OA meds

[Plumb]

One suggestion for you is Aqua therapy.  I can not tell you how happy it made me to be able to walk in water when land was a moment to moment struggle before my TKR. The flector patch has helped me some in the past. along with my beloved Lidocaine patches.

Another suggestion is to talk to your GP about depression and see what can be done on that front.  Some of the drugs out there help lower the pain levels as well so it could be a win win situation to at least look into that. 

When the knee hurts there are all stages of grief.   Getting ahead of the pain can somewhat make you less snappish. Remember folks can not tell what kind of pain your in.

Most days at the end of night I am at 4-5. and if I overdo it after shopping it can be a 6-7  and spike up to a 8.  This is with my left knee  with OA   

My right knee PRE TKR each day I would hit 8-9 and even up to 10 moments.  Post surgery. In fact I thought it was not that bad since I been in the  8-9 range for so long.. It just grows on you.

0-1 No pain
2-3 Mild pain
4-5 Discomforting - moderate pain
6-7 Distressing - severe pain
8-9 Intense - very severe pain
10 Unbearable pain"


Have you ever had a cortizone injection in the knee?  If you have OA have you tried viscosupplementation .. such as Supartz.   ( I am not sure how bad your joint space is)

I have been dealing with OA since a child.. However the last 5 years have taken me to places I never thought I would ever experience.   

Another trick is to get a childs ball and squeeze it in your legs. Another good one is to do about 10 minutes of quad sets
Ice after any excercise for about 10 minutes.   Crushed ice in a left over bread bag or zip lock bag.. and pack that knee up. 

[smillie]

Plumb,
He says it is OA. My meniscii are fine--good joint spacing, etc. All ligaments are great. But my patella is tilted and the spacing on the lateral side is gone. Your description of 4-5 with 6-7 at the end and spikes up to 8-9 when I overdo is my usual pain level. I've been in a really flared up cycle for several weeks with a lot of extra swelling and redness and heat and the 4-5 has been more. But after you are at a pain level for a while, it starts to feel normal and you lose track of what number you are at. I've been progressing down this road for 15 years or so, but this year has been the worst. I'm only 41 and the sight of all the little overweight ladies shuffling into the OS's office with their walkers scares me to death. If that is me in 30 years, I want to at least lived a little...

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

I had my partial at 39 almost 40, so it can happen to a younger person too.  As for those forms, if I have to compensate to do something I write that on the form.  If I can't do stairs I write that right on the form.  What you feel may not fit it a box or correlate to a number that well.  If I have to compensate to do something, then to the form I can't do it without pain (which is correct because I have to compensate).  It is very easy to get overwhealmed by pain and not act yourself with it.  I am glad the gel seems to be helping somewhat.  The darvocet seems to at least get you a few hours of sleep.  Sometimes it's the very small victories that we have to count.  Write your questions out for your next visit with the OS and then bring the list with you.  It helps to get all those questions answered.

Milly

[Plumb]

I totally hate stairs . I can't do it one over one.. I do one at a time.  Or take the elevator. 
I wish Davocet would help me .   I find that Ultram helps and when I get into worse pain with weather pain and basic end of night pain.  Loracet helps when I over do it and I have that Bone oMG I did too much.. but I got out and it is better to do things than let your muscles waste,

I was about 35 when I had my TKR .. Infact my OS told me a few months ago .. he never thought I would get as good as I am walking now.. I was in his words crawling..  In my words .. was existing day to day on a wing and a prayer and  I tell you..   I think I cried each night..  and posted my grief on this site.. It was a way of coping with the pain and grief and got lots of good information

Now I can tell you there is a tippin line between TKR and just living with OA.   You just got to find yours and a doctor who sees your pain free existence in his eyes as something he can do to put you on the better side.  If you on the cusp of being on the bottom.  I can understand how an OS can decide your not done yet.   If they are thinking about the bad things that can happen post TKR they will tread with caution and monitor you.

[smillie]

Milly, that's good advice. I definitely have been thinking about how I will fill in the form next time. I wasn't ready for it last time, but I will be this time. He has to be able to see how this impacts my life and if he is one that needs it on paper, then I have to figure out how to get it on paper. It's hard to quantify when it has been going on so long that it feels "normal" to me, but I will work on words and awareness so I can communicate it.

