State of the Knee, Round 3
Nov. 27th, 2007 10:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ladyspriteI made it back to the orthopedist today, and he poked my knee and bent it back and forth, and came to a pretty quick conclusion.
The good news is that he doesn't think it's a recurrence of the synovial plica, and that I don't need more surgery.
The bad news is that I'm developing arthritis, and that I'm pretty much stuck with it for the rest of my life. Oh, he made noises about how, if I feel like it, I can try taking glucosamine and anti-inflammatories and going to physical therapy, but he seemed to think that these were all pretty much just busy-work to make me feel like I'm doing something, and that he doesn't actually expect any of them to help. His final pronouncement was that the best I can hope for is to eventually reach a point where I have more good days than bad ones.
I suppose it could be worse, and I suppose I should be grateful that this is such a livable problem. But.... I'm not.
Damnit, I'm too young to have a permanent problem like this! I'm 32, not 82. I'm thin, I'm fairly muscular, I eat a healthy diet, I'm in an active job, and I exercise regularly. Isn't that supposed to keep you healthy? Isn't that supposed to protect you from crap like this?
I'm not ready to stop moving. I *like* walking, and dancing, and doing yoga, and climbing trees, and a whole host of other things. I'm not ready to just sit down and accept a life of pain and limited mobility. If I were 80, maybe I could swallow it without a problem, though I'm inclined to think that even then I'd be too damn stubborn to surrender quietly. But now? I've only just started my life, it's not fair to make me stop doing things already.
I know this is stupid of me, and that there are people out there with problems that are so much worse, and I'm being selfish and ungrateful, but I can't help it. I'm doing everything I can - I've started mainlining glucosamine, and I'm already taking as much Advil as I can handle, and I'm trying to get through to the physical therapist to make an appointment, but apparently even with all this it's not going to make much of a difference.
Not fair, not fair, not fair. I almost wish it *was* something surgical, because at least then I'd have a chance at getting better. Tomorrow I'll put on a happy face and have faith that I'll still manage what I call for my patients a Decent Quality of Life, but today I think I need a little time to wallow....
The good news is that he doesn't think it's a recurrence of the synovial plica, and that I don't need more surgery.
The bad news is that I'm developing arthritis, and that I'm pretty much stuck with it for the rest of my life. Oh, he made noises about how, if I feel like it, I can try taking glucosamine and anti-inflammatories and going to physical therapy, but he seemed to think that these were all pretty much just busy-work to make me feel like I'm doing something, and that he doesn't actually expect any of them to help. His final pronouncement was that the best I can hope for is to eventually reach a point where I have more good days than bad ones.
I suppose it could be worse, and I suppose I should be grateful that this is such a livable problem. But.... I'm not.
Damnit, I'm too young to have a permanent problem like this! I'm 32, not 82. I'm thin, I'm fairly muscular, I eat a healthy diet, I'm in an active job, and I exercise regularly. Isn't that supposed to keep you healthy? Isn't that supposed to protect you from crap like this?
I'm not ready to stop moving. I *like* walking, and dancing, and doing yoga, and climbing trees, and a whole host of other things. I'm not ready to just sit down and accept a life of pain and limited mobility. If I were 80, maybe I could swallow it without a problem, though I'm inclined to think that even then I'd be too damn stubborn to surrender quietly. But now? I've only just started my life, it's not fair to make me stop doing things already.
I know this is stupid of me, and that there are people out there with problems that are so much worse, and I'm being selfish and ungrateful, but I can't help it. I'm doing everything I can - I've started mainlining glucosamine, and I'm already taking as much Advil as I can handle, and I'm trying to get through to the physical therapist to make an appointment, but apparently even with all this it's not going to make much of a difference.
Not fair, not fair, not fair. I almost wish it *was* something surgical, because at least then I'd have a chance at getting better. Tomorrow I'll put on a happy face and have faith that I'll still manage what I call for my patients a Decent Quality of Life, but today I think I need a little time to wallow....
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Mostly repeating what everyone else seems to have already covered, but...
Date: 2007-11-27 10:38 pm (UTC)Not stupid. Not selfish and ungrateful. ("I tell you three times.") (And I'm one of those people with worse problems, but y'know, those problems had a starting point, and there was, for me, that same anger/despair.)
Now that I've gotten that out of the way:
First of all, get another doctor. The whole "doctor roulette" thing is an incredible pain, but you've got to believe you're deserving of one who will work with you, not just issue Proclamations From On High.
Secondly, the glucosamine thing: A month or so ago both hips started giving me utter hell. Nothing comfortable, no position sitting or lying, don't even think about moving. I mentioned it to my doctor when I saw her a couple of weeks ago, and added that I'd switched from glucosamine/chondroitin to "glucosamine blend" about 6 weeks ago to save on costs. Her response was that studies have shown that it's the chondroitin that's most effective for arthritis. [And this from a non-naturopathic MD at a public health clinic. She's the reason I fuss with a ferry trip over to Seattle and the hellish parking there; no way I'm changing doctors when I've got one that understands fibro, CFS, migraines, arthritis, and the rest of the mix.]
[Best affordable source for supplements: Trader Joe's. IMO, YMMV, etc.]
So, I've been back on the g/c for a couple of weeks, noticing marginal improvement the last couple of days; it does take up to 6 weeks to kick in, I'm told. Also, anecdotal evidence of its effectivity; it took the conversation with the doctor to realize that's what changed, which, in my mind, eliminates placebo effect. Again, YMMV, etc.
Third thing, which I learned from my oldest aunt, who suffered badly from arthritis: Keep moving. Do not let it disable you. Figure out what you can do, then do it, in moderation. (I mentioned that to Jessica (my doc) and she just lit up, with this pleased expression, I suppose that she wasn't going to have to argue with someone's instinctive response of "pain=don't move." Did I mention that she's great?)