Seeking Advice on Knee Pains

Maybe you can get a second opinion and see if there are are other alternatives that would be less invasive. A total knee replacement sounds kind of drastic.

I live in Cullman, Al and I know how you feel. My knee may not be as bad but what works for me is a couple of vitamins that I take called Resist, Joint Formula and a cream that I rub on when it swells called Prolief. These work great for me. Ck out web at www.successfromtheheart.myarbonne.com . Give me a call if you want to know more and I can explain how to buy at my discount.

I have had my ACL replaced 5 times in the same knee. My husband has also had both knees done otherscopicly. We have also had a two close relatives have knee replacements.
So listen carefully I have alot of experiance to share.
Strength and nutrition will be very important in how well you live until surgery and how quickly you recover!
-If you are over weight loose it now. It will take pressure off your knee and decrease the pain before and after, it also will make surgery faster which aids in recovery. Don't forget you can use your arms to do cardio if you have to.
-Strengthen your knee before the surgery. The least painful way for us has been with "Cardinal Plane" exersices. If you are standing by a chair you will move your leg forward (north), left (west), right (east), back (south). You will most likely do these lying down after surgery. You can also add ankle weights as needed.
-Strengthen your arms and abdominals. You will be depending on them to move yourself around after surgery.
-The upside to all this prep is extra muscle. This will burn calories to help keep the weight off after surgery and the natural atrophy that happens in the leg after surgery when you are recovering won't be as bad. No sore abs, no sore arms, no stained neck and no strained shoulders to work on or around after surgery either. My husband pulled something in his good shoulder after his first knee surgery we are now doing physical therapy for that.
-Do absolutely everything your physical therapist says to do. I understand some of the exersices are tedious and don't seem like they are doing anything, ie:quad sets, but do them anyway and as often as you are instucted. Three times a day feels imposible to fit into a busy schedule, but that ten minuets is worth every second.
-You can get steroid or cortisone shots in the joint but, only a few and they don't work for every body it depends on your specific situation.
-Nutrition-
Your body will be needing lean protien to build muscle, calcium for strong bones, and fruits and veggies for healthy immune (you will be having sugery), digestive (you will be on meds and less active) and cardiovascular systems(your activity will be not normal and good blood flow is important for healing). The healthier you are the better you will do. I have some great recipies for sloppy joes and nachos if you'd like them.
My house also uses Replenex as well as other supplements. We have swithed all of our nutritional products to this company because it the most cost effective way to protect our health and they have a money back gauruntee on all their products. We have been burned before so that was important to us.
My husband and I are saving for a house and paying off $15,000 in medical debt which I put on a credit card after one hospital's billing department cuaght me home alone two days out from a surgery and on alot of demmerol. Switching stores has helped us put more money towards those goals.
We are 28yrs old and 31yrs old and had joints of 70yr olds. We had always been active until all this surgery. These tips have made all the differnce in the world, in fact we are walking the Cresent City Classic(a 10K race) in April.
Good Luck and Please contact me, L., if you need any further assistance in anyway! ____@____.com

We have a number of men in our family who like to be very active and a couple have had knee surgery (and one also needs a knee replacement but is waiting). I've always heard them say it does feel better when they wear the black knee braces that have that flexible rubber material that appears to stretch. These can be purchased from Walmart and Target, I believe. Since you've had knee problems you may already have one. Ibuprofen (not Tylenol) will help with the inflammation and pain too. Good luck!

hi D.,
my husband has a similar problem after 9 surgeries he's had since a high school motorcycle accident. he has no miniscus in his knee joints - he describes it as "bone on bone" pain. he also is trying to put off this serious surgery as long as possible. his mainenence, so to speak, has been daily leg exercises with an ankle weight that he uses to keep his knee "loose" as he says. these exercises are lying down, up&down motions - and he changes from back, to side, to stomach, to side, to do these. he also stands by a down-played sun salutation yoga series each morning - takes 10 minutes. and then he usually takes either an aspirin a day or an anti-immflammatory like ibuprofen or aleve. wish you luck with this.
K.

A good glucosomine chondrotine formula, available everywhere now, works wonders!! You do have to take quite a bit, but i have the same problem with the lack of cartiledge and it really helps. In fact, it helps so much that after i take it for a couple of months, i feel so much better i start forgetting to take it. Best of luck.
Have a fabulous day and god bless!!

Hi D.,

I work out regularly and am a competitive race-walker. I use a product called Replenex which helps rebuild your cartilage by topping off your natural glucosomine levels. It also contains ginger, bromelain, and green tea extract which boost glucosomine absorption and promote healthy joint function. If you'd like to know more about the company I shop with, please message me. I've been a very happy customer for two years.

