Original Bee’s Knees I have been dealing with this *stuff* for almost 11 years now. I was finally approved for Orthovisic and my first injection of 3 was on March 2, 2022.
Fortunately, I got back into a water exercise class, not at my “favorite pool” but it’s still good.
My knee has been waking me up again, though and it’s hard to walk. Since Sunday, October 30, 2022, I’ve had sciatica too – at least it’s on the same leg. I have a message in to my doctor. This pain is driving me nuts. I can’t sleep, I can’t stand, I can’t walk. I haven’t been to the pool or the hot tub in over a week.
I finally have an appointment tomorrow (11/30/2022) with a new orthopedic doctor. Hopefully, there will be good, or better, news after the doctor appointment.
Original Bee’s Knees I have been dealing with this *stuff* for 10 years now. I was finally approved for Orthovisic and my first injection of 3 was on March 2, 2022.
Since April 2, 2022 it seems like things have gotten worse again.
Fortunately, I got back into a water exercise class, not at my “favorite pool” but it’s still good.
My knee has been waking me up again, though and it’s hard to walk. Since last Sunday, I’ve had sciatica too – at least it’s on the same leg. I have a message in to my doctor. This pain is driving me nuts. I can’t sleep, I can’t stand, I can’t walk. I haven’t been to the pool or the hot tub in over a week.
Hopefully, there will be good, or better, news after the doctor appointment.
I found an article that said in part “Also of note, the data did suggest that hyaluronic acid injections are not totally benign. With 15 trials (6,462 participants) reporting adverse events in sufficient detail, da Costa and colleagues calculated that the shots came with significantly elevated risk for serious complications (relative risk 1.49, 95% CI 1.12-1.98). “Overall, 3.7% of patients receiving viscosupplementation and 2.5% receiving placebo experienced a serious adverse event,” the researchers found.”
I don’t know if what I’m going through is a “serious adverse event” but it’s certainly serious and adverse to me!
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How it went from Wednesday, March 2, 2022 when I got my first Orthovisc injection through March 30 with my GP-type doctor. He watched how I walked and determined that my knee is swollen all around and performed Arthrocentesis (knee drain).
He said “Visibly swollen with protuberance in posterior fossa. Not warm totouch. Ballotable patella.
See aspiration note below: lateral subpatellar approach enabled withdrawal of 5cc straw colored clear fluid. 40mg kenelog + 4cc lidocaine injected easily. Substantial pain relief afterward and gait improved“.
March 30 after I got home from the doctor. First thing, I sent a note to my piano students cancelling lessons for today, then took a short nap and posted my blog post. There was still pain so about 7, I had some wine. It’s been a long time but I hoped it dulls the pain some.
9:45, put on an ice pack we had in the freezer already
midnight, bedtime – trouble running to the toilet.
March 31. I slept until 6:30. Not much pain when I woke up.
Thursday March 31 – woke up and was able to stand without a lot of pain. Slept 5 hours, 16 minutes or 66% of needed sleep time.
went into work – about 2 something suddenly felt painful so I put on the brace again. I am here until 9 pm tonight.
About 6, my knee started hurting more – I had rehearsals at 7 and 7:30. During the second rehearsal, there were tornado and thunderstorm warnings and my knee got a lot worse. I was able to put my leg up on a chair. When I got home at 9:30, I iced it some more.
Friday, April 1, woke up and was able to stand without a lot of pain. Slept 6 hours, 4 minutes or 76% of needed time. Today is a “day off” so I hope to nap this afternoon.
As of 11:30 am, no brace yet.
about 5:40 or so, my knee started hurting under the patella. The bandage came off and the area is looking a little reddish (to me) but it’s hard to tell. I did get a nap, so I’ve now slept 6 hours, 38 minutes or 83%. The new gel ring came and is in the freezer for a little later tonight.
I tried the new gel ring – said it “rolled on” which was great. Unfortunately, it also rolled off when standing up.
Original Bee’s Knees I have been dealing with this *stuff* for 9 years now. I was finally approved for Orthovisic and my first injection of 3 was on March 2, 2022.
