Cortisone Injection?

[J-Okr]

Hi everyone,
I was wondering who here has had cortisone injections into their knee?  What did you get it for/what symptoms did you haven, and did you find that it helped at all?

I heard back that the girl in my Dr's office re-sent my referral to the local pain clinic with a note on it saying "Pain is increasing +++"....so they got me an appointment next month.

So the nurse called me and said that it's a possability that during my consultation (nothing has been diagnosed yet, so we don't even know why there's so much pain in my knee/leg, other than there's been nerve damage) that the dr might want to try a cortisone injection.

I'm kind of wary about this, and of course will discuss it with him during the consultation, but can anyone tell me if it helped them at all, and what symptoms/pain it helped?

Thanks so much!
J.

[jathib]

I've had them for arthritis. However, my doctor won't blindly do a cortisone injection unless he knows what he's dealing with first.
The shots never work for me.

[ctmac]

I agree with jathib they should know what they are dealing with first. you dont want to mask an injury then make it worse!! (like NFL players)

[OldCoot]

I had cortisone and it helped pain a lot but it isn't a permanent cure. Dr's don't like to use it because it softens the tissue and if they operate the stitches don't hold as well in soft tissue but good news is it wears off in due time. There's another type of injection Hyalgan that restores the natural lubricants in the knee where Cortisone relieves the irritation. Pardon the pun, but you can 'bone up' on them here: http://arthritis.about.com/od/hyalgan/g/hyalgan.htm   http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/paindrugs/a/cortisone.htm
I had Hyalgan one shot a week for three weeks but it didn't help because I was already bone on bone from arthritis so I ended up with a TKR. Believe me, try any and everything before you opt for the replacement surgery because it is not a fun experience. My quality of life had sunk so low I was limp walking in so much pain and I had to do the TKR or lose my mind from pain in the knee.

Almost 100 days ago and it heals more every day but it is a long, hard recovery PT program but I now see in the long run it will be worth the pain and suffering I experienced. Some say it wasn't that bad but for me it was a horrible experience worst thing I have ever experienced in my 67 years on this planet.

[Jo]

Hi All,

I had one of these (think it was one of these) in November last year and it did absolutely nothing for me other than making my knee swell up!!!


Jo
-x-

[Plumb]

My OS would not give me a cortizone shot until I had an MRI.   And it depends on the condition of your knee.   The first time I had a cortizone shot was prior to my scope and chrondroplasty and partial meniscus removal.   It lasted maybe two weeks.   Than two weeks after that I was under the knife.   


I also had cortizone shots in each heel.  Once did the trick  and the pain never returned to the heels


I also had a cortizone shot in my natural knee three times and viscosupplements.  It does work for longer periods


So like anything it really depends on what is going on with your knee and how messed up it is.    My knee condition is not going to be like the next persons.  My right knee condition  can not be compared to my left knee.  So I can not tell you how your results  would be with a cortizone shot.  Only  they will only give you a cortizone shot  maybe four times a year.

[helsbels]

i have had 5 cortisone injestions and not one did me any good as i still have tremendous pain and lots of swelling but my os did said it difers which each person as to whether it works or not.

i personally did not like the inj - its not the needle that hurts but its when they inject the solution as it made my knee feel like it was going to burst and hurt a hell of alot but that could be due to the fact i have a lot of swelling in knee so there isnt much room left in it if you get what i mean. i also have not been diagnosed with what is wrong - 2 os dont know whats wrong but say theres nothing they can do so i am seeing my 3rd os in april.

i hope i dont put you off with what i have said. it is different with everyone and you may not feel it hurts when being injected at all. but i wanted to mention it as when i had the dye put in when i had my mri i wasnt as worried as i had had a few ppl on here tell me what it was like. some say it hurts others said its uncomfortable but i personally was in agony (again could be due to my swelling as i usually have a high pain freshold) when the dye was put in but it was much more painful than the cortisone inj.

i also suggest that if the doc wants you to have it then have it as the way i see it i would try anything to get it better. as  i said i had 5 n the os said each time it might help but infortunatly for me it didnt but everyone is different.

just one more bit of advice...

dont say anything about the injection UNTIL the doc mentions it as you may find he doesnt want to do it at all and so you dont wanna put ideas into his head if they aint there if you get me!!

let us know how u get on n hope i havent put u off 2 much if i have sorry

helen xx

[J-Okr]

Hi everyone,
Thanks for all the replies - this is a huge help!

I'd like to find out what is causing the pain in my knee/leg before the Dr tries a cortisone injection.  The  nurse I talked to said it's an option, but that it hasn't been decided as the only course of treatment.  From other research I've done, it sounds like there's got to be other forms of treatment...especially since they don't know exactly what the damage is.
It's taken forever to finally get an appointment, so hopfully they'll get some answers!

Thanks again!
J.

[PMSKnee]

I had a series of three injections in my left knee almost three years ago.  Before the injections, I was in terrific pain and could hardly walk on that leg.  I have a little pain now, but I have not had the severe pain since the injections.  If they wanted to do them again, I would do it in a flash.  It was wonderful and I am happy that I had them.

[kr8ivemind]

I had the 3 injections this past October. They helped for about a month and now I'm back to the same old nagging discomfort. The OS said everyone reacts differently. If early stages of OA is present, there is a greater chance of the injections working. Unfortunately, I had moderate OA and they didn't work. For me, it looks like the next step is a HTO.

[stickshifty]

I had cortisone injected into both my knees. The day after it hurt like ... But then I had a week and a half of some of the most pain-free days I'd had in a while. But it only lasted a week and a half-- it's not a permanent fix. Then later I had the Synvisc shots-- 1 shot a week for 3 weeks. Those helped a little, but it was a little relief stretched over a longer period of time than the cortisone.

But like everyone said, doctors don't just want to shoot ya up with cortisone for a solution. With my shots, it was to try to determine if there was something irritating the knee or not. If the pain went away, there was something wrong. If the pain stayed, then we would look elsewhere.

Good luck,
Laura

[Janet]

It's hard to compare with cortisone injections because everyone has different problems in their knees. And there are different kinds of cortisone, too, some short-acting and some long-acting. Cortisone is a powerful anti-inflammatory, but it also shuts off the healing process so it's a balance act for the doctor.

I have had many cortisone injections over the years. The first one worked great and gave me a month of relief (which is what I was looking for so I could walk on a vacation). I had another one a year later and it did nothing.  After several years I had a TKR in 2006. I had a continuing problem in the back of my knee. I have had two cortisone injections into those areas and the pain is now gone. There is no guarantee that an injection will help....but when it does, it's like a miracle.

I always have about a week of pain following the injection before it starts feeling better.

I agree that it is smart to delay an injection until you know exactly what is going on in the knee.

Janet

[eaglemom]

I just received an injection two days ago.  I will admit they certainly are uncomfortable.  It seems always the day after I'm very sore then if they work it seems to begin.  I will say this one seems to have helped.  But then since the old knee felt better I did more than I should and the old knee hurts!  Don't just randomly receive these shots - make certain you have a course of action. We did this one to determine was the issue with my knee a nerve issue or not.  Eagle

[J-Okr]

Thanks Eagle!
 Do you know what effect a cortisone injection is supposed to have on nerve damage?  So far about the only diagnosis that's consistently been made and agreed upon by my GP, Physio, and sports chiro is that there's significant nerve damage.  Do cortisone injections help with this? 

[binkeyhb]

Hi J-Okr,
Had cortisone injections in lat. patella. I'm a runner. It weakened the tendons-had bilateral rupture of the quads. Been 8mos. and I'm jogging again but devasating injuries from cortisone.
Best,
Binkey