maybe some of you will remember me posting a while back about hubby’s chronic degenerative spine (& spinal stenosis).
He’s been having pain in his hip and groin for a little while now and he’s just been diagnosed with a reducible inguinal hernia & is seeing a consultant on the 3rd December re having surgery or not. The US scan also showed troncheritis bursitis in the hip.
We’re due to fly to Australia mid December and deep down I’m feeling concerned about going. He says he’s alright to go - and we will have mobility assistance - but I’m scared of being so far from home if he’s ailing. Although we will be staying with our daughter & family.
Only yesterday we were out for a walk & I remarked on his sprightliness (it was a good day walking for him).
Thanks for the offload. (I’m really missing my bestest ever friend atm (who died suddenly last year)
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Doraflora
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We were in Sydney just over a year ago and went to Bondi. As we got there I realised I had knocked my elbow on something and blood was pouring down my arm. My husband panicked and forced me over to the lifeguard station where a lovely lifeguard put a bandaid (his word) on it for me! It hadn’t worried me as I know if I hold my arm up it will stop but I don’t think he had seen it like this. Made my day!
I've used this website, and personally found the clamshell to be very helpful. We're all different so perhaps he should carefully try whichever looks like will help him most?
travel insurance was my first thought! We had problems getting insurance whilst waiting to see a consultant, & then waiting for results of a test. It’s really important you tell them about forthcoming appointment…usually have to ring them to do that…otherwise it could negate the policy whatever you maybe claiming for, whether it relates to that condition, or not! I have trochanteric birsitis…it was so bad out walking the other day I seriously thought I may need to be stretchered out of the woods. A steroid injection helps bursitis quite a lot…I’m just waiting for a date to get one…should help your hubby if it’s very bad. Damp & cold make mine worse, so weather in Australia should be good for him! As you’re staying with your daughter, you will have great support out there!!
Hi Pixix. We had problems with the travel insurers before we went to Rhodes in September so we are well prepared with our list of updates to give them shortly.
My husband has been diagnosed with trocheritis bursitis & he asked the GP about the injections, but he poo-pooed them, saying it doesn’t work for many people! My hubby could be one of those it does work for!
And the same with hubby, he always suffers greatly with the damp & cold. So a very humid Singapore and a hot Oz should help a considerable amount.
Oooh, bit naughty imho! I’m not a Dr, but I can say that my last injection gave 8 weeks of pain free hip, then it didn’t come back so badly as it was late Spring, &, for me, heat helps so much! We can’t afford to go long haul now…we have the money for the air fare accommodation, car hire, but the insurance quote (for USA) is £4,500 just for one trip! We were refused by several insurers & only one will offer annual premium! We had a few quotes at £6,000+! Have a wonderful trip, I envy you being well enough to travel! S x
Not as bad for us as Asia, Australia & others. We have had many wonderful holidays in the nature areas, mountains, & cities of the USA, but never had any trouble until two years ago…when I’d spent some years disease collecting!!
I had a self drive National Parks trip all planned for our Ruby anniversary…no cities, just nature…& along came Covid! Don’t suppose we will do it now, but yes, well planned before recent events!! S x
They are what they are…I have 12 diseases, & my hubby had pneumonia twice this year. We aren’t young any longer!! It’s a bigger risk! Just a shame that travel was(is one of our favourite hobbies!!
Cruises are dearer, sadly! Plus there are too many bugs & viruses for us to risk it…we are shielding at the moment, & will have to do it through this winter! S x
It seems as we’re getting older we’re being penalised for it by various industries hiking prices up extortionately, it’s as though they’re discouraging us from going anywhere!
Insurance is all about risk assessment - and you do have to admit with Pixix's list, the risk does look a bit high - and the potential costs of hospitalisation in the USA are astronomical! Europe is fine by me - though it was better for you pre-Brexit. I still have an EU cover card as I live here and have Italian medical cover plus an amazing worldwide medical cover from the Weisses Kreuz because I am a member and live in this region.
"My husband has been diagnosed with trocheritis bursitis & he asked the GP about the injections, but he poo-pooed them, saying it doesn’t work for many people!"
I'd be looking for a better doctor - it is one of the 2 remaining pain problems I have. Saw my wonderful rheumy yesterday and we discussed the things the Pain Clinic and rehab/physio haven't managed to improve. Rehab had offered extracorporeal shockwave therapy for the trochanteric bursitis - non-invasive but repeated time-consuming not entirely painless sessions required. The first time with 4 sessions at the recommended intervals worked well for a couple of years, the second time the intervals were too long and not as good and the same with just 3 the last time. So yesterday, my rheumy prodded the sore bits and there and then gave me 2 steroid injections, one over the trochanter on the outside of my right thigh and the other in my back, above the SI joint and below waist level. The pain today is gone apart from a muscle-ish pain in my buttock. He gave me a different type of steroid injection back early in the year and the pain that was for has improved steadily over the 9 months since - much to his surprise and my delight!
If it doesn't work - I'd consider the doctor's technique was less than ideal!!!
Brilliant! I still intend to talk about the shockwave therapy…but I’ve got so many joints in trouble that I think a ‘general’ depo medrone is best right now…then see how long it lasts! Glad yours has worked well, S xx
Oh that’s another encouraging story, PMRpro. But I’m afraid it is what it is with our surgery. They all seem to be as bad as each other here😒
As I said to Pixis, he’ll definitely push it with his GP once we get back, even if we have to go private. Ouch!!
