KNEE ARTHRITIS - Autologous chondrocyte implantation (A.C.I.) :

Pain Before ACI - - Posted by Nick_Knack (Nick_Knack), 7 November 2004

How bad was your pain before ACI? I am trying to determine if I should deal with dull/aching pain? Or look into this. I am not disabled just uncomfortable.


Thanks,

Nick
Posted by Jules (Jules), 12 December 2004

Hi Nick,
I was in pain for years, I have osteoarthritis grade four in both knees. But about eight months prior to my ACI (now 5 weeks post op), the worst time was at night with the constant aching, I only slept about three interupted hours sleep every night, plus the difficulty in getting up and down stairs. The stiffness in the mornings was pretty bad also. I  found it hard to sit still for more than an hour, and could only drive up to half an hour before my knees (especially the right) stiffened up and extremely ached. I suggest you do your research and find out exactly what is wrong before making any decisions, as in some cases catching it early may prevent a more delibitating problem later. But you have to be firm with the doctors and about referals to the OS, as I found I was fobbed off continuously for years, and ended up with 70 year old knees at the age of 38 years, and I feel that something should have been done sooner, and then it wouldn't have been so bad, and I wouldn't have had to go through so much pain and 8 operations to get to this stage. Hope this helps, any further questions on how to go about things and what to expect, just ask.
Best regards
Jules

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