I had the identical experience as you (but hip joint instead of knee). Incredible pain, endless runaround, no progress until (1) I stopped putting any weight on that leg (ignoring the PT's advice) and (2) I finally got an appointment with the surgeon who does the joint replacement surgery who finally prescribed enough pain reliever and generally put me at ease. You have to speak the words "I want to speak to an orthopedic surgeon" when the pain is that bad. For me, after that I started to get results. He will tell you if you don't need the surgery. The bad news is that cortisone acts as an immunosuppressive so if you do need surgery you will have to wait months to get that out of your system first. I did need the surgery and I was horrified thinking I would have to wait so long with that much pain but EVERY DAY after taking the better pain pills I felt better and after a week I was off narcotic pain relievers entirely. My surgery is Jan 7th and I am coasting along with just ibuprofen now.
Thanks for the replies so far guys! I literally had to take 2 percocets earlier after I made that post, and I fell asleep for a while. I awoke to the pain in my knee still. I really started to think about the entire situation with my knee, how it got hurt, how long it's been, and the experience today. If I injured it back in Sept. would it really even be that swollen still? It didn't look swollen at all. If it is still hurting like it is today, tomorrow, I am going to call my regular Dr. He is super nice and patient. I am really sick of other people like my mom and the physical therapy people get on my ass about moving my knee more, when I KNOW there is something wrong it still- I only made it worse the first time I tried therapy! I want to be optimistic and think this shot is going to help but I have a feeling it's not, at least not permanent. I might have a slight problem finding another Dr. as I don't have insurance (and no I don't need to hear about Obama care...) I have charity assistance (because I am poor,) AND to top it all off my records show that I was once an addict... OH and I take anti-depressants. The Dr. doesn't know that I have been clean for a long time now... I wonder if that ever comes off my record? "Drug-seeking behavior" etc. So there we go, a biased Dr. to start off with... shit... I am just crying now... thanks again for replying guys, that was a good article too trendlover, thanks... Oh yeah, I forgot to mention; I am suppossed to go and have another one of these shots done in my neck for a pinched nerve I have the first week of Jan. I DO NOT want to experience more pain then I already am in... SHIT!!! Stupid car accident!!!!
The doctor who referred you to the doctor you don't like probably got some kind of kickback. Maybe a "legal" one like "sharing" expensive tickets to sporting events. I have a doctor friend and I see him involved in this kind of stuff frequently. First, tell the doctor that referred you that the doctor he sent you to is a bum. And tell him why. Get another doctor. I don't care if your insurance is paying for the doctor, YOU pay for the insurance, so it's your money and YOU got the final say so in this deal. It doesn't matter whether it's doctors, lawyers, or your stockbroker, they all make more money by taking control of your life and making your decisions for you. It's your life and your money, so tell em to fly right or your moving on.
I recently had a cortisone shot in my shoulder. Dr said I had a touch of arthritis which surprised me as I'm just 39. I always thought arthritis was something you get in your 70's..............guess not. Anyway, the pain increased after the shot for a day or two; then it died down & felt better. My doc also forgot to mention it would hurt worse for a couple days, so I wasn't sure what was going on. I thought he made it worse, but I think that's just the normal process.
I hurt my knee on June 29th......dislocated my kneecap & tore a ligament or 2 or 3. It's 6 months later & my knee still hurts, but it's not swollen. So depending on what you did it could definitely still be hurting or swollen. Some things take a long time to heal. Mine is fine when walking; only hurts when walking uphill or squatting down on it.
I would suggest calling the ortho's office and asking for a nurse to call you back. Typically, the actual doc will not take or return calls. She can look at your file and go over the results of the exam with you in detail, plus advise you about the continuing pain. It is hard to know how to advise someone with pain, because pain is so subjective. It is not unusual to have pain, sometimes a lot of it, doing knee therapy. The therapist should be able to advise you how much pain is normal, but what is a lot for one person may not be that much for another. It is important to complete therapy after a seriou sknee injury. Otherwise, you risk losing movement in the knee, plus you will be at greatly increased risk of reinjuring it.
Today it feels somewhat better, but I still can not put any weight on it. Let's hope tomorrow it's feeling better... and yeah my Dr. forgot to mention that it would hurt worse first, then get better. I am just finding that out through replies on here and my own research. Some Dr.s are just awesome, I tell ya. Thanks for the feed back.
sound that heals you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2pOHgoxTZA&feature=related also check out his other vids.