Quote Originally Posted by moosmom
I don't know why I'm posting this. I'm sitting on my bed right now on the verge of tears, the pain in my knee is so bad.

I also have a pinched nerve in my neck causing my left arm and first three fingers to tingle. My doctor has prescribed Tramadol for the pain in my knee and an anti-inflammatory for the swelling until I can get to the orthopedic surgeon.

I had a nerve conduction study done a while back. The orthopedic surgeon said there were two options: traction or surgery. I tried traction and it didn't work. The latter scares the crap out of me.

I was diagnosed with osteoperesis in my right femur. I am not sure if it is a contributing factor in my knee pain. I have an appt with the orthopedic surgeon on May 25th.

I don't want to be on drugs anymore. I don't like them. The Tramadol makes me loopy (okay, loopier than than usual ) and really doesn't work. The anti-inflammatory does a marginal job. I don't want knee replacement surgery because of the recovery time and the fact that I live ALONE in a third floor apartment.

I have a friend who lives in NY and is a a licensed accupuncturist. I'm going to NYC next week to visit another friend and am going to see if Brendan thinks it will help me.

I'm only 54, but right now I feel OLD I'm tired of feeling this way.

I'm sorry to rant so much, but I just feel like crap right now. I guess I'm asking for some PT prayers. If I feel this bad at 54, I can't WAIT to see how I feel in another 25 years from now.

Thanks for listening guys.
Moosmom,
I'll put in my two bobs worth here if you don't mind.
Two years ago, I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my neck, the C5 and C6 vertabrae, caused me to have the same symptoms.....that is the "pins and needles", tingling in my left arm and hand. I was told at the time, to just live with it, as surgery REALLY is the last resort stuff when you are talking about spinal column surgery. I visited a very good friend of mine who is an acupuncturist, I was subjected to her treatment for two visits....no difference, it simply never worked on me. She suggested fish oil pills from my local health food shop (I have told one other here on PT about that). So I started taking them......now I'm 58.....no tingling now. And I only took those fish oil pills for like 3 months....and that was two years ago......and now I have NO pain at all. It may well be beneficial to at least try a natural remedy like this before getting into those heavy duty painkillers, or acupuncture, or surgery. If your knee is also arthritis related, then those natural remedies are definately worth a try.
Wombat