Depressed with really bad knee.....what to do

[Mosaic]

...because I don't know what to do with myself, literally. Knee pain has increased over the last couple of weeks and now I can barely walk outside the house (was walking up to 15 miles or so a week).
No exercise + not out in fresh air + pain = glum Mosaic. Doc says 'it's your age, take painkillers, next please'.
Lots of searching and comparing symptoms online leads me to think medial meniscal tear, good 6 weeks to recover. But what the blazes do I know?
It would be a kindness to shoot me. Any offers?

[murraymints]

could be gout.. can occur in any joint not just toe.. if inflamed can be drained at hospital then medicated

[Sqad]

How old are you?
Any other joints involved?
Have you had any other medical problems, ongoing or past?
Are you on any tablets?

[Mosaic]

...53, overweight, doc says 'oh yes probably arthritis' ( thumb base joints hurt under pressure/twisting/pushing, lumps on some fingers)
History of lower back pain caused by lifting injury 8 years ago, pain comes and goes, use painkillers and NSAID as needed.
No other meds but very concerned about over-use of strong painkillers, and could see muself quite enjoying them.

[Sqad]

Mosaic.......I agree with your Dr.s diagnosis.......Osteo arthritis of the knee.

Lose weight (if possible) and if NSAID´s work and don´t upset you, then continue them on a long term basis.

If you are unhappy about this management, then ask to see an Orthopaedic surgeon who will almost certainly consider total knee replacement.

Medial meniscal tear..............a non starter......no way.
Gout..................very very unlikely.........2000/1 outsider.

[Mosaic]

Sincere thanks Sqad and murray

'lose weight'.....two tiny simple words, a seemingly simple process - which is almost impossible if I can't walk about GAAAAAH! It will be easier for me to grow a beard......oh much easier.

This was never going to happen to the children of the revolution, we were meant to be slim and flexible for ever with perfect teeth and eyesight. Buggrit!

[jno]

I had gout in my knee a couple of months ago, so it can happen, though feet are the more usual place. (And though I was already taking allopurinol daily.)

[Mosaic]

Have given self a severe talking to, gone to asda and bought a robocop-style knee support from the pharmacy, and just done three miles.
(Strains of 'I will survive'.....)

[chattykathy]

Well done for not letting ot beat you! I too have terrible knee pain (after 30 years of playing netball) but have found a great way of exercising called Boogie Bounce. It's aerobics on a mini trampoline. My knees hurt after this (it's constant anyway) but nothing like if I had done normal type aerobics.Even swimming hurts!
I had an arthroscopy/clean out on both kness 15 years ago and that helped for a while - you could ask your doctor for a referral to a specialist. Also, doing exercises to build up your quads is supposed to help to take some of the strain off the knees, Good luck!

[Scarlett]

Could you get a steroid injection in your knee to reduce inflammation?

[boxtops]

mosaic, my mother suffered from osteoarthritis and painful knees, and she found extract of green lipped mussels really helped her - a capsule a day, available from health foods shops, Tescos etc. I could really see the difference if she ever ran out of the capsules. Give it a try - fish oil can only help, anyway, but the green 'uns seem particularly good.

[shaneystar2]

More than likely it's osteoarthritis.I've had both my knees washed out with it .
Cortisone injection will give you quite long term relief from the pain if you don't want to be continully taking painkillers .
But the final solution is usually knee replacement .
Try Glucosamine .Mind you it takes ages to feel any benefit . Once the sinovial fluid is gone it's gone. It does diddly squat for me .
They do viscosupplementation as well .You could ask your GP about that if you don't want to go down the replacement road .
Also try wearing a good support on your knee .Not that cheap crepe stuff ,a proper sports support .Hope you soon get sorted .It's jolly painful .

[Scarlett]

Shaneystar- please tell me about your washed out knees ! I have a lit of crepitus in mine and it's constantly 'catching' and stopping me from walking and bending my knees. What did the procedure involve and how are your knees now in comparison?

[shaneystar2]

Quite simple Scarlett .They do it by keyhole surgery. One knee after the other .It's just a day procedure .They make a small incision and flush out the debris .
This explains it better than I can .
http://www.surgerydoo...ons/knee-arthroscopy/
I've got what they call OA whole body .In other words all my joints are affected with OA.
It's something you learn to live with .It's several years now since I had this done and the old knees are beginning to play up again but it gave good long term relief .
Had a cortisone jab in one a while back to stave it off again but my GP says in the long term I'm looking at a replacement at least for my left knee which is the b....r of the two..I'm a bit dubious as my brother had a disaster of a replacement :)
There are no cures for arthritis .
So I crunch along with it all,try to keep moving and hope for the best :)

[Scarlett]

Thanks Shaney- I had an arthroscopy on my ankle earlier this year, and they cleaned it up and removed all the debris. I now have no cartilege in that ankle joint. It's more stable than it was but does hurt still, and gets stiff. Like you, I have trouble with all joints, but I have Ulcerative Colitis, which causes joint problems. Thing is, every day I have problems walking and standing. My knees feel like they have loose bits of grit in them, and I can't bend them sometimes without huge pain. My other ankle is painful and I feel sometimes I have to 'flick' my foot to move the joint debris around. I have tennis elbow (stiff and weak) and my right wrist hurts very easily.
Do you think I would benefit from the knee arthroscopys like you had? I can't believe you had both at once though!! How could you walk afterwards!? Did you have a lot of physio? It was 2 weeks with my ankle before I could walk enough to return to work and it was painful for a long time after that. Thanks!

[shaneystar2]

Lol scarlett I didn't have them done one after the other on the same day :)
They did the left knee then the other one about a couple of months later .No problem .Bit sore for a couple of days.You have to just get going on them again and do a bit of bending the knee and walking .Everyone's different .
Have a word with your GP about it .I certainly felt the benefit of it at the time .