The chicken and the egg….

It’s hard sometimes to try and figure out what came first. The problems with Parkies or Arthur (itis) that is! It seems like for several years I have lurched from one health issue to another and things have worsened gradually over time.

I watched a presentation by a Parkinson’s association that I follow talking about things associated with the early stages of Parkinson’s for those recently diagnosed. Parkinson’s is one of those things in life that needs to be looked at from a holistic perspective. Everything that happens in our lives impacts upon other aspects of our lives. During the talk that I watched they talked about the fact that depression and anxiety are common conditions associated with Parkies. One way to combat these is to exercise 4-5 days per week for 45 minutes.

The problem is, when I look at the exercises for Parkies and compare them to what I can do with an extremely wrecked knee from Arthritis it is difficult to see how I can possibly do any of the Parkies exercises. It is a near impossibility for me to be able to do any of the exercises that help keep Parkies at bay.

Another thing that came up in the discussion was the fact that Parkinson’s can cause aggravation of other painful conditions. Just my luck to have two conditions that cause pain and that I have very little control over. Looking at someone like me with a chronic injury caused by arthritis, it is not hard to see that the pain caused by the knee issue is not easily addressed and is exacerbated by Parkies. Apparently, Parkies can cause, worsen or increase sensitivity to pain.

So, anyone who has been reading my blogs in recent times will see that the issue with my knee has been foremost in my thoughts and writings about my life at the moment. As I have recently said to my husband ‘my knee issues are taking up far too much of my brain space at the moment!!’

I had an epiphany the other day. I have been dealing with an Orthopaedic Surgeon in relation to my knee. He had put through a referral for surgery, but he wasn’t sure how long the waitlist was. I had rung the waitlist people and they have said that I could have up to a 12 month wait for surgery. Even then it did not sound very promising. I took stock the other day and remembered that I had been linked in with a Rheumatologist for several years because of arthritis in my fingers. I have made contact with his nurse and she agrees that it would be good for me to meet with him to see if he can help.

The Rheumatology Nurse said – after looking at my x-rays – that I absolutely need to have a knee replacement. Hopefully my Rheumatologist can write a letter or referral to get me on the list for a knee replacement.

Have now more hope that things will return to a point where I can have my operation, fix my knee and then be able to go walking with my lovely husband. At present I can’t even walk around the block with him without pain!