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Post by tod2 on Dec 11, 2020 12:35:08 GMT
You have my undying sympathy Mich. I know all about crashing down on my knees while in Paris some 8years ago? This kicked off the water retention in the kneecap. Finally resulting in a large Bursitis behind the knee. Only Cortisone injections into the knee cured it - well can't really ever fix it except with a knee replacement surgery. It hurts some days and not others. Even though I had a hip replacement on the leg, the knee has not really got better enough to not cause me to limp - especially after sitting for over an hour. I'm afraid it also worsens the arthritis we all suffer from. Thinking of you and hoping it improves as you are still so young.
My sister has had Rheumatoid arthritis since she was a teenager. Her pain journey fills several volumes but at 74 she swears by her stretching exercises every morning when rising. This keeps her virtually pain free.
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Post by lugg on Dec 11, 2020 19:47:38 GMT
Thanks Mich for the info re Dr Ho pads - I am going to have a look to see if they are available here and get more info. Glad you are feeling better. ice packs -- you might want to think about keeping small dried beans (or lentils or rice) in your freezer for use as ice packs. The bags will not sweat the way frozen peas do and they can be refrozen with no harm to the contents, should you wish to eat them later Great idea re the alternatives to peas.
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Post by lugg on Dec 11, 2020 19:54:22 GMT
I had my physiotherapy appointment yesterday and he told me what I knew already really: that the exercises I am doing are what is best for my knee for now. So that was good to hear. He also was of the opinion that I need to try to avoid joint injections due to the emerging evidence re the harm they can cause, which coupled with my surgeons advice previously, has made me more determined to avoid ...if I can. I have done some Dr Googling and really not found much about this apart from a study carried out by Harvard Uni which has several flaws within it but it still seems to have been influential to this thinking .
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Post by htmb on Dec 12, 2020 1:07:40 GMT
Mich, so sorry to hear about your knee and back problems, but glad you’re getting better. Your Dr Ho pads sounds a lot like my TENS unit which provided a lot of relief before I had my knee injection. Lugg, the pads really might also be helpful for you. Mine comes with two sets of wires, and four pads so I put them in kind of a diamond shape around my knee cap, but you can place there wherever necessary (within limits).
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Post by mich64 on Dec 12, 2020 3:08:04 GMT
re: ice packs -- you might want to think about keeping small dried beans (or lentils or rice) in your freezer for use as ice packs. The bags will not sweat the way frozen peas do and they can be refrozen with no harm to the contents, should you wish to eat them later. Bixa you are correct! I was so relieved at the results, I was a bit afraid about it being a disk issue so we are very relieved. It is a funny thing about the peas, this bag of peas have probably been in the freezer for about 10 years and I actually bought them for medicinal reasons, neither of us eat peas! But I do like your suggestion of the lentils or rice since the bag would not sweat. I will try them. My sister has had Rheumatoid arthritis since she was a teenager. Her pain journey fills several volumes but at 74 she swears by her stretching exercises every morning when rising. This keeps her virtually pain free. Thank you Tod! Sorry to read about your knee issues, sounds quite painful and also being a chronic condition. We are going to search some You Tube videos tomorrow on exercises for my back and I think I should begin a daily stretching regime as well. This probably happened because of the knee problem taking me away from my daily walks. Lugg, the pads really might also be helpful for you. Mine comes with two sets of wires, and four pads so I put them in kind of a diamond shape around my knee cap, but you can place there wherever necessary (within limits). Thank you htmb and I agree, your unit sounds like mine. Glad that it was relief for you as well. I am going to have a look to see if they are available here and get more info. Glad you are feeling better. Lugg I do hope you find a comparable product, I was surprised at how well it worked but then again it is the same thing the physiotherapists use, I just did not realize it until I used it. I think in combination with the pea/bean frozen bag that you will have some relief.
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Post by lugg on Jan 4, 2021 9:41:10 GMT
So its D day for me - consultant appointment this pm so will hopefully find out what he thinks about it. Not looking forward to the 4 hour round drive to Oswestry and back but at least its not snowing today. Going with a good supply of hand gel / face masks etc.
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Post by lugg on Jan 5, 2021 18:56:13 GMT
So after my appointment yesterday, I now know what I had thought .. my right knee is well and truly f****d. More so actually than I knew. Unfortunately a uni-compartmental replacement is not possible as my patella is crumbling too. So now on the waiting list for a full knee replacement. Due to the pandemic the list is long so I just have to get through the next 9 months or so. The hardest thing for me will be saying good bye to Mac, my youngest horse, for 18 months or so but he is going to his previous owner next week and I am so lucky that she has offered to take him for me as I know she loves him as I do.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jan 5, 2021 19:29:06 GMT
That sounds pretty tough, lugg, although I saw some graphs in France that showed various surgical events reduced by up to 85% due to the priority of covid care. My knee still doesn't act up too much, but I try to imagine that I could get by for several months even if it got much worse. When I see other people barely hobbling around but determined to get where they're going, it is clear that the human spirit is indomitable. But I know from my sister-in-law that it is tragic to have to say goodbye to a horse even if it is just going to new quarters.
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Post by htmb on Jan 5, 2021 19:37:49 GMT
I’m sorry, Lugg. That sounds tough on so many different levels. I hope your surgery will come sooner, rather than later. I understand the agony of not being able to function normally. You’ll have to get over to your daughter’s hot tub as much as possible! Will you be able to visit Mac occasionally? I sure hope so. Will the recovery from this surgery take longer than for your other knee?
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Post by mossie on Jan 5, 2021 20:19:04 GMT
Yes that is tough, just keep plodding on and hope for the best.
