Bakers cysts

[Gottarelax]

I understand that Baker's cysts can occur in RA and it seems my mum has developed them. They are causing her a lot of pain (perhaps pressing on a nerve?). I see that there are options of steroid injections and perhaps surgery. Does anyone have experience of the cysts and the treatments?

[Amnesiac3637]

Hi. I’ve had large Baker’s cysts behind my knees in the past and an injection of cortisone put paid to their antics!

[Gottarelax in reply to Amnesiac3637]

This is what I hoped to hear! She's got a call with the rheumatologist in a couple of days and if he doesn't suggest it, I'll recommend she does.

[Runrig01]

I’ve had a bakers cyst, which was successfully treated with a steroid injection.

[Gottarelax in reply to Runrig01]

Thank you, hopefully it will be the same for her. She's in a lot of pain as it's on top of knee replacement surgery.

[Runrig01 in reply to Gottarelax]

Depending how long ago her surgery was, she may not be able to have a steroid injection. In the Trust I worked for, it was a complete No No, injecting into or near a joint that had been replaced. This is due to the increased risk of infection. It can trigger an infection in the joint, which then can result in the metalwork needing to be removed. 🤗

[Gottarelax in reply to Runrig01]

I think it's been over 6 months now since the replacement. Hopefully that's long enough.

[Flipper12345yellow]

Hi,I had a Baker cyst which burst.

My whole leg swelled and felt solid with inflammation and this triggered my ra.

Never had so much pain .

[Gottarelax in reply to Flipper12345yellow]

My mum's hasn't burst but she is in agony. She has a lot of medical issues going on and so is used to pain but for her this is off the scale. How was yours resolved?

[Flipper12345yellow in reply to Gottarelax]

As I said it burst but this triggered an autoimmune response.It's still there but small now and apparently they can fill back up at any time.

Really feel sorry for your mum it's the worse pain I've ever had.

[wilbertjellyfish in reply to Flipper12345yellow]

This happened to me. Well my leg swole up and was very sore and when they scanned it they decided I must have had a bakers cyst that burst. They kept asking had I not felt the pain etc but I'm in pain so much of the time with the arthritis I didn't realize.

[rmros]

I've had one behind my left knee for about 4 years. Mine can be aggravated by exercise. Surgery is usually futile because they just come back. I think the key is treating the underlying cause.

Both osteoarthritis and inflammatory arthritis can cause them. I have both in that knee so I have no idea which is to blame.

I've had two steroid injections into the knee joint. The first relieved the pain and swelling for a couple of months before it crept back. The second did nothing.

In short, it's quite difficult to treat and avoiding whatever aggravates it seems key.

[nan1701 in reply to rmros]

Exactly the same as you...same knee too! First time he drained it and had cortisone injection. Six months later same scenario but this time pain persists sadly.

[dwsurquhart]

I begged my doctors to drain them, they refused as they would pop like a balloon. I have cortisone injections to try to get them to reduce in size, no luck. Had a menisectomy of both knees to try and get them to go away by smoothing out the meniscus, that did not work either. Prednisone did not work, adalimumab did not work.i squatted and they popped which felt good for a few days, then the returned. I started on tocilizumab and they disappeared within a couple weeks.

[nan1701 in reply to dwsurquhart]

This is an interesting post as I have had the cysts for a few years now. I will keep this in mind when I see my RA guy next time I go. Thanks.

[nan1701]

They seem to be a real problem for some people. Me included. Mine burst causing even more problems. My rheumatologist drained it and my knee too with an injection afterwards. First time it worked for 3 months before returning. Six months later, I have just had the same procedure but unfortunately it hasn't worked as well as before. Not sure what the answer is, but judging by some of the other comments on here, it seems difficult to treat permanently.

[Popinjay]

I have had steroid injections into my Knee caps for them before they are painful ( depending on the Dr experience) to have but they also add an anesthetic which gives immediate relief they steroid can take a few days to take effect but lasts for approximately 16 /20 weeks. But i never hesitate to have them it's 1 minute of pain in the injection site to weeks of relief well worth it. I am 65 and have had RA for 23 years in fact I was having bakers cysts before diagnosis of RA I have not had any since. I was lucky though that my GP was willing and very good at doing these injections.

When next at the RA clinic tell your Mum to ask for a direct SOS number and email for the RA specialist nurses so she can get help from them for the injections as and when she feels she needs them , she can have up to 3 a year. However steroids will lower her immune system even further.

Good luck