What I managed to do is aggravate the knee mightily…first annoyed it in one direction, in a mistep, then the other, in a subsequent near fall two days later, and x-rays are duly taken and made clear. Probably a good thing I got rid of the old Reebok sandals that allowed the ankle to pitch in—the cartilage is wearing on that side. Now I am resting weight in a better way, with orthotic shoes and sandals. But the tendons were strained in the first sprain, then reinjured, and I have fluid where fluid doesn’t belong, in the bursas (small pockets) that attend the several tendons, as best I get it. So tendons are not torn from their attachments, but they (and nerves) are being pressed upon by a lot of swelling and fluid retention. This creates the pain. I also have a little arthritis, but nothing serious. The short-term cure? Ice, Nsaids, exercises, and today a nice shot into the cavity of the knee to try to move out the fluid. Nice long needle, but it sounds much worse than it was: microfine needles don’t really hurt. Well, not until they get where they’re going—then the sky kind of lights up purple for a couple of seconds, but it’s more pyrotechnics than pain.
Anyway, when you have that kind of thing done you get a bit of an adrenaline buzz, so I’m not worth much today, but the pain is lessened (ice and the numbing portion of the shot) and they say a couple of weeks more and this should be all better.
Thanks to those who’ve expressed concern. I think we’re onto it and it doesn’t look like surgery unless I do something massively stupid.
Also on the medical front, there’s news all over that autism can be treated by “training” if caught in infancy, and it’s gone by toddler age. Really?
Glad the outlook is so favorable. Hope you can sleep better this week, without pain.
Thanks! I was quite relieved. And the fine-needle shots don’t hurt nearly as much as the ones they gave 20 years ago.
So glad to hear that its not something too awful! Ice, Nsaids and exercises sound like a nice conservative treatment that will hopefully relieve the pain. Hope you feel better soon.
Glad to hear it turned out better than it could have.
OW. Deepest sympathies! And those shots still hurt. Fox has decided I have chronic bursitis in both hips and used giant economy sized needles to give me shots in both hips. No numbing :(. Hope getting rid of the fluid helps! Just be aware that it can take quite a while got bursitis to settle down. Hope you feel better soon!
Toes crossed that you will avoid surgery; knees are like thoroughbred horses’ ankles, way too fragile for the jobs they are meant to do.
I have found a new use for water storing crystals. I put some in a zip lock bag, add water, mix well, flatten and put them in the freezer. The bags will be solid, but because they are crystals they are easily squashed into the shape needed.
I am currently fighting results of kneeling too long while gardening from a very old injury.
Isn’t reaching the seventies fun?
The microfine needles are what they use for biopsy—no deadening, though he did spray freezy stuff on the area first, but really ok for 9/10 of the trip. The shots with regular needles, however, are hell, Had shoulder bursitis twice, back in the early 80’s.
This one is painful this morning but mostly because I slept so well I didn’t get up at 3 and take more Advil. I have now taken that does and look for improvement. The good news is that the swelling has left the back of my knee–was worried about Baker’s Cyst, which is no fun, and it was so sensitive I couldn’t rest my leg flat. Now that’s gone. But the chief sore spot, on the inside near the patella, low, is a reeal pain this morning—maybe because the other sore spots are not bothering me.
The freezy stuff is ethylene chloride, they used it when they gave me the hyaluronic acid shots in my knees before they did the replacement surgeries.
Glad you did get some sleep, you really needed it, and I’m afraid we wore you out this past weekend.
I was tired, but I was so glad to see you all.
Wish I could’ve come, but had a gallstone issue to see to. And in the end I’m glad I saw to it. I’ve info on that business, if that’s a potential problem.
It may be that I had been passing one, but on hearing that a CAT scan earlier in the year saw them, the Docs’ off the cuff answer was take it out (q.v. Wikipedia). But I was not a 45 year-old presenting biliary colic. I’m 70 and otherwise asymptomatic. Besides, as an Aspie, an operation, even laproscopic, was just too much novelty to contemplate, given the circumstances.
I wanted to choose the drug approach, synthetic ursodiol, that can shrink/dissolve them. The advice on the web is it may work over a couple years, but then ~5yrs or so later they’re likely to be back, and besides the drug is very expensive.
“It ain’t necessarily so,” as the song says. Being 70 I’m on Medicare. With Part-D at Costco’s Pharmacy the generic is $11/mo, $132/yr for 2 years. Not expensive in my book! Without the Medicare it’s $135/mo, $1620/yr, $3240/2yrs. Is that so expensive? What’s the surgery cost? And in my experience, the body knows,and it really doesn’t like being cut on! Did I mention it’s also irreversible, while I still have the option?
Sorry to have missed you all, but this worked out for the best as far as I can see at the moment.
My brother had his taken out a couple of years ago using laparoscopy. Medicare Part A covers the cost, I believe. He hasn’t had any problem since then.
We are very glad to hear that surgery probably won’t be needed. Take care of yourself.