My wife had both knees replaced and before that she had had some miracle injections, which were anything but!
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Post by bixaorellana on Jan 6, 2021 3:18:23 GMT
Oh, bad news all the way around, Lugg. I'm glad that at least Mac will be someplace nice for him until you can have him back again, but that's still hard. Hoping, hoping that the dispersal of the vaccine will make it possible for you to have your operation sooner than nine months. Really sorry that you're having to go through this.
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Post by lugg on Jan 6, 2021 19:30:10 GMT
Thank you all - really appreciate your good wishes and support.
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Post by htmb on Mar 9, 2021 22:31:43 GMT
Back in early November when I had my left knee injected, I was also offered an injection into the pes anserine bursa. It’s located on the inner part of the leg, below the knee joint and is about the size of an egg, according to my doctor. I declined the second injection for several reasons, but after a year of that area being in constant pain, I finally gave in. I’ve been going to physical therapy - at first monthly, now weekly - and I’ve done my daily exercises dutifully. The good news is that all the aches and pains I’d had in my legs and lower back have disappeared and I’m feeling much stronger. Even though the injection into my knee has pretty much worn off, the joint is working pretty well. However, the bursa area, where three large muscles meet up, was constantly “burning” and feeling very uncomfortable. I think I have a pretty good tolerance for pain, but I decided that I’d had enough of this torture and yesterday I had the area injected. It’s still too early to tell if it’s going to do much good. Unlike the knee joint injection, this one hurt like hell. I should know within a couple of days if it was a worthwhile thing to do. The painful bursa has affected my going up and down stairs normally, so I’m hoping the treatment will prove a success.
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Post by mickthecactus on Mar 10, 2021 7:48:23 GMT
Knee problems are so debilitating. I really hope the injection works for you.
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Post by htmb on Mar 10, 2021 10:54:35 GMT
Thanks, Mick
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 10, 2021 12:43:04 GMT
My left knee decides to hurt, usually not too badly, on a completely mysterious schedule, normally for no more than a day or two every few months. It's the sort of thing like "the funny noise the car is making" until you get to the garage to have it checked out, and the guy charges you for finding nothing. And since the only problem is generally going downstairs, it is something that I have been able to ignore for at least 20 years.
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Post by htmb on Mar 10, 2021 14:19:58 GMT
I have fallen and landed hard on this knee at least three times in the last six years. Once in front of T Tower in Manhattan when I was trying to navigate around a crowd of Asian tourists, once in Paris with you and Bixa on the way to the fire station celebration, and somewhere else in NYC that I don’t recall at the moment. Each time I managed to save the camera, but bang up the knee. Probably not the best of ideas.
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Post by kerouac2 on Mar 10, 2021 15:07:16 GMT
Well, that's better than what I did in Havana when I completely smashed my computer falling down.
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Post by lugg on Mar 10, 2021 18:54:42 GMT
The painful bursa has affected my going up and down stairs normally, so I’m hoping the treatment will prove a success. I hope you get some relief Htmb, I feel your pain.
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Post by lugg on Mar 10, 2021 18:55:55 GMT
And since the only problem is generally going downstairs, it is something that I have been able to ignore for at least 20 years. ...fingers crossed that it remains as stable K2
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Post by htmb on Mar 10, 2021 23:23:08 GMT
Thanks, Lugg. I’m sure you do!
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Post by lugg on Apr 3, 2021 20:19:24 GMT
How is your knee doing Htmb ? Hope the injection gave relief ?
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Post by htmb on Apr 3, 2021 21:33:42 GMT
Hanging in there. The exercises have helped, too. Thanks for asking, Lugg.
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Post by lugg on Apr 5, 2021 11:25:56 GMT
That's good news Htmb.
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Post by mickthecactus on Apr 17, 2021 15:29:43 GMT
Developed arthritis in my knee so took some anti inflammAtories.
Occasionally they don't agree with me and today was one of those days so haven't got everything done that I wanted to.
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Post by htmb on Apr 17, 2021 16:58:11 GMT
Sorry to hear this, Mick. Anti-inflammatoires help my arthritis symptoms a lot, but I try not to take them regularly because they cause other problems for me. While I was in California I bought some natural salve made with eucalyptus, rosemary, coconut oil, etc, but the most active ingredient is CBD (and it contains no THC). The salve, when rubbed on the sore part of my knee, helps just as much as my prescription anti-inflammatory gel, so I’m using it instead. I remember trying it two years ago on my last California trip, but then it wasn’t legal to fly with the stuff in the US. Rules have changed.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 18, 2021 13:21:31 GMT
As long as I can walk uninhibited, I don't worry too much about knee pains, but I suppose that what you do Mick must entail a bit of kneeling (not necessarily in church). That would definitely hurt.
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Post by lugg on Jun 28, 2022 19:35:10 GMT
Still waiting for surgery - damn Covid in many ways. It is now even more royally fucked as I have fallen on it twice last week - black and blue and swollen . I am hoping that it wont be too much longer.
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Post by htmb on Jun 29, 2022 13:49:57 GMT
You’ve been waiting for ages, Lugg! How’s your other knee? Still happy with results from the surgery?
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Post by casimira on Jun 29, 2022 16:25:55 GMT
Having had my share of knee problems, one surgery for torn meniscus and arthritis in the other. The leg exercises have proved to give me some relief. Naproxyn on occasion.
I hope in happens soon Lugg and that you are able to out of pain and get some relief.
The exercises are critical post op. Once you start getting the routine of doing them it's not so tedious.
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