A little help please, I have a bad knee

[dasher]

the x-ray showed a gap and my Orthro drained my knee (there was a lot of fluid) and gave me a cortisone shot. The shot didn't work. Not for nothing, but he gave me the shot in the knee and it really seems that the pain is on the other side of the knee. Anyway, on Friday, I had a gel injection. he said that it might take two weeks until we know if it worked. Well, yesterday, my knee felt great. But today, it is worse yet, Anyone evr have the gel shot before? And I think if surgery is next (I sure hope not) I may ask for a different dr. Thoughts?

 

[Cusesky8214]

The ol shaky potato knee got to Dasher

 

[dasher]

The ol shaky potato knee got to Dasher

Damn you. I thought, great, I got a response. And it's you.

 

[realorange]

I guess the gel is hyaluronic acid. I used similar treatment (injections) for almost 10 years before I had a full knee replacement.

Each injection worked for almost a year for me, but I know others who were closer to 6 months.

Forget the cortisone shots. That's just a bandage that doesn't have a long term use.

 

[cto]

I had a gel injection about two years. It had no beneficial effect

 

[NineOneSeven]

Never have sorry.

 

[rrlbees]

the x-ray showed a gap and my Orthro drained my knee (there was a lot of fluid) and gave me a cortisone shot. The shot didn't work. Not for nothing, but he gave me the shot in the knee and it really seems that the pain is on the other side of the knee. Anyway, on Friday, I had a gel injection. he said that it might take two weeks until we know if it worked. Well, yesterday, my knee felt great. But today, it is worse yet, Anyone evr have the gel shot before? And I think if surgery is next (I sure hope not) I may ask for a different dr. Thoughts?

the strawberry works better than grape.

 

[orangecuse]

the x-ray showed a gap and my Orthro drained my knee (there was a lot of fluid) and gave me a cortisone shot. The shot didn't work. Not for nothing, but he gave me the shot in the knee and it really seems that the pain is on the other side of the knee. Anyway, on Friday, I had a gel injection. he said that it might take two weeks until we know if it worked. Well, yesterday, my knee felt great. But today, it is worse yet, Anyone evr have the gel shot before? And I think if surgery is next (I sure hope not) I may ask for a different dr. Thoughts?

Sorry to hear. I'm not sure if this relatively new type of therapy (PRP/Platelet Rich Plasma) would be of benefit to your particular situation, but it has helped my oldest sister knee issues immensely. She still plays a lot of tennis and she is approaching 60.

Regenerative Medicine | Arthritis Foundation

Find out what options are currently available for joint repair and what is in the pipeline.

www.arthritis.org

 

[RF2044]

Dash, I'm not sure about your specific injury.

But my advice would be to not put off surgery, if required, to explore a lot of non-invasive options that might not produce the desired remediation. Sometimes, you're better off biting the bullet and enduring some short-term incapacitation / the challenges of rehab to get to the desired end goal.

Good luck, my man. Find the best orthopedic specialist you can -- as a veteran of 7 knee surgeries of various kinds, I feel your pain.

 

[skeeter223]

If it ever comes to this, total knee replacement worked very well for me. With almost 50 years of basketball on hardtop courts, tennis, skiing and baseball injuries, I was dragging my left leg and was in constant pain. After replacement (and 3 months of physical therapy), I walk normally and have had no pain since.

 

[HyattsCuse]

My father does the gel shots but, at least in his case, they don’t help much. I do recall him saying it takes some time for them to kick in though so, hopefully, that happens for you.

His big issue is his weight. If you are overweight, I highly recommend trying low impact exercise and good diet to loose some pounds. I went from 230 to 190 years ago and it is amazing how much better my legs feel.

 

[Ajflood12]

Sorry to hear. I'm not sure if this relatively new type of therapy (PRP/Platelet Rich Plasma) would be of benefit to your particular situation, but it has helped my oldest sister knee issues immensely. She still plays a lot of tennis and she is approaching 60.

Regenerative Medicine | Arthritis Foundation

Find out what options are currently available for joint repair and what is in the pipeline.

www.arthritis.org

I have gotten PRP a few times for various running injuries. Worked both times. I think it is more tendon based. Probably why she got it for tennis elbow.
His seems like bone on bone.

