Mental health/hillwalking

[HalfManHalfTitanium]

Whilst I accept the timeline of a hillwalker/mountaineer my main sadness is that I cannot physically do all the big stuff I used to do. Totally agreed that I should adapt to old age limitations (I am chronologically 63 but my knees are easily 163) and the fact that I cannot do all the stuff that I have done for so long is hard to take.

I really do not want to adapt (self esteem?) so much that eg I do the Northumbrian Coastal Path along with dog walkers and (yes very decent) shufflers which taken together is seriously not helping my mental wellbeing

Further, I look at all my hillwalking kit and sigh... so I should just pull up somewhere remote in my Landy and admire the view hoping that the magic of the great outdoors will get through to me somehow?

I don't know your situation, but have you considered knee replacements?

Aged 50, I thought all hillwalking might be behind me, due to a bad knee. Six months after a knee replacement, I tried Striding Edge as a test, and it was fine.

I am now facing a replacement on the other knee, but in the meantime, I am fine. The only difference these days is I avoid multi-day walks, in order to not carry a heavy pack, because I was advised that that is very bad for the knees.

But I can still do the easier Munro-levels walks day after day, as long as I use my walking poles and I don't overdo it on any one day.

Tim

[Sgurr]

Husband was on the list for a knee replacement, but they currently don't think it a good idea. However he had a massive cortisone injection from his consultant last year which got him up several Wainwrights. Consultant hasn't said they are limited or rationed in any way, but people we have met on the hill say gloomily "Oh, my wife had that, but there's only so many you can have." So he is `now veering back to putting up with the pain as he is scared they will only give him a certain number, and there are fewer days in winter that look good. He was depressed that while I could do all the Fife Marilyns in a day, he was limited to the lower reaches and driving me round them....but next year. Have you asked??? From where I sit, 63 is far too young to give up...I had only just finished the Munros then and had most of the rest to come.

[RocksRock]

Sgurr,

I had my right knee replaced in March and I am as happy as larry with the new one.........so I am really sorry they are not keen to do your husband's, cos it has made such a big change for the better for me.

As I recall from last year with the cortisone injections, if you can manage without and have some quality of life do so, but if not have them six monthly seems to be what is advised here. Don't know if there is an upper limit to total number tho. The only other thing about the injections is that there has to be a gap between last injection and the operation. Guy who did mine wanted minimum three months gap. but when I saw him in October he said no more as I wanted the op in March. Some surgeons here want 6 months cortisone free others only 1, so mine was middle of road.

[Pastychomper]

This post seems to have had a bit of a revival. When it started there was a reporter got in touch with some who responded and it resulted in a large interactive piece on the Scotsman online. Never posted it at the time as I wasn't sure (and am still not) about being featured so prominently, but, hey, there's nothing in it I feel I should be ashamed of, so if it's of help to anyone...
https://www.scotsman.com/interactive/munros#main-page-section-0

Thanks for the reminder. I didn't read the article at the time so I've only just noticed I was misquoted, but those mistakes don't affect the tone of an otherwise good article.

[Giant Stoneater]

Husband was on the list for a knee replacement, but they currently don't think it a good idea. However he had a massive cortisone injection from his consultant last year which got him up several Wainwrights. Consultant hasn't said they are limited or rationed in any way, but people we have met on the hill say gloomily "Oh, my wife had that, but there's only so many you can have." So he is `now veering back to putting up with the pain as he is scared they will only give him a certain number, and there are fewer days in winter that look good. He was depressed that while I could do all the Fife Marilyns in a day, he was limited to the lower reaches and driving me round them....but next year. Have you asked??? From where I sit, 63 is far too young to give up...I had only just finished the Munros then and had most of the rest to come.

You can have roughly 3 cortisone injections a year,try getting that on the NHS, There is no rule about the number of cortisone injections a person can have.
Allan McGraw Morton Manager click link

https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/to-inject-or-not-to-inject-that-is-the-question-for-gerrard-and-mcclaren-401483.html