Plumb, I know I'm not across the line yet between living with it and TKR. I don't know when or if I will be able to consent to a TKR. I have already had a good scare with arthrofibrosis and I have trouble with NSAIDs and so many other allergies and sensitivities. I'm really worried about how my body would react to the parts and cements and the healing process. That's why I'm frustrated and really wish we could figure out something to do now to slow or stop  the deterioration before I end up with no other option than the TKR. That is why it frustrates me to go to doctors who look at my knee and tell me it's not bad enough for a TKR yet. I don't want one! I want to fix what I have. And maybe that is the question I need to have at the top of my list next visit. "I feel like I'm being kept in a holding pattern until I get bad enough or old enough for a knee replacement. What can I do to get function back now and to stop the deterioration and avoid the TKR altogether?"

[Plumb]

That is why OA is such a hard one.. You are kept in a holding pattern until it cripples you enough to warrant the most drastic measure of last resort.   Somedays getting  my warming throw out helps.  Other days ice helps .. Other days medication works.  Sometimes swimming in a heated pool works.  Or soaking in hot bathtub.   I bought a feather bed and roll it up and put it under my legs sometimes.. Sometimes that helps.  Maybe it is distraction.. to keep my mind off the pain and jolts and cartlidge loss that I have. 

The pain is often and unyeilding.  And if your sensitive to medication.  Oh my .. I can certainly understand that limits you ..   Maybe keep asking your OS if he has samples.. for different things..  maybe one might help.   There are several off the cuff remedies .. but there are a ton more that the doctors may not have offered you yet.  In the doctors office they have Arthritis Today ..  While I found most of the items are Rheumy related.  I found some good articles on  OA.   I had the mag for two years.. 

http://www.arthritistoday.org/symptoms/by-body-part/knee/knee-pain-relief-injections.php

[smillie]

I just can't stand the thought of sitting here letting it happen. And not being able to live my life while it does. Yes, I can live my life to an extent, but that extent involves crutches, pain, and really painful consequences at night the more I do. I was out and about yesterday doing a few errands and getting some shopping done and last night I laid in bed wondering why after taking all of my meds and bracing, elevating, icing--everything I knew to do--it was still hurting that badly and I couldn't sleep.

[TwoBadKneesUSA]

I have been where you are.  It is not an easy spot to be in.  Hang in there and keep working with your docs.

[smillie]

Update: My experience with the Voltaren gel has been pretty good. It has helped with some, but not all, of the pain and swelling and has definitely helped with the redness and heat. My knee rarely heats up now. About two weeks ago I was finally able to stop using the crutches except for occasionally at the beginning or end of the day. I was definitely moving slowly still and had to limit my activities quite a bit, but at least I could walk around the house and get things done that were hard to do on crutches. I still needed the Darvocet and brace at night in order to sleep, but thankful to have those things to make the sleep possible.

However, last Sunday I got in a little bit of a hurry and walked up the 5 steps into church using both legs. I only did two steps with my bad leg and felt some discomfort while I did it, but didn't pay too much attention. Then about 20 minutes later in the middle of the sermon I felt it swell up, get hot, and start hurting--a lot! So I slipped out after the sermon and put on more gel and got my brace and crutches. I had to lead a pageant rehearsal after church, so I couldn't just stay home and rest it. After the rehearsal I went home to rest and have tried to rest it as much as possible. The swelling is back. The pain is up again. Monday I had to take a Darvocet and sleep in the afternoon because it just hurt too much. Tuesday I tried to walk a little bit but couldn't do more than 3 steps without too much pain. Yesterday I tried walking some while I showered and got ready and I could do it, but 20 minutes later pain and swelling and heat. I feel like I'm back to square one again after I had made progress this month.

I was supposed to go back to see the OS again yesterday, but it was rescheduled for next week. And I have been switched from Darvocet to something else because Darvocet has been taken off of the market now.  We're taking a group to ride the Polar Express tomorrow night and it involves a 2 hour bus ride both ways which worries me since I have a lot of trouble after traveling, usually. I'm planning on bracing and hopefully will have an extra seat for my leg. I'll also try to take some ice packs to use if I need them.