 

[orangezen]

Potato knee needs injection of our cream ..

 

[sufandu]

the x-ray showed a gap and my Orthro drained my knee (there was a lot of fluid) and gave me a cortisone shot. The shot didn't work. Not for nothing, but he gave me the shot in the knee and it really seems that the pain is on the other side of the knee. Anyway, on Friday, I had a gel injection. he said that it might take two weeks until we know if it worked. Well, yesterday, my knee felt great. But today, it is worse yet, Anyone evr have the gel shot before? And I think if surgery is next (I sure hope not) I may ask for a different dr. Thoughts?

If, when you say surgery you mean knee replacement, it really depends on your age and how much your knee function disrupts your life. I've had patients who's surgeons told them to wait as long as possible, then when they decided they wanted to pull the trigger they were too old or had health issues that prevented it. I tell patients around 65-70 is a good age. Most people are young enough to hit the rehab hard but old enough that they shouldn't need a revision.

If you decide to look for another surgeon, I suggest calling some physical therapists that aren't connected to a surgical group and asking who they recommend. A therapist working for a clinic owned by a surgeon is going to refer within the practice. Independent therapists will be less biased. A therapist I worked with said he knew whether a patient's knee was going to get fully straight before he did his initial evaluation based solely on which surgeon did the surgery.

 

[orange79]

DMDMD HOFCeluck Cuseregular may want to chime in here.

 

[Bayside44]

Rub some dirt on it.

 

[dasher]

Rub some dirt on it.

Thanks, coach

 

[dasher]

I have gotten PRP a few times for various running injuries. Worked both times. I think it is more tendon based. Probably why she got it for tennis elbow.
His seems like bone on bone.

Mine is bone on bone.

 

[RF2044]

Mine is bone on bone.

Ugh...

 

[dasher]

My father does the gel shots but, at least in his case, they don’t help much. I do recall him saying it takes some time for them to kick in though so, hopefully, that happens for you.

His big issue is his weight. If you are overweight, I highly recommend trying low impact exercise and good diet to loose some pounds. I went from 230 to 190 years ago and it is amazing how much better my legs feel.

Thanks. I have only had it one day but I swear, my knee feels worse today than it did yesterday before the shot. What I was really curious about, is that normal?

 

[DoctorBombay]

Had knee issues a while back.
Was a little overweight and a regular jogger which put a lot of stress on them.
The cortisone didn’t do much, but acupuncture and regular swimming worked out for me. Good luck, Dash.

 

[23Zone]

Have you had MRI to clearly define what your issue is. Sounds to me total knee replacement may be your best option if it is purely degenerative osteoarthritis and you are beyond 50 years old not responding to conservative therapies

 

[Alsacs]

Cortisone shots become less effective the more frequently you get them.

The gel shots don’t become less effective they are always hit or miss.
Cortisone works at the beginning.

The gel is just doesn’t always work.

ibuprofen is a safe tablet to use for pain.

 

[RF2044]

Hey Dash -- one more thing that has really worked well for me. Go buy knee gel wraps. You can put them in the freezer, and reuse them. Nothing better for pain relief, or to help alleviate pain after working out, etc.

 

[orange79]

If, when you say surgery you mean knee replacement, it really depends on your age and how much your knee function disrupts your life. I've had patients who's surgeons told them to wait as long as possible, then when they decided they wanted to pull the trigger they were too old or had health issues that prevented it. I tell patients around 65-70 is a good age. Most people are young enough to not the rehab hard but old enough that they shouldn't need a revision.

If you decide to look for another surgeon, I suggest calling some physical therapists that aren't connected to a surgical group and asking who they recommend. A therapist working for a clinic owned by a surgeon is going to refer within the practice. Independent therapists will be less biased. A therapist I worked with said he knew whether a patient's knee was going to get fully straight before he did his initial evaluation based solely on which surgeon did the surgery.

DMDMD HOFCeluck Cuseregular may want to chime in here.

Oh. And sufandu.