Update on my sister's osteoarthritis.

[carole]

My sister just got back from the Specialist today, expecting to have full knee replacements done, well we have some good news and some not so good.

Firstly yes she does have osteoarthritis but she found out she had as the specialist described dud knee caps, has probably had for over forty years.

The not so good news is , he has only operated on two or three of these and they were not successful, and he would not recommend surgery for her,,good she is not having surgery, but not so good that she will still have this problem, also it can run in family's and women suffer from it more, lucky us.

I have had ongoing pain in my knees too for over twenty years, i put it down to my fibromyalgia, and now arthritis, as i had a very bad flare up the same time as my sister and our pains were almost identical, so i will have to go and get checked out and see whether i have the same problem.

She will have to some exercises to strength her quads apparently, i sure hope that will ease her pain.

So yes this was indeed not something we expected,strange really.

[Catty1]

http://arthritis.about.com/od/kneetr...supplement.htm

There is stuff that can be injected into the knees of someone with osteo. Have a look at that link. As long as it lasts and doesn't have to be repeated a lot, it might really help.

More:

A first line of simple treatment - acetaminophen (Tylenol) is as effective and has less side effects than other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or aspirin. Glucosamine-chondroitin sulfate may be prescribed by your doctor. This medication, when taken over a period of months, may reduce pain and symptoms by restoring or replenishing nutrition to diseased cartilage cells. It tends to be more effective in earlier stages of OA. The dosage and combination of each ingredient is an important aspect of the therapy, as not all preparations and brands are the same.

There are also partial knee replacements:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_knee_replacement

[carole]

Thanks Candace, well the specialist does not want to operate at all, i am still a bit confused, i understand about the knee caps, but surely the osteo needs something done about it, i have not managed to talk with her by phone yet only text, so will get more details later on.

Yes those injections help but they are not without side effects, some quite bad i believe, she is already on medication Arcoxia, i recommended it to her, as i take it now and then, specifically for arthritis pain, but it is not funded by the government and cost 67 dollars a month, luckily she is in a position to afford it, it does help ,but she still has pain,it is much easier and gentle on the stomach than most other inflam medicenes, tyelnol, i think is our equivalent to our panadol,over the counter pain relief for headaches, etc, it is not a strong enough pain relief for this type of pain though, as you need to reduce the inflammation too.

I really do appreciate your research, thanks again, will take a look at the links. cheers carole

[Daisy and Delilah]

Carole, I am personally pleased that your sister is not having surgery(for my obvious reasons). I also want to commend her doctor for not just doing it for the heck of it. His honesty is wonderful. But......I feel terrible that she has to endure ths pain. The fact that she's been plagued with such a rare ailment is just awful. She really can't do much about it and that's not good for her at all.

You both have alot of medical issues on your plates, just like I do. It really is a terrible situation. I take ibuprofen, among other things, for my pain and it helps but nothing gets rid of it. Do you have any help available from the drug manufacturer for discounts? In the U.S. we have some pharmaceutical companies that help with supplying the meds to people that can't afford them.
The exercising will help alot. Strengthening the muscles can't hurt.

I wish both of you the best. I hope something comes along soon to take away all the discomfort of arthritis. Something that isn't harmful on the rest of the body. {{{{{HUGS}}}}} to both of you.

[shepgirl]

Has your sister's doctor considered cortisone shots for her knees? The shots bring great relief and can last for yrs before needing more.

[carole]

Yes we are both relieved that there is to be no surgery, but like you said does not alleviate the pain does it? her specialist is top notch guy, he does all the knee surgery on our top rugby team the ALL BLACKS, and yes i am impressed too, he said he only see's about two or three people a year with what she has, and has done two or three operations, and they went fine, but he said they are not very successful and your knee is never the same afterwards.

