fluid on the knee after extraction

kris1978

Hi everyone, i am new on here but was diagnosed with having RA about 6 years ago, i was put on sulfasalazine but i couldn't handle them and kept making me sick so i stopped taking them after about 5-6months, i have been quite lucky for the past 3 years with my RA going into remission and the only pains i have been getting have been in my left foot.
Last November i moved away from where i was getting treatment and they thought i was well enough and nothing they could really do so just left me with an open appointment if i needed it, knowing that i haven't had any pain for such a long time i didn't think about getting my new doctor to refer me to the local rheumatology where i now live.

Last week i felt a bad pain in the back of my left knee and over 4-5 days it swelled up like a football so i thought i would just go to my local hospital who would drain the fluid for me, give me a steroid injection and send me on my way, how wrong was i !!!, they didn't have any one authorized to do a extraction on my knee so told me to go to my doctor, struggling to drive i drove to see my doctor who was also unable to do anything for me apart from give me some anti inflammatory's and refer me to my local rheumatology.
I decided that i would ring my old rheumatology so i could make an appointment with them as i had an open appointment anyway but they couldn't fit me in for another 2 months but they said if i was to go through A&E they would sort it out that way, The next day my dad picked me up and took me into A&E but when arriving i was told there wasn't any rheumatology staff available so would need to go through the orthopedics, anyway later that day i had an orthopedic surgeon come to see me who was reluctant to drain the knee as he said the fluid would just return again, i have had this done on my left knee 7 times and has almost worked every time in the past , Anyway he carried on and drained my knee and he said that there was only 30 mls of fluid in there but most of it was inflamed tissue and also that he couldn't give me steroids as thats up to the rheumatology team.
Usually after having my knee drained my knee looks normal and i have full movement and almost zero pain but not this time, i could still feel fluid inside the knee and it was still the same size as before he done it, he told me to keep it straight, rest it, ice it and to take ibuprofen and off he trotted :shock:

Does anyone on here have problems with fluid building up on there knees and if so what do you do to make it better at home? i have been trying everything for 3 days now with no improvement, i live in the middle of nowhere with no shops for miles and i cant drive so i am really needing to get my knee back to normal asap as my wife can't drive either so at the moment we are totally screwed as closest family is about 1h drive away.

I hope someone has some ideas that will help me get back on my feet then i can get my rheumatology sorted out and hopefully get some steroids put in my knee which i know will help alot for the future.

many thanks
kris

stickywicket

A tricky problem, Kris. You sound to me to have a fairly normal RA knee - swollen and very painful. I think the orthopaedic guy was probably correct in saying he couldn't give you a steroid jab. I think it's quite a specialised thing. You have to know exactly where to inject. I've only ever had it done by rheumatologists.

In your situation I'd get a rheumatology appointment booked asap. In the meantime your GP could give you some oral steroíds.

diamond

Hi Kris,sorry to hear you are getting the run around.Same thing happened to me last June,both knees badly swollen seen Rheumy Reg just keep taking painkillers,I asked to see consultant he agreed to aspiration right knee was given steroid jab.As it was mostly oesteo i asked for referral to a surgeon,was seen 8 weeks later,got tkr on knee that was not drained in November as this had a bad bend.I like you went to A@e last July to get knee drained would not see me was told to see Gp,went to him he would not touch my knee gave me Ibuprofen LOL.He said he would write to Rheumy.At my pre op my ESR had almost doubled most joints sore,surgeon gave me steroid at opand asked for a urgent appt to Rheumy,it took 9 weeks before i was seen.I was then put on Sulphasalazine which is now helping a bit.I go in on Monday for my 2nd tkr,surgeon has been brilliant.Unfortunately Rheumy takes longer to see appts are like gold,we need more Rheumy clinics.I hope you will be seen soon,I can only suggest ice packs,painkillers.Kind Regardsxxx

barbara12

Hi Kris
And a warm welcome from me, I am sorry I cant offer any help, but I really do wish you well with it, and I hope it will settle down for you very soon.

kris1978

Thanks for the support everyone, it's been 3 weeks now since my knee started to swell up, the draining didn't seem to help much, the ice seemed to make it worse so i decided to use heat instead which seems to have worked a little better, i now have some movement in my knee tho i still have alot of swelling but it is going down slowly so hopefully another week or two i might be more mobile. 8)

cheers everyone.

bubbadog

Hi Kris, Firstly welcome to Arthritis Care, Secondly I had my drained when I 1st started with my problems with my right knee but mine stills gets some fluid on it. I hope you get everything sorted eventually and again welcome to the and I hope it helps you.

stickywicket

Thanks for the update, Kris. I'm afraid patience is one of those things we ought to be able to get on prescription. It can be very frustrating. I hope the knee continues to improve.