KNEE ARTHRITIS - General principles of managing Osteoarthritis of the knee :

Arthritis is very complicated - - Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 18 January 2003

Hi!

I saw my PCP nyesterday and she also thinks there may be something going on with me in addition to the osteo I've been diagnosed with and treated for over the past 28 months.  she ordered a boatload of tests--ANA, sed rate, Epstein Barr, Rheumatoid factor, others I can't remember.  Then she sent me off fo xrays of my wrist, now diagnosed with arthritis as well as my knees and my foot to see exactly what the pictures show.

She will get results on Monday and we will go from there...She plans to refer me to a rheumatologist.  We have two in our area--1/4 million fols live here--and I guess that they are backed up past April for initial appointments.

I keep praying for some answers and an end to all of this constant pain.  Nothing comes very easily, does it?  Sylvia
Posted by wendy (wendy), 19 January 2003

Good luck with all your tests.

I know it is frustrating with specialists. My son was put in the hospital twice in the past month, bc he could see the specialist right away in the hospital. If I made an appt it would have been 3 mos or longer.

Let us know what happens.

Wendy
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 20 January 2003

I am anxious to get the doctor's reports tomorrow--hopefully before I go to therapy...I understand they aren't always conclusive, but I need to know something.  There are things that are scary and possible, but it is better to know them than to not know them.  

As for the rheumy, there is one of the two that is in the group with my ortho and I'm kind of hoping that might get me some preferential appointment time.  It is worth a try, I guess.  As soon as i hear what the tests showed, I'll have an idea what is next.

Sylvia
Posted by muskypike (muskypike), 22 January 2003

Good luck Sylvia!

I hope you can get in sooner than april geez how can they make you wait that long.  I hope your doc can pull some strings.

Just wanted to let you know i am thinking of you.

Ellen
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 22 January 2003

I wish I knew what was going on.  I got the test results back--and except for the Epstein Barr, they came out negative.  The EB indicated that I have had mono, bu t it is not currently active.

There are no explanations for this pain...I just took my son's dog out--nobody else at home but me and she needed to dowhar she needed to do.  With wind chill, it s 11 below right now.   She didn't stay out long--lol--no lingering, did her business...then I had to go right back out to get my four year old off of his school bus.

My body is in pure agony now--I wore coat, hat, gloves, scarf...My fingers are hurting so bad it is hard for me to type--and I did all of this stuff 30 minutes ago.  And since this is the kneegeeks board, don't think for a moment that my knees are happy--my right knee is screaming.  Therapy should be a scream today.  

I'd guess that I had better take my pain meds or nothing will happen.  I'm picking up those x-rays today so I'll be ready for my ortho on Tuesday.  Maybe he will be able to help me out...Sylvia
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 17 February 2003

Hi!

I have an update of sorts...

First of all, my ortho put my wrist/thumb in a splint for a month and if the tendon and ligament damage doesn't improve by then, the next step is to inject it--of course.

As for my knees--the tkr is on track.  As for my right knee, he just looked at me and asked when we were going to do it.  It has to wait until summer vacation, I can't miss any more school this school year, my kids need me too much.  To buy me some time--he injected it.

In any case, this other pain and aching decreased for a while with the vioxx50, and my doc dropped it back to vioxx 25.  Less than 2 weeks later, the pain has kicked in again.  I called her after my second sleepless night--I just can't accept that this is the way things has to be--and she told me to raise the vioxx back up to 50 again and she will see me next week.  In the meantime, she has faxed my test results to my ortho.  She said there are a couple of important things to recognize.  One is that NONE of the tests were conclusive that I mdo not have something auto-immune going on.  they can prove that you do have it, but negative results do not prove that you don''t have it.  The other thing is that she believes with all of the experience with my joints that my ortho will be able to make a good call if this is osteo or something more...

I see him again in another 2 weeks.  The splint is manooying and keeps me from straining my sore arm, but it is nit getting asny better.  I have got to ditch the crutches (I think) in order for that to happen.

This is really not fun, that much I know for sure.  Sylvia
Posted by ccchilders (ccchilders), 17 February 2003

I can understand you problem.  I have a simular one.  None of the doctors can find the problem.  But I would like to make a suggestion.  

I took VIOXX at 50mg for a long time.  Too long, the doctor wasn't even doing the blood work.  Then I have a reaction to the medicine and had to discontinue it.  The doctor sent me to a Rheumie and gave me Ultram to take.


The Rheumotogist changed me to Celebrex kept the Ultram and added Zanaflex to sleep. I have found Celebrex works much better.  I recommended it to a friend (also on Voixx) and he has had the same results.  The are suppose to be the same thing, but I found Vioxx quit working after 5-6 hours.  Celebrex once you get it into your system, it continue to work at the same level everyday when you take it.  Even if I miss a day, it still works.

My pain has been controlled and this last fall I found a new doctor who will finally listen.  She doesn't know what is wrong, but can see the deterioration in my joints.  She says not all Rheumotoid Arthritis give a positive on the test.  

Good Luck.

CCC
Posted by lbdeharak (Linda), 17 February 2003

Hi Sylvia,

you are certainly having to work through alot right now. I hope the summer moves in fast so you can get the other knee taken care of. I sure hope that splint helps!

I will be thinking of you,
Linda
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 17 February 2003

Thanks for the responses...

I was wondering if I should change the time I'm taking the vioxx--you have kind of confirmed what I was thinking.  I seemed to have more steady relief from the bextra--just not enough, lol.  I'm going to ask mt pcp when I see her on thursday.

As for the knee and the splint--the splint is keeping me from doing too much to this arm, so that is a positive.  This morning, right after I got to work, my right knee locked up and that caused me a lot of gtrief for a few hours.  I have to depend more on my recuoperating left knee and my crutches to get me from one place to another--More crutches means more wrist and arm involvement.  It is definitely a cycle I do not like.

Anyway, I continue to work at it and learn, one piece at a time.  Hopefully this education I'm getting will be useful for something or somebody else.  Take care, Sylvia
Posted by Janet (Janet), 18 February 2003

You may want to ask your PCP if it is time to switch to another anti-inflammatory. Mine told me that, over time, they stop working and you have to switch to another one. It might be worth a try.

Janet
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 18 February 2003

I did that about 5 weeks ago, from Bextra to Vioxx...

The vioxx seemed to make a difference for a while, but  it seems to "wear off" as the afternoon hits.  I'll talk to her about it when I see her on Thursday.

It would sure be nice if changing a prescription or when I take my meds would be a solution to some of this.  An easy answer for a change, I can dream

Sylvia
Posted by Stacey (Stacey), 25 February 2003

Hi Sylvia

Just had a question.  What was the Epstein Barr test for?  I had this done 3.5 weeks ago (still no results) to see if i had mono.  Does this realate to an arthritic condition?  

Stacey
Posted by enuff81020 (enuff81020), 2 March 2003

Epstein Barr is a test for mono.  It can determine if you have it or have ever had it.  The reason my doc tested for it was because these all over joint pains can be symptomatic of arthritis and in order to get a definitive diagnosis (which we didn't), she was checking for anything and everything that this could be.

Whe I realized that arthritis is complicated, I didn't realize what an understatement that was

Sylvia

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