My journey

[jedimasterlincoln]

Hi everyone, I've recently joined this group having found it when on another board for my Atrial Fibrillation.

My story:

In 1999 aged 17 I had a sports injury to my right knee, where I landed funny when running in a game of Cricket and fractured part of my knee which then broke off and locked my knee joint.

I had to have it removed and was told back then by the registrar I would have arthritis by the time I was 30(!)

When I was 28 the increasing knee pain on exercise/cold weather meant I had an MRI scan which showed serious damage to the meniscus.

I underwent a microfracture procedure and physiotherapy to hopefully reduce my pain. It didn't really work, but It was generally accepted that apart from physio they weren't going to do anything else at that point.

When I was 33, and now doing a very active job, the symptoms again became too much and too often for me to just ignore. So I went back, had a repeat MRI and was offered an OATS procedure. (OATS involves taking pegs of healthy tissue from the better side of the knee joint and swapping them with pegs of unhealthy tissue so that your weight on the inside of the knee goes through healthy tissue not the worn out tissue which is placed on the outside of the joint)

Sadly there wasn't enough healthy tissue to transplant and swap about so it was abandoned.

My only options now aged 35 going on 36 are to go down the route of an Osteotomy and then if that fails a knee replacement - something my consultant will not consider under the age of 50.

My only options at the moment are a support brace and paracetamol and codiene. I am unable to take Naproxen or Ibuprofen due to my clotting drugs for my heart condition.

I am overweight, due to my heart medications and inactivity when unwell with that/knee pain.... but have lost 6kg since early December.

I look forward to reading your stories and experiences.

[alnapier Partner]

Thank you for sharing your story! It is hard to believe than an injury when you are young can lead to early onset osteoarthritis. But it is sadly true! It seems like you have gone through a lot of treatment options and I hope you can find something that works before you have to go down the surgical route. I know you said you are inactive due to the knee pain. I know this sounds counter intuitive, but walking a few times a week in order to maintain knee flexibility can hopefully improve your pain symptoms. Keep us updated!

[jedimasterlincoln in reply to alnapier]

I tend to walk between 2 miles a day when not at work (school runs) and 9 miles a day (when at work) and anything inbetween!

It's only if a day off falls on a weekend (no school runs) that I have a day off.

On the plus side, I've now dropped over since Christmas, which has to help.

[SimplySimonUK]

Hi! Your post makes interesting reading - in 1998 I also suffered a sports injury to my knee. To cut a very long story short, I was medically discharged from the RAF and had numerous ops in an attempt to fix it, but it’s developed into severe osteoarthritis (not much cartilage left!) The options left are ACI or partial knee replacement. Although I was aware of something being amiss with my heart, I found out it was AF in 2015 while having a pre-op ECG.

I’ve just had a cryo-ablation and should have more surgery on my knee within the next 4-6 months. Hoping to finish 2018 in better condition than I started it!!

Intrigued by your user name - are you called Lincoln, or do you live in Lincoln?

[jedimasterlincoln]

re: the username - neither. I just happened to be in Lincoln at University when bulletin boards were "invented" and you had to dial AOL to get on the internet

I've fitted in knee surgery around cardiac ablations but nothing has worked in either regard and I'm currently trying (and often failing) to manage both conditions.

[SimplySimonUK]

I can sympathise there. I have to use crutches to walk and even when I do, I’m shattered after just a few minutes. I have recently be issued a blue badge for parking, but it’s something I would really rather not need and look forward to the day when I can hand it back!!

[jedimasterlincoln in reply to SimplySimonUK]

I'm thankful that prolonged walking isn't an issue - stopping and trying to get going is a problem. As is walking at a slow pace or stop/start and prolonged standing. Not great when a lot of my job is stop/start (nursing)