Hello
I m waiting on a left knee replacement. I started having pain there 8 years ago following a slight injury
Never xrayed it was always assumed it was Rheumatoid arthritis until last year when was found to be OA with the joint beyond repair
Now my right knee is beginning to give pain -just like my left one did.
Does anyone know if there’s anything I can do to stop bone/joint deterioration? I can’t bear the thought of increasing and inevitable pain.
paul
The possible options before surgery are Weight loss, Exercise, Pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs, Injections of corticosteroids or hyaluronic acid into the knee, physio. When is your surgery scheduled? I have platelet-rich plasma (PRP) injections. They are expensive but work on me.
Can you get the process started on getting the right knee replaced too at some point? I might be wrong but my experience tells me once a joint starts to deteriorate it’s difficult to reverse altogether, although diet and low impact exercise will help.
I’m due to have my right knee replaced in November, my left knee hurts but nowhere near as bad as the right, however when I last visited my surgeon he said “we will do the right knee first “ this surprised me and I asked if the left one will definitely need doing and he said it would.
My right knee is in such a state I’ve been virtually house bound since February but when I recover from my surgery I intend to swim 4 or 5 days a week and walk gently and I’m hoping that will help to delay the need for the left knee to be done.
In the meantime I’m using ibuprofen gels and massage and a few little exercises at home just to keep the knee moving. Good luck with your knees and if you find out something that helps please share it because I’m willing to try most things to avoid going through this pain and rigmarole again.
Gosh - it’s hard to know what to do. I ll raise it with the orthopaedic team .
This last week has been bad. I’m on Zapain max strength to get me through.
Just as a FYI, be careful with the gels containing ibuprofen…while not as immediate as injecting in pill form even the gels containing ibuprofen can lead to all the serious health consequences related to ibuprofen taken orally, albeit not as quickly as the orally ingested form…. I suffer from both CKD stage 4 (have suffered since 1996 with stage 4 CKD) and stage 5 osteoarthritis in nearly all major joints (bilateral ankle fusions at age 46/47, bilateral knee replacements (age 48/49) and bilateral hip replacements (age 45/46) …the ibuprofen gels will cause all the same severe health consequences of ingested ibuprofen (significant CVD event, severe gastric effects and death) and the efficacy of non-steroidal gels verses gels that are free of these poisons is not scientifically proven by any studies I’m aware of…and as a sufferer of such severe osteoarthritis from the age of 35 or so with bilateral total ankles, knees, and hips surgeries before age 48 I can attest to the fact that gels containing NSAIDS versus those that are NSAID free, do not offer better pain relief for joint pain….IMHO any NSAID containing gels or NSAIDS orally should be avoided at all costs as the risk of a significant CVD event far outweighs any benefit from the moderate and short-lasting pain relief….FURTHER though there are not enough medical studies nor are there as many studies on NSAIDS in gel form versus ingested NSAIDS…however, all info I find indicates that NSAIDS even used in gel form carry the same CVD risk as ingested NSAIDS…THAT is a tremendously increased risk of a significant CVD event, leading to death…so please do your own research but believe me the risk of ANY TYPE of NSAID use ingested or topically on sore joints carries a (relatively) significant risk of a “SEVERE CVD Event” leading to death…so get the replacement surgery or stick to hot/cold therapy as the meds currently available for pain relief from severe joint pain carries a real risk of CVD induced death! as a FYI I am a sufferer of early onset-severe osteoarthritis (both ankles fused, both knees replaced, both hips replaced and a couple of additional operations to remove diseased bone just for grins and giggles) it’s my personal opinion that the surgical options of “treating” the joint problems caused by common disease will add years to your life as there is CVD risk to surgery as most know but it is far less then the CVD risk caused by even a couple of the poison pills known as NSAIDS…
I’ve been told conflicting things from health professionals about ibuprofen. I have found it helps with the inflammation, swelling and stiffness in my knees but after years of taking it in gel and tablet form I was told by one doctor that I shouldn’t be taking it and I shouldn’t have been prescribed naproxen because I have diverticulitis, they advised me to stick to the gels only. However when my right knee has been particularly swollen I have taken it orally and I have told the doctors this and they have said it will be fine so long as I don’t take too many and I make sure it’s not on an empty stomach. Some doctors have recommended I stick to gels only but interestingly one occupational doctor my former employer sent me to see said gels were a waste of time and I might as well rub butter on myself. Something I have noticed recently when taking ibuprofen orally is slight breathlessness even when I’m resting.
I was planning on taking 1 or 2 ibuprofen tablets daily to help hold off the symptoms in the left knee but now I am not sure if it is the right thing to do. Is a regular aspirin just as dangerous or wouldn’t it be much help?
Cutting out sugar and refined foods did reduce the pain of my knee arthritis a lot, even before any weight loss, but I've still ultimately needed surgery, and it's enabled me to walk much further.
KNEE JOINT CARTILAGE DAMAGE
Size of Replacement Knee
2nd knee replacement
