Sarah Futter – Always Busy

I’ve worked all my life and I’m still working now. I’ve worked as a GP receptionist for the past 14 years having taken voluntary redundancy in my previous job at a pharmaceutical company. I’m fortunate enough to have two daughters and three grandchildren so I’m always busy.

I’ve always been a very active, very outdoor kind of person. I used to play netball when I was younger, then I took up running and cycling. On top of that I’ve got a dog – a border terrier – so I do a lot of walking. Up until recently I was walking about eight miles a day with the dog. I live in a very quiet village so I used to cycle everywhere and would happily do ten to twenty miles at a leisurely pace.

In 2018 I had keyhole surgery on my right knee which was to sort out the meniscus and cartilage in that joint. 

Then, last September, my other knee started to cause me some pain so I went to the doctor. While they weren’t concerned, after a few X-rays and MRIs they told me it was likely osteoarthritis as well as cartilage damage and more meniscus issues. A few months ago I was out shopping and my knee just went; the pain was horrific. I was given cortisone injections which helped a bit with the pain, but a few weeks after that I ended up in A&E because I collapsed again. 

The only way I could get about was with a walking stick, and after a few more tests the doctors said it was severe osteoarthritis, so I am now on the waiting list for full knee joint replacement surgery. I’ve been told I could be waiting for the next six months, although a friend’s father is waiting at the same hospital as me and he’s been told it could be twelve months – so I have to hope it’s based on the level of severity and mine happens to be worse than his. I’m still walking on the knee and going to physio and doing the exercises they tell me to do. I’m fortunate that I can still drive because I can bend and straighten the leg, but I can’t put my weight on it. So I can still get to work but I walk with a limp constantly now. 

The thing is you have to do everything you can to help yourself. I was prescribed naproxen and various other pain medications but I think my generation are quite reluctant to take too many medications. We’re sort of told to pop pills like smarties and for me that feels like a last resort. It’s only a temporary relief, and so far I haven’t needed to take any of those things.

One day at work I started doing a bit of research into what could help manage the pain I was in. I googled “what is good for osteoarthritis” and FlexiSEQ popped up. So I went onto Amazon and ordered myself some and started using it. Within a few days I began to feel the benefits. I soon learned you have to have a routine with it; you cannot just put it on when you think you’re going to need it, it doesn’t work like that. 

Then a couple of weeks ago I happened to go over to a friend of mine and she mentioned her husband had the same issue as I did and we both said we’d discovered FlexiSEQ and how much it was helping us both. My friend told me she was getting her husband’s FlexiSEQ in Savers so I’ve been getting it from there ever since. I didn’t know you could buy it in normal shops – I thought it might only be available online – so I was so happy to find out that I could. 

I’ve recommended FlexiSEQ to people. My manager’s husband had knee issues so he’s now bought some, and I mentioned it to another friend of mine who is also going to get some to try out. I’m not saying that what works for me will work for everyone but when you find something that really helps take even a bit of pain away it’s something you want to tell others about. I’ll tell anyone who will listen how much FlexiSEQ has helped me.