5 weeks later and I'm still having intense Achilles pain. I can barely walk without limping. I had an ultrasound done and they confirmed that the Achilles was still in tact (not ruptured) but noted that there was a severe amount of inflammation, which is evident just looking at my Achilles. 38 pictures have been sent to my GP so I'll have to go and follow up with the GP on the best management practice. The radiologist noted that the inflammation was right where the Achilles and Heel connect, which is bad as wearing shoes constantly aggravates the injury and prolongs recovery time. As soon as I take my shoes off I feel instant relief.
omg, no ultrasound's close to useless! GPs are out of the depth i bet, they won't go for the higher power scans b/c they have strict quotas and they get audited for referring them! If i went by the US and xray scans and my GPs interpretation of them, my knee was fine and i just have to rest. Get your gp to refer to you to a ortho. My ortho was able to do a free MRI at the hospital with a 3.0T machine. Medicare paid for most of the ortho consult fee (i think it's $200 most places), but i had about $80 out of pocket from memory, that's still cheap compared to getting the MRI privately, the hospital quoted like $700! And the difference between a 1.5T MRI (most small labs) and a 3.0T MRI (only big labs or hospitals) is day and night. Call first and confirm your choice of ortho will do a scan for free if he deems it necessary (he most prob will).
My recent knee scope was done under private (i saw the ortho tuesday and the operation was booked in for thursday!). Cost me $500 out of pocket (i think what wasn't covered by insurance was the general anesthetic) but i had had private insurance (thought it was a waste of money tbh until you need it). Without the insurance, i think the cost was around $2000? not sure. I wonder how long it would have taken publically. I'm on a waiting list to see a cardiologist for my heart since January, prob not going to see him for a while .. hopefully im still alive ha.
I never knew that GP's had quotas. Unfortunately I had the ultrasound done over 3 months ago now. A MRI is still an option; however, I can't afford surgery privately even if the MRI had adverse findings. My ultrasound did show findings though and I have provided my Physio with the ultrasound report. At this stage I'm just going to stick with the Physio and take conservative treatment. I felt pretty down and thought my days of playing rugby league were over, which is why I hadn't done anything for 6 months. Now I'm just following the Physio's instructions and doing all the rehab as prescribed to a T.
That's very interesting about your knee though. In your situation it was great that you followed through with a MRI otherwise it would be unresolved. It's amazing that even with private health insurance they still slug you for 'extras' and out of pocket expenses. With your cardiology I would be calling up the hospital and asking about it. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. It's good to see you back logging again. As soon as I'm back at the gym I'm going to start logging again too, although I dread to think about the strength I've lost.
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. I'm just realising now how out of condition I am though. Clean pulls today and my legs are completely fucked!