Went to physio appointment yesterday.

Hi all . hope you are having a pain free day . I went to my physio appointment yesterday and Oh my god what a day!!

It took me 2 hours to get there, as i have to travel from the otherside of Walsall to Birmingham city centre the traffic was really heavy more than usual. I really struggled i became very fatigued concentrating on the roads as i havent done the journey on my own for some time i was trying to concentrate on the route . My husband who usually takes me could not get the time off to take me due to work commitments and i assured him i would be okay. Did i regret that once i 'd set off it was rush hour traffic and i was travellling through the busy parts of walsall and Birmingham by the time i had hit birmingham it was 8.30 am the peak of rush hour it took me another hour to get through the thick of the traffic and some very idiotic drivers who kept swerving infront of people to get ahead before i got to the hospital. I was very shaky and sweating for the later of my journey by the time i parked up. I was so glad to have reached my destination in one piece . I must say i am quite a confident driver but yesterday i was tested beyond limits so many potential crashes avoided by shere luck due to stupid non thinking drivers.

Any how i took myself to the costa cafe at the hospital to have a hot drink and to calm down from my ordeal. I then hobbled up to physio on my walking stick which took me another 10 minutes to reach as it is so far in the hospital . My physio wnet through my usual exercises and examined my knees and feet. she said it is the RA effecting my knees and that i may never get full 100%use of them back again more like 80%, this deflatted me my ankles and feet are also effected with RA and she has said the same for them. She has told me to continue with my Aquatone and to increase now to two times a week, which i have alsready looked into . She has also gave me tummy and back exercises to do to help with my back pain. I told her about my journey and she was gob smacked to say the least. She said she could transfer me to the Walsall hospital for Physio as she couldnt understand why i had been sent there for physio when there is a hospital 5 minutes from my home who do Physio for people with RA. I did explain that i was under this hospital for my RA . She said i can understand this but Physio appointments are only for 10 minutes at most and its an awful long way to come and alot of strain on yourself for 10 minutes. So to my joy i am now being referred to Walsall Manor hospital for my physio which will make life so much better for me and my hubby. i went away happy about not having to make this awful journey again for physio but a little deflatted about the outcome of my knees and feet , but I am determind to get as much movement back as possible and will not give up.

It took me another two hours to get back home to which point i was exhausted , so much for feeling better after physio lol, even though its not there fault i'd felt as though i'd done a full body work out by the time i got home . Needless to say i slept for 2 hours after and i'm feeling very stiff and swollen this morning. Looking on the bright side at least i wont have to do that journey again for physio. Oh happy days . Soft hugs to all Lena xxx :))

[aligator]

Hi Lena, what a day! Thank goodness you shared with physio your journey experience. It does make you wonder why common sense can not be used to book appointments closer to the patient's home where possible. No wonder you slept. Hope you do get more movement in your feet&knees with the exercises given. Have a good day, love Alison x

[Hidden in reply to aligator]

hi Alison, thank you for your kind support . Yes i'm so relieved that she is movin my physio . I dont think these doctors realise how much the appointments efffect your life as per my husband work he has had to have so much time off to take me to these appointments he is running out of holiday already. But at least the physio has helped me . I am hoping my knees and feet will improve more than figures given fingers crossed. Have a good day too Alison. Love lena xxx

[earthwitch]

Glad you got a referral for physio much closer to home.

I wouldn't worry too much about what the physio said about your recovery - she isn't a doctor, and new treatments are coming in all the time. Just keep on working closely with your rheumatologist and reporting back on how the treatment is working (or not) for you, and you never know, you might find that you end up better off than you would think possible.

[Hidden in reply to earthwitch]

thanks for your advice earthwitch.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

sorry earthwitch i had put more on my reply it doesnt seem to have uploaded. Thankyou again yes i thought that about the physio she is not a doctor and does not know all my case, so i'm trying to stay positive on this even though it did shock me when she said. I will keep up my exercises and maybe shock her lol dont get me wrong she is really lovely and trys to help me enormously. well i'll be moving now to a hospital 5 mins from home and will have an ew physio be interesting to see what they say on my forseeable future. lol take care xxxx lena