all a huge waiting game

Still I'm incredibly grateful we do have the NHS (because I can't afford private healthcare!)

[GotMyGoat]

:( it is so shocking because I want to say how lucky you are for being able to afford to see a neurologist privately, but that in it's self is disgusting of me to think - because it shouldn't be this way! The NHS is not free - we all pay for it from our NI so why is it so appaling for waiting times?

I've been waiting for the mri and pain relieving injection since September - have just had the mri, so fingers crossed some pain relief might come soon...

[2kidsintow]

I know I'm lucky that I had the savings to pay for the private neuro appt. And it saved so much time.

Although... there are soooo many appointments just not being taken - or being wasted while there are people waiting.

The person before me at the NHS clinic just didn't show.
And despite being told at the second round of physio that I really had another 6 weeks to wait - they remembered me and found me an appt for the next week.

[2kidsintow]

The biggest annoyance, random, is that it is simple.
The consultant (when I finally saw him) was amazed it had taken 3 years. He looked at the xray taken at the start of the process - that had been cleared as ok by the GP and whoever would have looked at them first - and showed me what the problem was.
Once he pointed it out to me, I could see it too.

[Matildathecat]

Oh how I empathise. A back injury, failed surgery, physio, pain clinics, injections, more surgery, more injections and on and on. The nhs simply cannot cope. I, too have paid for numerous private MRIs and consultant appointments. It's eye wateringly expensive.

Hope you get sorted soon. Painful hip and face is crap.