Don’t forget with the ACA there’s a lot more people who are now seeing a dr. Between my kids and I with the specialists we see, our wait time has been anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 months before the first appointment. Some of those specialists, if you need to change your appointment, your next available one is 3-6 months out. This was before the ACA was in full effect. Once you get your initial appointment and if it’s too far out for your liking, see if you can call around to the other specialists in the same network and see if they have anything closer.
[QUOTE=TWH Girl;7661552]
I wonder if it’s your location, or that the surgeon you are seeing is in-demand (not really a bad quality to have in a surgeon). I live in a small town area so I can get into my guy within a week or two. He’s also a DO and he’s newer so still establishing patient base.
Interesting about FL being highly regulated for joint replacements. I wonder why? Seems to happen just fine in other states without all that. My mom had two hips replaced. Not too bad of a recovery either![/QUOTE]
Florida is a great place to live and retire and get competent medical care.
Florida is also historically a mecca for bad medicine and quackery- partly becuase you have a massive Medicare population who is seeking the fountain of youth.
In most states, there is a Certificate of Need process if you want to open a hospital. In Florida, there’s also one if you just want to open a Family Practice.
Think about that for a second.
I’m not judging it either way, but that’s a fact.
[QUOTE=spotted draft x filly;7670539]
Don’t forget with the ACA there’s a lot more people who are now seeing a dr. Between my kids and I with the specialists we see, our wait time has been anywhere from 2 weeks to 8 months before the first appointment. Some of those specialists, if you need to change your appointment, your next available one is 3-6 months out. This was before the ACA was in full effect. Once you get your initial appointment and if it’s too far out for your liking, see if you can call around to the other specialists in the same network and see if they have anything closer.[/QUOTE]
You need to complain to Congress. Did you know that the great majority of residency spots are funded by Medicare? Did you know that Medicare funded residency spots have been frozen since 1997? Medical schools are adding additional seats, but do you know what that diploma is worth without a residency spot? Not a damn thing.
I have called those recommended to me and I feel that if I wait 3 months for an initial appointment for everyone I call, I’ll never get the surgery, hence my frustration!
Yes, Florida is Medicare, Medicaid, pain pill mill fraud Capitol of the USA. It’s also still got a large retirement population as well as people who come from Latin America and the Caribbean for medical treatment. Plus there are professional sports teams and here in Miami 2 major universities with their sports programs and all the high schools, etc. Sports are year round. So yes, I see that there is a huge demand for orthopedic surgeons in the area, and maybe not enough good ones to go round. Plus, the first doctor I saw told me that because I have one leg slightly longer than the other I would be better with an anterior approach surgery, which he didn’t do and which he cautioned me to go with someone who has a lot of experience with that surgery. So that further limits my selections.
Sometimes I wonder if I’d be better off going to India for my surgery. I’m told there are very good places there. Probably don’t take my insurance though.
I just want to get it over, because I’m in constant discomfort and pain. It’s like going through the day dragging a heavy weight along, very exhausting. Nevertheless, I drag myself out to the stables to get on my currently stall bound horse (stifle issues) and get on him to walk him around for 45 mins. It hurts, a lot, but I can still manage it so far, so I guess I could be worse off. I feel drained of energy and most days it’s hard to get out of bed in the mornings. I don’t want life to be like this, and I’m trying to deal with what I have to and keep on. Being in constant pain doesn’t give one patience, I want my life back! It’s possible and I get that one must thread through the tedium of our health care system, I have kids, one of them autistic, so btdt. My post was simply a measure of my frustration and feeling exhausted, from my pov as the one looking for medical care in a reasonable time frame.
Thanks to all of you for your suggestions and information. It’s certainly a broader topic than just the frustrations of one person, even if that one person is me.
While you’re waiting for an appointment, get some education on hip replacement options. There are several depending on your age and condition.
First DR I saw recommended a THR, second DR with a larger tool box recommended a Birmingham. DR experience with the procedure is also a factor in your surgery success.
I’m riding without pain… Six years post Birmingham
Start your education here … http://www.surfacehippy.info/
Remember … If the DR’s only tool is a hammer, all your problems are nails.
Anything you can do to put less weight on the hip will help before surgery: lose weight, use a cane or walking stick as much as you can. I went to physical therapy for a couple months before my THR, which helped a lot, too.
From your post, you still sound reasonably active. Maybe you shouldn’t be.
I understand the constant, nagging joint pain. It took me a couple years to convince the orthopods I saw that my ankle really needed an overhaul. The politically correct approach is to push and fight to do what you want. In hindsight, it was kind of stupid.
From a BTDT perspective, since you’re horse can’t be ridden anyway, I would pay someone to walk him a couple days a week, and spend that time sitting on my butt. I would also reassess if riding was really worth the pain that resulted, maybe consider driving instead.
Sometimes the reality of life is that you can’t physically do what you want to. One of reasons I loathe the Olympics is because of all the feel-good, over came physical hardship, against all odds stories. For us peons without a legion of therapists and doctors who actually have to spend 40 hours a week working, it doesn’t always come up roses.
I could keep trying to do weight bearing cardio; if I do, I will hurt - A LOT. So I don’t do it. I miss 30 min on treadmill, 3 days a week (yes I’m weird). That enjoyment wasn’t enough to compensate for the pain (post surgery). BTW, I’m on the sunny side of 40.
Chronic pain totally drains you…there is no doubt about that. It affects every aspect of your life. Stryder, redmares, hosspuller have all spoken with great wisdom imho. A cane can relieve 15% of the weight of that leg if used properly. Stop riding for awhile…use that adage = if it hurts; don’t do it!! After surgery then go for it. Research and line up a second opinion so you feel better about your choices. Be open to medication choices & options and USE them. This is the time in your life to use meds and get support/help from your family & friends. None of this is permanent. Just a few more months!! Hang in there! Soooooo many of us have had to deal with “decrepitudes” and we’ve survived & flourished…until the next one pops up…and there always are!!!
That’s the truth of living…pain happens…and we all age!
Thanks all, very good advice. I really can’t be less active than I am now. Believe me, I’m not running any marathons. My horse and I are both lame, he from a stifle and me from my hip. So we are only walking at the moment. I can get on, it hurts at first, but once we get going I’m ok. Dismounting is a bit harder too, but my saddle is very flat so I can manage. I don’t do any more walking (the dog) then I have too. I do have a cane, which I use sometimes in the morning when I just get up. But even if I don’t ride, just doing housework can put me out the next day.
I look forward to getting this taken care of. Rehabbing my horse is just one more thing I need to plan out.
When I had my own hip replacement I sent horse to A water treadmill/etc rehab place to rehab his suspensory. We recovered over the same months
