Osteoarthritis in both knees

kas44

Hi I’m new to the group and hope to learn more information and help. Just had a steroid injection 2 weeks ago in one knee which hasn’t helped and wondered how soon I might be able to get another one. I’m going on holiday and was hoping this was going to help slightly. Thanks for any help 😀

Anna

Hi @kas44 and welcome to the online community,

I understand you’ve recently had a steroid injection in your knee but it doesn’t seem to have helped and you’re wondering when you can have another one. I’ve linked to some information on steroid injections below - you’ll see that it all depends on what type of arthritis you’ve got and also what steroid you’ve been given. Some steroids work immediately, others take a couple of weeks, so it’s best if you could talk to your GP or rheumatology nurse about your particular dose.

https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/drugs/steroid-injections/

Do have a look round the forum and ask any more questions you may have - our members are all friendly and happy to share their experiences.

Anna ( Moderator)

jonr

Hi @kas44 and a very warm welcome!

So, steroid injections then. Firstly, how well they work depends on how much cartilage is left to inject into, the less there is, the less likely they are to succeed. They don't always affect people the same way - some are in even more agony and some are totally pain-free for many months.

I had 2 injections, I asked the doctor to inject into both sides of both knees, the first time worked the best for about 3 weeks, the second time there was no improvement at all and that's because I'm now bone on bone (according to the doctor I spoke to).

It is usual to wait 3 months between injections as I understand it, if you're going to have another round best to factor in the wait time when booking.

Hope this helps

Jon