When I saw the knee specialist LAST AUGUST it was a bit of a nothing burger, other than being told that meniscus surgery was maybe not going to be useful, and might even be harmful, because she thought the main problem was the arthrosis, which at that point was possibly bone on bone. And so to make a decision about which kind of surgery I might require she would have to see updated x-rays to determine the state of deterioration. Ok fine, I went straight downstairs to their mobile x-ray unit and had them taken THAT DAY. Meanwhile I was given the usual “treatment” advice (ride a bike, lose weight, go to the pool) as well as some extra bonus “treatment” of opioids (to take twice a day between the thrice daily paracetamol) and was told there would be a revision in three months. Revision of what, I wondered, as the x-ray results would have been available that same day and there was no fucking way I was taking 5 painkillers a day, let alone even one. And certainly not for three months.

Anyhow, you guessed it, three months passed, then four… yesterday’s appointment came almost exactly seven months after the last one. And I had no idea what to expect but tbh I wasn’t hopeful. I had already had the x-rays redone in October when I realised they were supposed to be “con carga” (weight bearing) and I had been lying down for the ones I had taken at the mobile unit, which I pointed out to the specialist yesterday. She was like… oh really, where did you have them done? (possibly thinking I’d gone private) but I said it was at a different health centre my GP sent me to. So if this had been another ploy to postpone things further because the x-rays needed to be done AGAIN, well, I already took care of that.

Then came the BIG NEWS. Which is what I need is a full-on knee replacement, the meniscus tear was irrelevant in terms of why I was experiencing so much pain. So… okay… now what? Well, in order to qualify for knee replacement surgery I would have to lose 10 kilos. Again… okay… so then I get put on the waiting list and confirm the weight loss when they do all that pre-surgery stuff they do (trust me, been through that enough). Because waiting lists for orthopaedic surgery can be a year long or more.

Again… nope. First I have to lose the 10 kilos, then present myself to my GP who will weigh me and certify I have indeed lost the required weight and THEN she will request a new knee specialist appointment… which we already know can take up to six months or more. And ONLY THEN will I be put on the long long long surgery waiting list.

Taking into account that it will take me at least 3-4 months to lose 10 kilos, that takes me up to summertime 2026, then I’d see my GP, and maybe 6 months later get to see the knee specialist again (we’re up to February 2027 by now) and then I get put on the surgery waiting list, of course as long as I’ve managed to keep the weight off, so I am maybe looking at the possibility of a knee replacement sometime late 2027. Maybe.

My pal Charo had a knee replacement done in September 2024. She has private insurance. The surgery didn’t go so well and had to be redone. Now she seems to be fine, walking around okay, but sometimes still with some difficulty. Sadly this is exactly what much of our beleaguered public health care system is trying to do… force us to go private. And well, if you can afford it, maybe that’s a good option for you. But it isn’t an option for most of us. And it is mostly not the best option because – at least for now – our public health care system (when you can access it!) offers the best care you could ever want, the public hospitals (many are teaching hospitals) are the best equipped with the most up to date everything, have top professionals in their ranks.

People often opt for private because they can get an appointment any ol’ time they like, which is great for small issues, but trust me, when the shit hits the fan and you require serious medical treatment… you want our public health service. Flawed as it is these days, it’s still well and above what private can offer. But now… back to me! 🙂

Even if I could afford it, I really don’t want to go to Knees R Us to get serious surgery like a replacement done. Pretty sure they’d even overlook the weight issue, because they just want to get paid. So my only option is to do what I’ve been told.

I realise for me this is going to be a “marathon not a sprint” situation. First of all, I’m fucking old and basically can’t walk so telling me to “stay active” (they told me this again yesterday) just makes me want to scream. But somehow I’m still supposed to lose 10 kilos before they will even look at me again… and omg cannot even begin to tell you how many triggers that, well, triggers.

It’s been a long life of “weight and eating issues” since I was a small child, ending up with me borderline anorexic during my teens and twenties. And so this is not as simple as “going on a diet” to achieve a “goal”. It’s also all tied up with abuse and other fucked up emotional issues too (not uncommon) so untangling all that to see a clear path for me probably won’t happen overnight. But whatever I choose to do it will have to be on my own terms, that much I know.

Anyhow even if I started a big-time fast-weight-loss plan tomorrow it still wouldn’t mean knee surgery before next year. And I already know that “quick fix” low-cal diets aren’t sustainable and the results don’t last. Trust me, I’ve done them all.

My idea is to get down to the required weight for a knee-replacement op sometime this summer and have my GP put through the request for another specialist appointment then. Again, if they’d told me this last August (because they knew!) I would probably already be there but… hey, just lost seven months for nothing. And so, here I go. Whatevs, eh?