How it went from Wednesday, March 2, 2022 when I got my first Orthovisc injection through March 30 with my GP-type doctor. He watched how I walked and determined that my knee is swollen all around and performed Arthrocentesis (knee drain).
He said “Visibly swollen with protuberance in posterior fossa. Not warm totouch. Ballotable patella.
See aspiration note below: lateral subpatellar approach enabled withdrawal of 5cc straw colored clear fluid. 40mg kenelog + 4cc lidocaine injected easily. Substantial pain relief afterward and gait improved“.
March 30 after I got home from the doctor. First thing, I sent a note to my piano students cancelling lessons for today, then took a short nap and posted my blog post. There was still pain so about 7, I had some wine. It’s been a long time but I hoped it dulls the pain some.
9:45, put on an ice pack we had in the freezer already
midnight, bedtime – trouble running to the toilet.
March 31. I slept until 6:30. Not much pain when I woke up.
Thursday March 31 – woke up and was able to stand without a lot of pain. Slept 5 hours, 16 minutes or 66% of needed sleep time.
went into work – about 2 something suddenly felt painful so I put on the brace again. I am here until 9 pm tonight.
About 6, my knee started hurting more – I had rehearsals at 7 and 7:30. During the second rehearsal, there were tornado and thunderstorm warnings and my knee got a lot worse. I was able to put my leg up on a chair. When I got home at 9:30, I iced it some more.
Friday, April 1, woke up and was able to stand without a lot of pain. Slept 6 hours, 4 minutes or 76% of needed time. Today is a “day off” so I hope to nap this afternoon.
As of 11:30 am, no brace yet.
about 5:40 or so, my knee started hurting under the patella. The bandage came off and the area is looking a little reddish (to me) but it’s hard to tell. I did get a nap, so I’ve now slept 6 hours, 38 minutes or 83%. The new gel ring came and is in the freezer for a little later tonight.
I tried the new gel ring – said it “rolled on” which was great. Unfortunately, it also rolled off when standing up.
I was finally approved for Orthovisic and my first injection of 3 was on March 2.
I was so excited when I started this post. Little did I know. Here’s how it’s been so far:
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 I got my first Orthovisc injection.
By Thursday, March 3 my knee was 90% better
On Wednesday March 9, I had injection 2
On the 10th, knee is still better
March 11 slept 91%, no knee pillow. good night’s sleep finally
March 12 woke up with sharp knee pain – screamed
March 13 – maybe that it was 21 degrees out affected things, maybe not. Knee hurt a little all day.
Somehow, the pain feels different than before the injections. It feels like it could be the back of my leg – maybe I tore my muscle after I felt so good after Shot#!.
March 15, Stepped out of bed sharp pain
March 16, Injection 3, final. It felt like needle moved in my knee
And from there things go
I started having pain standing/walking again and using a pillow between my knees at night. Many nights I took 3 Tylenol just to see if I could get some sleep
March 26, I stood up from bed, fell backwards back down. Luckily, the bed was there.
March 29, The pain was excruciating so I 3 tylenol before bed and ordered a gel band from amazon. It freezes so I can ice my knee all around. I also did some reading about pain after OrthoVisc and some sites mentioned fluid on the knee or fluid behind the knee (Baker’s Cyst). I tried to look at my knees in the mirror without much success but my DH looked and he thought my left knee, the one in question, looked bigger than the right.
March 30 – today! – I got up this morning and I could barely walk. I went on amazon again and ordered a 3-wheel walker. I tried to make an appointment with the doctor who did the OrthoVisc but he wasn’t available until April 28.
Luckily, I was able to make an appointment for today with my GP-type doctor. He watched how I walked and determined that my knee is swollen all around.
He said “Visibly swollen with protuberance in posterior fossa. Not warm totouch. Ballotable patella.
See aspiration note below: lateral subpatellar approach enabled withdrawal of 5cc straw colored clear fluid. 40mg kenelog + 4cc lidocaine injected easily. Substantial pain relief afterward and gait improved“
He drained my knee (Arthrocentesis) some but couldn’t get a lot of the fluid out. Actually, looking at the numbers, he took out about equal numbers with the lidocaine and cortisone he injected I suggested he install a faucet to help me keep this draining. He was hoping that it might continue to drain into the thick bandage he put on.
