Hi, my name is asif1974! Unsure what benefits I should be getting

asif1974

19/2/2020 suffered a heartattack at the start of the pandemic also had a quadruple heart bypass. unsure to what benifits i should be getting and i know im a bit late to check as i have been awarded pip at the lower rate on both. i also suffer from ostioatheritis which my left knee is really bad doctor reffered me to knee surgeon and he advised me for keyhole surgury but im dubious as i dont want to be cut open again after the quadruple bypass i have an OXFORD KNEE SCORE OF 5 and wondered if i would be able to submit this as evidence that i am not that mobile .

The knee surgeons report said:

 I saw you in the clinic today.  You came in for the left knee pain, with occasional locking onto left knee.  He is mobilising with one leg.  You have tried all the conservative management.
On examination there is tender over the medial jointline. McMurry test was positive.  He had mri scan in 2019 which confirmed a horizontal longitudinal tear of the posterier horn of the medial meniscus and he had xray today which showed mild changes on the medial side.
 
XR KNEE Rt ......THERE is MILD joint space narrowing in the medial compartment. Normal lateral and patellofemoral compartments. There is a small joint effusion. The patellais central.
XR KNEE LT says  exactlly the same as above

i also use a stick to get around at snails pace and specialist knee brace to no avail still hurts..

Any help to this matter id appreciate tyia
 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @asif1974

Welcome to the community, how are you today? 

Delighted that you've joined us and thanks for introducing us to yourself. 

I'm sorry to hear about what you've been through in the past 18 months, it sounds really hard and I hope you are getting all the support you need from health professionals to recover and manage. Have you explored other mobility aids aside from the stick? 

Regarding your benefits, it's hard to say exactly what you should be getting with PIP as it's more about how your conditions impact you rather than any diagnosis, so that's worth thinking about. It certainly seems to impact you quite a bit if you struggle to get around without the stick. If you are wondering about other benefits, you might wish to use a benefits calculator to try and estimate entitlement for your current circumstances.

janer1967

Hi and welcome and very sorry about all your suffering 

As for benefits it's hard fir us to advise without knowing all your circumstances 
As advised a benefits calculator can help or a full benefit check with welfare rights 

asif1974

ty i will contact the welfare rights for a benifit check

asif1974

asif1974 said:

ty i will contact the welfare rights for a benifit check

ps . just wanted to know what the medical jargon ment from the knee surgeon

Ross_Alumni

I wish I could enlighten you on that @asif1974 but I'm not sure what it means exactly either Have you queried it with the surgeon?

chiarieds

Hi @asif1974 - to try & explain the medical jargon.

It seems after trying non surgical (conservative) methods, which might have included physiotherapy exercises, & your knee brace, that you still had pain. The McMurray test is to check for a torn meniscus. You have 2 menisci in each joint, & it's the one on the inner side of your left knee that has a lengthwise tear, If you imagine your meniscus as a 'C' shape, your tear would be in the tail of the 'C' which is towards the back (posterior).

Tears of this so-called posterior horn of the meniscus are fairly common & can be caused by general wear & tear (& you mention osteoarthrosis). Joint narrowing is due to this wear & tear, but in yourself is mild & just showing on the inner side of your knee (that closest to your other leg) & not on the outer (lateral) side, nor the space under the back of your kneecap (the patellofemoral compartment). Your kneecap is central or in the midline, so in the normal position. There is a small swelling (effusion) in the joint.

Hope that helps.

asif1974

thanks alot it helped me alot i understand now 

chiarieds

You're welcome @asif1974 - I'm a physio, & have treated rather a lot of torn menisci as a student!