The Knee and Me

[Eireann]

I had surgery on my knee last June. At the beginning of February, I noticed that the muscle above the knee was swollen. I couldn't get in to see the orthopedist, and my GP's office was closed, so off to the emergency room. The nice doctor there X-rayed my knee and prescribed some of those medicated bandages. When I was able to see my orthopedist, he asked me if I'd been sick recently. When I said I had, he explained that viruses tend to "live" in joints, which is why we feel achy when we have one. And since I had surgery, that weakened the joint and left it susceptible.

So. Wednesday, my knee began to swell so much that I knew I'd have to see a doctor. The way it works here is, when you have a problem, even when you know that you have to see a specialist, you have to go to your GP, who will then refer you to the right doctor.

I went to the GP Thursday morning. She examined my leg, asked me for the name of my orthopedist, and called in an appointment for me.

The orthopedist examined me and sprayed my leg with disinfectant, so uh-oh... I knew what that meant. Sure enough, he punctured my knee and drained the fluid. "40 millileters!" he said proudly. "And no blood! Look!"

"No, I don't want to," I said. The nurse laughed.

What happened is, I got a rather nasty virus after the first swelling but well before the second. It was bad enough that I thought I had strep. I did end up with an ear infection, and a specialist gave me nasal spray for it (I had my GP renew the prescription for said spray while I was at the office).

The orthopedist has put it down to that. So, I am to avoid going out in public as much as possible; take vitamins; eat lots of fruit, veggies, and protein; use my crutches; and come back to him on Tuesday.

Has anyone else out there gone through anything like this? If so, how long did it last?

[RootedPhoenix]

Eek. Glad it was fixable.

[Shangri-laschild]

I can definitely verify the part about feeling a cold in your joints. Whenever I start to get sick I can always tell because my knees and my ear piercings get grouchy.

[Eireann]

I went to the doctor again today. I was very happy to learn that, although there is still some fluid in there, it's not enough for him to puncture and drain it again.

The sticky thing is, I'm going away for the upcoming long weekend (Good Friday and Easter Monday are holidays). So, oh goody, I get to give myself an injection before the flight out and the flight back. I'm also not supposed to walk much. I asked him if I should take the crutches with me, and after a long hesitation, he said, "I hope not."

Oh well. We shall see what we shall see. On a more positive note, he thinks that this problem will go away in a few months. He said it can take a year for the joint to heal sufficiently.

[Minflick]

Well, THAT'S not what you wanted to hear...

[Eireann]

Well, I've been on my trip and returned. The knee behaved itself - no swelling, though there was pain at times. I took loads of Vitamin C while I was there, and had a marvelous time!

[Shangri-laschild]

Yay! That's good at least though the pain part sucks.

[Sapphire Silk]

I've had bursitis a couple of times in my right knee. Both times the pain came out of no where; no injury, just sudden pain, joint giving out and had to start using a cane to walk.

First time around when it didn't get better after a couple of days of rest and Motrin, I went to the doctor. he diagnosed bursitis and recommended a cortisone shot. I didn't like the idea but it actually didn't hurt like I expected it would, and it worked so well I was almost to the car before I realized I'd left the cane inside (it was Evil Empryss's so I kinda needed to give it back to her).

Last September I started having more knee pain of a very similar kind. Unfortunately, the new job screwed up my health insurance so it didn't start right away and I wasn't able to see a doctor. By the time my insurance situation was straightened out, it was doing better on its own. It's taken months, but I think it's finally healed on its own.