In his after-care notes he said “I hope that this injection and ice allow the swelling in you knee to go down. If the pain resumes along with swelling, I suggest taking the oral prednisone. Regardless, please get in touch with Dr. X (Orthovisc injector). Let me know if you have increased pain, redness, warmth, or fever. “
Oh joy!
I came home and was able to take a nap, at least. Unfortunately, I had to cancel piano students to do so. My knee is still uncomfortable and I’m having trouble walking but I think the injection and the Arthrocentesis help in the coming days.
I really don’t want to do this knee draining thing often. Even with the lidocaine, it was painful. Not the worst pain I have ever had but nothing I’d sign up for fun. My worst-ever pain day was April 28, 2006. That day was the day I learned I had Kidney Cancer, which became the reason I can only take Tylenol for my pain. My endo will be unhappy if I take that Prednisone and he is always unhappy when I get cortisone in my knee.
After surgery, you’ll typically spend 1 or 2 days in an intensive care unit (ICU). Your health care team will check your heart rate, blood pressure, and oxygen levels regularly during this time.
An intravenous (IV) line will likely be inserted into a vein in your arm. Through the IV line, you may get medicines to control blood flow and blood pressure. You also will likely have a tube in your bladder to drain urine and a tube in your chest to drain fluid.
You may receive oxygen therapy (oxygen given through nasal prongs or a mask) and a temporary pacemaker while in the ICU. A pacemaker is a small device that’s placed in the chest or abdomen to help control abnormal heart rhythms.
Your doctor also might recommend that you wear compression stockings on your legs. These stockings are tight at the ankle and become looser as they go up the legs. This creates gentle pressure that keeps blood from pooling and clotting.
While in the ICU, you’ll also have bandages on your chest incision (cut) and on the areas where arteries or veins were removed for grafting.
After you leave the ICU, you’ll be moved to a less intensive care area of the hospital for 3–5 days before going home. (only 2!)
Recovery at Home
Your doctor will give you instructions for recovering at home (yes to all), such as:
How to care for your healing incisions
How to recognize signs of infection or other complications
When to call the doctor right away
When to make followup appointments
You’ll also learn how to deal with common side effects from surgery. Side effects often go away within 4–6 weeks after surgery, but may include:
Discomfort or itching from healing incisions
Swelling of the area where arteries or veins were removed for grafting
Muscle pain or tightness in the shoulders and upper back
Fatigue (tiredness), mood swings, or depression
Problems sleeping or loss of appetite
Constipation
Chest pain at the site of the chest bone incision (more frequent with traditional CABG)
Full recovery from traditional CABG may take 6–12 weeks or more. Nontraditional CABG doesn’t require as much recovery time.
Your doctor will tell you when you can become active again. It varies from person to person, but there are some typical timeframes.
Often, people can resume sexual activity and return to work after about 6 weeks. Some people may need to find less physically demanding types of work or work a reduced schedule at first.
Talk with your doctor about when you can resume activity, including sexual activity, working, and driving.
Ongoing Care
Care after surgery may include periodic checkups with doctors. During these visits, you may have tests to see how your heart is working. Tests may include an EKG (electrocardiogram), stress testing, echocardiography, and a cardiac CT scan.
CABG is not a cure for coronary heart disease (CHD). After the surgery, your doctor may recommend a treatment plan that includes lifestyle changes. Following the plan can help you stay healthy and lower the risk of CHD getting worse.
Lifestyle changes might include changing your diet, quitting smoking, being physically active, losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight, and reducing stress.
Your doctor also may refer you to cardiac rehabilitation (rehab). Cardiac rehab is a medically supervised program that helps improve the health and well-being of people who have heart problems.
Cardiac rehab includes exercise training, education on heart healthy living, and counseling to reduce stress and help you return to an active life. Your doctor can tell you where to find a cardiac rehab program near your home.
Taking medicines as prescribed also is important after CABG. Your doctor may prescribe medicines to manage pain during recovery, lower your cholesterol and blood pressure, reduce the risk of blood clots forming, manage diabetes, or treat depression.
MaryO'Medical 