K.
____@____.com

Birmingham is a great place to have knee surgery...some of the best ortho doctors are there. It may help to talk to the financial office of the hospital. They may be able to work out a payment plan with you. If your doctor's have given you any anti-inflammatory medication, it's a good idea to take it if you will be very active. Otherwise, you can wear a knee sleeve (ace bandage-type brace that you can get from a drugstore) to help try to keep the swelling down, but it probably won't keep it from happening. When it does flare up, remember RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation). One of the best cheap ice packs is bag of frozen peas or corn...you can re-use it a lot, but probably wouldn't want to eat it! Hopefully your surgeon will send you to a physical therapist one time before surgery so you can have some exercises to do at home to keep your leg muscles strong before surgery. If they haven't mentioned it, you can call and ask. Good luck.

Hi D.,

I don't know much about Birmingham, being from Oklahoma, but there are some doctors/hospitals that will do surgeries for things like that free. My cousin had heart surgery done, and my sister dated a man who had a hip replacement done like that. Contact the area hospitals and see if they have a specialist who will work with you,--a teaching hospital is good for that, university connected, etc. I hope you find someone to do that for you soon--I know it is miserable. Just wanted to let you know that there ARE doctors out there who will do the surgery gratis, but you may have to go somewhere else to get it done other than just in your particular area. Call around and don't give up. And be willing to travel to get it done. Good luck.
C.

My husband had the same surgery about 10 years ago and they told him the same thing he takes something called move free or anything with glucosamine chondroitin in it and it really helps him

Hey D......

I can tell you works wonders in horses and that many people do the same thing. There is a supplement called Glucosamine Chondritin and they have it at walmart in the vitam section. It should be used for joint pain and i know alot of people whose jobs have them standing all day and they swear by this too.
The other thing is to sweat your swellings.... of course you will need to stay off your feet even if the swelling has gone by this method, as naturally your body swells and has pain to cause you to quit using whatever part. It is nature's way from keeping you from further injuring something. Anyway... for comfort and good circulation but still rest your knee.. you can sweat the swelling by wrapping your leg where there is swelling in saran wrap...not tightly. then apply icy hot gel to the wrap, then wrap again with more saran wrap as this creates a heated wrap.... then wrap in a towel to trap the heat in. In a few minutes you can expect sweating.
Last thing... I am not a doctor or nurse... I just know this works on horses and I have used the sweating technigues on swellings to myself and hubby. You should also be careful what the issue at hand is that you are sweating. Somethings are to remain swollen.
As for the supplement... it is FDA approved and wonderful.
Ps... have you looked at options to cover the surgery sooner... either disability or a local group of physicians that do reduced work for those working but unable to afford mecial cost. You would be suprised the amount of resources that exist...of course they have waiting lists but still might be a better option.
Sorry you are in pain and best wishes,
-MB

Hi D., I had 2 knee replacements at the age of 30. I am now 43. Before the surgeries, I used a brace on each knee the confined movement SIDEWAYS. My cartledge disintegrated and left my kneecaps on sideways. The braces have a name, but a description is all you need to find them. Any medical supply carries these braces. They are just velcro braces with metal hinged legs on each side of the knee. You need to have it fitted, but I continued setting tile for a couple of years before I could afford replacements. The side to side motion causes most of the swelling and these braces allow for plenty of bending of the knee with adequate comfort. I do wish I had stayed with the braces as to the surgery because titanium in the knees is rather painful and uncomfortable on occasion. Sometimes my knees literally feel like they are freezing AND I pay hell getting on an airplane. I also use a product called Bio-freeze. I works wonders on aches and pains. Far better than Ben-gay or IcyHot may I add.

Hi D.. I work in the Physical Therapy field. I would suggest you get an injection in your knee if you haven't already. Some people get much relief from these and others get not so much, but if you're looking for time, it might be worth it. There are different injections that are offered, so just talk to your doc to see what would be the best one for you. Also, a few weeks of therapy might help as well. It could strengthen your knee and also buy some time as well. They could get you on a home exercise program that you could do on your own. This would also help you in preparation for TKR and for the rehab that follows; you'll be somewhat ahead of the game. Bottom line though, if your knee is bone on bone already, none of this will do much for you. It's just going to be a matter of when you can't take it anymore, the surgery will be the only option, and then it'll be done, you'll go through rehab and get on with your life. You're young still and have a lot of active life ahead. Good luck! P.S. Use ice for swelling! :)

go to www.myvemma.com/mtuttle and check out this vitamin mineral supplement. It is a liquid multivitamin/mineral supplement. I recommend it for my patients all the time and they have great results. It has mangosteen for the chronic inflammation...it may take about 2-3 months to feel the effects, but it is worth it. Also, you may want to try Glucosamine/Chondroitin supplement...you are really young for a total knee replacement, but the longer you wait, the more damage you can do to the muscle, ligament and tendons around the knee joint...just don't wait too long! If your knee starts "bowing" then you can start having hip and knee problems...leading to back problems, just from the way you walk. Good luck and hope this helps...M.

There's a product called Biofreeze that I have heard gives some relief....Prayer is the best advice that I recommend.