Knee Update . . .

I saw the Orthopedic Surgeon Friday.  Prior to the office visit I had an series of X-rays taken for the visit.

Thursday my knee started to act better.  It sort of self healed though it was not a complete riddance of pain, but it was now much more tolerable.

The doctor looked at the X-rays and said he did not see anything  to worry about.  No knee replacement but he did see arthritis under the knee cap (probably the source of pain).  He said he could order up a MRI but doubted it would give him much more information.  So that was ruled out.

He did give me a cortisone shot in the knee and it helped a little bit.  I mean today I still feel the knee, it reports to me everyday.  But the knee does not inhibit my locomotion.  It just lets me know it is there.

So no operations, just see the doctor if anything flares up again.  I liked that since it was good practical advice.

We then exchanged a few comments about the LSU Tigers.  He is a graduate of LSU Medical School.  He did not attend LSU for his undergraduate degree.  But as usual, once in the LSU system he becomes totally infected.  And of course since he is an Orthopedic specialist he sees lots of athletes.  His specialty is shoulders, he does not normally do knees and hips but since I am his patient he took care of the knee for me.

The Right Knee . . .

I woke up on December 28th with a right knee hurting a little bit.  I have  had that occur before and then the pain would disappeared.  I have arthritic knees and that is sort of a normal thing for me.  However, by December 29th it was really giving me fits.

I could not straighten out my knee and had trouble sleeping through the night.  I resulted in taking a couple of Aleve tablets that sort of help.  It dulled the pain down.  But when I stood up it was excruciating pain for the first step.  After a few small steps I could move better with less pain.  And after about six or seven steps walk with out a limp.  The knee, however, let me know each time I took a step it was protesting.  The Aleve moderated the pain.

I normally sleep on my side, mostly the left side but sometimes the right side and often switch around during the night in my sleep.  I could not sleep on my side.  If I was on the right side the knee had the left knee on top of it and if on the left side it was top but still protesting painfully.  Enough pain to keep me awake.  By December 30th I was resorting to a couple Motrin (aka Ibuprofen) during the night to fight the pain and get some sleep.

So I resorted to sleeping in a reclining sofa or a recliner chair.  That made me sleep on my back and keep the knee out straight.   Keeping the knee out straight is painful at first but then abates.  I find even during the day sitting in a recliner eased the pain.

I contacted my Orthopedic Surgeon's office seeking an appointment.  They said they would look at the knee but they did not do knees.  They would take me as a patient since I was still a patient from my left shoulder replacement.  And that they would refer me to a knee doctor if I needed it.  The appointment is a squeeze in tomorrow  (Friday Jan 10) at 8:30 AM with a date for an X-ray prior to the appointment.

So tomorrow I will be off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of joints.  I think I may have some Arthroscopic surgery or at worst a knee replacement.  The shoulder work I had done was an emphatic replacement and that was successful surgery.  My left shoulder is better than my right shoulder today. I have a big four inch scar as a reminder of the surgery but I have absolutely no loss of motion and absolutely no pain anymore.

The pain has moved on to the knee.