The osteo is in her knee cap, where the original problem is, and not in the joints,she was born with this condition, basically in simple terms the knee cap is not in the right place, and he asked about her siblings, which is me of course, she told him about my ongoing knee pain for over twenty years and difficulty getting up the stairs and crunching, he said i probably had the same thing, i think he could well be right there, i am having a terrible time with the pain at the moment, and need a walking stick to get up and down the stairs at the moment.

I will be going to see a specialist in the near future to see what is what, but at the moment i need to see to my husbands problems, mine can wait, not urgent.

She has to use an exercycle believe it or not, the worst thing i can imagine with my sore knees, but no resistence and high seat, and it will help strengthen the muscles and hopefully ease the pain, guess i will be trading in my dreadmill,for one, i am tired of the dreadmill anyhow and have not used if for about 8mths.

The condition is called Patella femoral pain syndrome,just what i need another syndrome added to my others, lol.

Yes i really hope she can improve her pain with the exercise, because it is no fun at all, i know exactly how she feels right now.

Shepgirl in answer to your question , it was suggested, but the doctor said they have some mean side effects, so i guess she is opting out of that one for now, yes it may be necessary yet though.

[Daisy and Delilah]

I'm not as big fan of cortisone shots. They've backfired on me and the pain gets worse.

[carole]

Yes i agree, me neither, they are not without problems.

[shepgirl]

I remember speaking to my doctor about the shots and he did explain some of the side effects but he said it was much better than taking cortisone orally. I wasn't a candidate for surgery so we opted for the shots. The first time it worked immediately and lasted not quite a yr. The second time was over 11 yrs ago and I haven't had sore knees since. The only pain is sometimes when I wake up my one knee is locked and painful but that's where the cartilage had been removed after a skiing accident, has nothing to do with the shots and as soon as I straighten my leg the pain leaves.
I also had one shoulder done more than 13 yrs ago and I still have no problem with it. So for me, I have to say it worked wonders. Probably depends on the pwerson and the severity of the damage. I hope your sister finds some relief for her knees and hope you don't go through the same for many yrs to come.

[Daisy and Delilah]

shepgirl: I should say that the shots do work in some cases. I have had two, many years ago, that did help me.
It's such a hit and miss thing with me, I decided not to try it again.

I also read several articles that turned me against them because of the after effects/side effects.

I'm happy to hear you got some relief from them. That's fantastic.

[carole]

Right now Shepgirl i think i would almost try anything myself, as i am having a terrible time with my knees, it is so weird that both my sister and I had this flare up at the same time,i did find your post very interesting reading,thank you.

Life sure throws a spanner in the works sometimes,we just have to learn to deal with it which ever way is best for us i guess.

[pomtzu]

Have you ever heard of SYNVISC? It's an injection for the knees that actually adds back the missing lubricant, and not a steroid injection that just reduces pain and swelling. My brother has had it, and it provided relief for a while, but he didn't go back for more as needed, so pretty much defeated the purpose of it.
I have had cortisone injections, and find them to be basically useless - on me anyway! They seem to be hit or miss at best.


Oops!!! I see post #2 addressed this in the first link. It goes by other names as well as Synvisc.

[shepgirl]

If the cortisone shots stop being effective I might be tempted to try that new stuff, that was mentioned. So far, lucky me , no swelling and no pain , well hardly except in extreme weather changes but not enough to keep me from going about my business.
I guess it all depends how we all react differently to different medications. And what we inherit from our family genes ....I do hope your sis and you find something that will help in any case.

[carole]

I am finding every day is different, some worse than others, i also believe last week i had a really bad flare up of my fibromyalgia along with the knee pain, so it was a double whammy,i also felt like my legs were a ton weight, like blocks of concrete i was carrying around and almost a numb effect at times ,that has gone now,the pain is quite different, across the top of the knee, i sometimes feel my knee is going to lock and does a little at times, right knee the worst at the moment, was the other last week.

Yes I had heard of those injections, i guess we both have to explore all the options out there, i need to get a correct diagnosis first though.

Thanks for the advice everyone,much appreciated.

I find the PT medics pretty good on here lol