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.
I’ve veered off-topic yet again with a bit about sciatica. I’ve dealt with this for years and years and had a bunch of opinions from a lot of people on what to do, what to take. For me, nothing seems to help except waiting it out for about a week, then it settles down. I’ve tried heat, cold, Tylenol, prescriptions, exercises, sitting, standing, lying down…
Just wait a week. Right now, I’m on day 6, so I have high hopes for tomorrow.
I do notice that sitting is marginally worse than lying or standing. I guess that maybe compresses the nerve more? I do have a bit of Oxycodone left over from my knee pain (which I still have – luckily, on the same leg – just not as badly), so I take 1/2 of one to help me sleep at night. Whenever I think of Oxycodone, I’m reminded of the night that I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. I’d just been admitted to a room and someone came to visit me. She offered to buy my Oxy from me. I was stunned. Then, she said she was just kidding.
Um, no. I can’t think of anyone who would even think of buying Oxy who didn’t have some kind of issue – even as a “joke”.
Some info from the Mayo Clinic
Sciatica refers to pain that radiates along the path of the sciatic nerve, which branches from your lower back through your hips and buttocks and down each leg. Typically, sciatica affects only one side of your body.
Sciatica most commonly occurs when a herniated disk, bone spur on the spine or narrowing of the spine (spinal stenosis) compresses part of the nerve. This causes inflammation, pain and often some numbness in the affected leg.
Although the pain associated with sciatica can be severe, most cases resolve with non-operative treatments in a few weeks. People who have severe sciatica that’s associated with significant leg weakness or bowel or bladder changes might be candidates for surgery.
Pain that radiates from your lower (lumbar) spine to your buttock and down the back of your leg is the hallmark of sciatica. You might feel the discomfort almost anywhere along the nerve pathway, but it’s especially likely to follow a path from your low back to your buttock and the back of your thigh and calf.
The pain can vary widely, from a mild ache to a sharp, burning sensation or excruciating pain. Sometimes it can feel like a jolt or electric shock. It can be worse when you cough or sneeze, and prolonged sitting can aggravate symptoms. Usually only one side of your body is affected.
Some people also have numbness, tingling or muscle weakness in the affected leg or foot. You might have pain in one part of your leg and numbness in another part.
MaryO'Medical 