My only worry is whether the tronch bursitis is linked to his spinal stenosis, but what do I know, I’m only a secretary (well, working from home occasionally).
Onwards and upwards for you. Did I read you’re planning to move back to the UK, near your daughter?
WITH the daughter - but not yet! She and her partner have bought a largish former manse which has a single storey extension which is separate from the main house with a loo capable of enlarging to a wetroom and an office to become a bedroom. I will build an "orangerie" as they call them now which is suitable for use all year round. Result - one granny flat. But not ready to leave here full time yet. This is just future-proofing.
It is a great relief really - I know I can't stay here alone forever, much as I'd like to, the flat is perfect in every respect for an oldie, size, running costs, LIFT, in a village with everything you need for basics, train, bus and a town with the non-basics and excellent healthcare in terms of PMR. But no-one avoids aging and at some point it won't be practical alone. If something were to happen suddenly, it could have been messy. The new house is big enough to accommodate me in an emergency should one crop up before my bit is complete. So sorted as far as is possible.
Now it needs a weather transplant for Scotland!!! What was that about global warming would make the UK like the Med? Doesn't seem to have worked ...
You’re right there, PMRpro. We’ve got an extremely cold weekend awaiting us apparently.
We’ve only been in this house 3 years (new build) and we absolutely love it - but we hadn’t anticipated hubby getting spinal stenosis and thus making the stairs a tad tricky. It’s a big house and we’re often talking about downsizing to a one-level place.
Daughter is in Australia and son 200 miles away, and with only little granddaughter and her mum (our former d-in-law) our only relatives around here, I like the sound of these apartments with a manager in residence. Hey ho….we’ll see how things go, but I envy you being able to join your family when it’s necessary for you.
"I like the sound of these apartments with a manager in residence"
Don't go there - really. Yes, the simple ones appealed to me because they are the nearest to what I have here, right size, identical layout, lifts, usually close to shops etc etc. But the ongoing management fees are hefty - and the properties are next to impossible to sell when you die but the family have to keep paying the fees until it is gone, if you can sell it at all, often for a massive loss. 150K flats new sometimes only make 30K after a few years.
Get a good stairlift and shut up upstairs rooms you don't use regularly. No sales/purchase fees and you are still amongst your friends as long as you can be. It is very hard moving somewhere at our age. I still have family and friends in Scotland, I lived there for a third of my life and my brother and his family are in Dundee, still have friends there as well. But otherwise, I will be starting from scratch again - it is hard, not like when you met other mums at the school gate. We moved about every 10 years since I was 21 so I've done it a lot. It is difficult to explain to people who have lived in the same place for years.
Come on Downunder Dora!! Which state will you be visiting, that really determines how the weather will be. Nonetheless, it will be warmer down here, and our health system is good. Don't give up the chance to see your daughter at this late stage. Hoping it works out for you. 🇦🇺 🪃 🐨🦢🐬
Aw, bless you LemonZest11. You bet I won’t give up!
We envy our daughter’s health system. They are private but when she had recent surgery she had her consultant’s private number & he said she could call him any time - 24/7. How the other half live🤣. And her surgeon was an absolute dish: win-win for her!
Amy is in Melbourne (Victoria). Last time we were there - same time of year- we had all four seasons in one day. So we’re ordering wall-to-wall sunshine this time🤣
I'm from Melbourne and yes, the weather is changeable but definitely warmer. I live in Perth now, have done for years. I love Melbourne, go back regularly, but Perth is now home and it is the most beautiful city and WA is a stunningly beautiful state. Weather-wise, gorgeous and reliably warm. And yes, our doctors are incredibly generous. My Rheumatologist calls me almost weekly after my recent relapse and a visit to the haematologist last week concluded with "call me any time". It's not always smooth sailing, but we are fortunate in Aus. Make the journey if you can 🙏.
That is understandable, it’s the most isolated city in the world. When you visit the east coast you have Queensland, NSW and Victoria all there. To travel across the country is a vast distance, equal to several countries in Europe. If you ever get the urge, there’s plenty of room at my house!
I would love to - but it is rather a long way when you don't have family to tour around!!! Though I do fancy the Indian Pacific! Well aware of the distance - but probably no more difficult than Europe. Flights here to Edinburgh are 2 1/2 to 3 hours - but you take 2 to 4 hours to get to an airport by car and that is just to Central Scotland. Train to London used to be OK - any further is hopeless!! Flying is good in the winter because of the ski season but outside mid-December to early April it means a change somewhere - and if that is Frankfurt you are ******!!!! Though now there is Bozen to Gatwick all year on certain days. Much more attractive - wonder if they will ever add Manchester.
It definitely does sound like the sunshine state in Perth. We have friends there and they go to some amazing places/beaches as a family. More expensive than Melbourne: my daughter would love to relocate to Perth if she won the lottery😂
Yes! Beautiful to look at but treacherous to swim, if it wasn't freezing and you ventured in. And the sand? Well, that's not really sand. Don't mean to sound parochial, but it is true, and I'm not from here!! But I do have Scottish blood flowing in my veins!
Some of the Hebridean beaches are fantastic - until you get out of vehicle and almost get blown away… or covered with seaweed after an Atlantic storm [aptly named as Stinky Bay ] - mind our dog loved swimming in the sea, and a daily dip kept her skin free of eczema type issues she had on the mainland.
Wouldn't be allowed there now, it’s a birding site -
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GCA, trochanteric bursitis and itchy rash
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