knee arthrospcopy after care

alitarot

hi,

i had an artroscopy just over a year ago now. I had 2 sessions of pysio afterwards. My recovery was really good and i was told to just get on with it and increase my exercise gradually. It never got any better after the initial inprovement and now i'm back to limping and feeling uncomfortable. I had arthritis in the knee which the surgeon said had disappeared when he operated. It feels to me like it's back again and has been worse this week with the rainy weather.

should i go back to my GP? what can they do? the physios are so poor where i live, each one gives different exercises, 4 of them didn't even notice i had 2 torn ligaments and the last one is of the opinion that i should be playing tennis through the pain? help please, feeling pretty desperate and depleted.

dreamdaisy

Hi, I am following you around! I had an arthroscopy in November 05 to clean out the joint of stale effusion - it certainly made my knee more comfortable for a while but a year later it was all back and being drained on a regular basis. Arthritis does not 'disappear' after an op: what sort of arthritis do you have? My best guess is an inflammatory type, like RA or PA, or even just inflammatory. It is important to stay as active as possible, this keeps the muscles strong and supports the joint, but it is finding the balance between doing nothing and what you can do without triggering too much unnecessary pain, swelling and discomfort. Are you on any meds apart from painkillers, and do you have other symptoms? DD

alitarot

Hi DD,

yes, glad you are following me! I have OA , only diagnosed on my knee, but i know i have it in my ankle, wrists and fingers too.

I rarely take painkillers as the caffeine in them reacts badly with me..as does most 'conventional' medicine. I'm thinking of going to see my GP and asking for Capiscum tablets as they are from a natural source and act as an anti-inflammatory.

My main exercise is to walk a little every day and to walk for an hour three times a week. I went swimming the other week, did it or 15 minutes, very gentle strokes, not breast stroke, but since then, with the onset of rain too, it's been pretty painful.

I was told as it was OA it would just get worse, be very painful and there was nothing they (the consultant) could do. This seems wrong to me, and i guess i've been ighting against that prediction ever since. I do try to be positive and i never moan about it--- today is the first day! But i am so glad i found this site and have others to share with.

thank you
oh, i forgot to answer your question. I stopped taking diclofenic as they didn't seem to work aand i was concerned as i've had them for over 2 years now.

alitarot xx

dreamdaisy

OK, I am not an expert on OA (I can hear the helpline team rolling around the floor in laughter!) but many people on here have it and they would be the best to give advice. Post on LWA, where you put your blue badge thread, and I am sure you will get some helpful answers. It is a fine line to tread: keeping mobile whilst not damaging oneself further. Arthritis is a progressive disease I'm afraid. How far, and how fast, is very individual. Poor you, I am sorry. I am going out soon (post-footy pub and curry with Mr DD - luckily our team are winning at the mo, that will help the mood!) but I will be about later, if I can see to type, and will definitely be back tomorrow. Try not to get too downhearted, easier said than done, I know. We are a good bunch of creaking people on here, we know what it is like. DD

alitarot

dreamdaisy wrote:

OK, I am not an expert on OA (I can hear the helpline team rolling around the floor in laughter!) but many people on here have it and they would be the best to give advice. Post on LWA, where you put your blue badge thread, and I am sure you will get some helpful answers. It is a fine line to tread: keeping mobile whilst not damaging oneself further. Arthritis is a progressive disease I'm afraid. How far, and how fast, is very individual. Poor you, I am sorry. I am going out soon (post-footy pub and curry with Mr DD - luckily our team are winning at the mo, that will help the mood!) but I will be about later, if I can see to type, and will definitely be back tomorrow. Try not to get too downhearted, easier said than done, I know. We are a good bunch of creaking people on here, we know what it is like. DD

thanks for the tip -- i will post on the other bit...maybe not tonight as the old fingers are sore from all this typing. Wow - it's a great place to be though, been reading on here for hours now!

enjoy the drink and curry -- fab!

Ali xx

dreamdaisy

I did, and it was! Home now, and off to get a glass of white grape juice, the stuff made for grown ups (which I hope I will be , one day!) DD

helpline_team

Hi Alitarot

Thanks for your message.

I’m sorry to hear about the difficulties you are experiencing regarding your knee.

You mention having an arthroscopy and having torn ligaments in the knee.

Do you know what the surgeon did when you had the arthroscopy?

Are the ligaments still torn or have they been surgically repaired?

If you have torn ligaments in the knee then that will make it weaker. It would be very important then to strengthen your thigh muscles and avoid any impact type activities.

You mention seeing different physio’s, though that doesn’t appear to have helped you a lot.

It may be worth going back to your doctor and mentioning the difficulties you are experiencing and getting a referral back to the surgeon to find out exactly what he/she did and how best to move forward.

We have information on ‘Exercise and Arthritis’ and ‘Coping with pain’ at http://www.arthritiscare.org.uk/PublicationsandResources/Listedbytype/Booklets and
‘Osteoarthritis of the knee’ at http://www.arthritisresearchuk.org/arthritis_information/arthritis_types__symptoms/knee_pain.aspx.

You are welcome to ring our helplines on 0808 800 4050 ,as having a chat about your condition may help.

I hope this information is useful to you.

Regards

Nick