The MRI Report

[pegkerr]

Good news: I don't need surgery! I have no tears in the meniscus (the padding between the knee and the femur) and the ligaments aren't sprained.

Bad news: they can't fix the problem. I have pre-arthritis. Essentially, the coating behind the patella is wearing down. So he recommends talking with the physical therapist again to learn what movements to be careful on (essentially, squats and deep knee bends) and to start taking Glucosamine/Chondroitin four times a day, to help build up that protective coating, or to at least prevent it from getting any worse. And yes, I can go back to karate. It's just going to hurt occasionally.

Comments

[johnridley.livejournal.com]

Glad + sorry to hear it. Hey, contact sports hurt occasionally - I am amused when someone accidentally makes contact with me on a kick and starts apologizing - if I didn't want to get hurt I wouldn't be doing martial arts. But that's an unfortunate kind of hurt.
Hopefully they caught it early enough for the drugs to work - I've heard people have sometimes had very good luck with it.

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

YAY!

BOOOOO.

I have arthritis. Glucosamine has helped enormously. Chondriotin has not been proved in testing, but Glucosamine has clinical results.

I mention this because buying plain old Glucosamine without chondriotin added is MUCH cheaper.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

The doctor did specifically recommend that I get pills with all three ingredients: Glucosamine, Chondriotion, and something called (I think) MSM. He admitted that there isn't clinical proof on the efficacy, but he was recommending it based on what patients have told him about their own experience taking it in his clinical practice: he's an orthopedic sports medicine specialist and he sees stuff like this all the time. He said that I should take it at least two months before I can expect to start seeing a result.

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

Well, there's clinical proof on glucosamine, so if you get in the store and the prices make you cranky, plain old glocosamine is a good deal, too.

I have met several people with knee pain who used the kind with MSM (whatever that is) until the pain went away (apparently the MSM addresses pain in some way?) and then switched to a less expensive kind.

I don't know how extensive your arthritis is, but I always see results in ONE month.

Yeah, I forget to take it at times when I run out, like a MOWRAWN, so, I have this experience of having the pain come back and then remembering the glocosamine.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Is it your doctor's opinion that the problem was caused by karate? I must now google pre-arthritis, since I'm a month older than you.

K.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

No, probably not. I mean, I've been an active exerciser for years before starting karate. This is just wear-and-tear.

[pinguthegreek.livejournal.com]

At least, it's been caught at a very early stage and you can do something to help now. Forewarned is forearmed. Hopefully, it will slow the progress towards full arthritis.

[alabastard.livejournal.com]

Sounds like me, and my regimen.

[pameladean]

Oh, it's good that you don't need surgery.

Hope the glucosamine helps. Our elderly cat is on it, and it seems to have arrested her increasing stiffness. You're in much better shape than she is! 8-)

P.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Well I'm very glad you don't need surgery. It takes so long to heal from something like that.

Glucosamine will help immensely. We all get early-onset arthritis in my family so past 40 we take glucosamine prophylactically & so far not a twinge. It's really easy to tolerate, too.

Good luck!

[musicbearmn.livejournal.com]

that's good to hear!

[tinymich.livejournal.com]

My dad is on glucosamine+chondroitin for his knees too, and it's a lot cheaper here than in Asia, so I buy it in bulk for him and pass it on when I'm back.

A penny-stretching tip -- I've found the best prices at Walgreens & CVS, specifically when these four factors converge:

1) the housebrand
2) the largest pills ("triple strength", taken twice a day, instead of "double strength" taken 3x a day -- you pay the least for the same amount of glucosamine -- take a calculator to the store and figure it out)
3) the largest bottles (the 200 count bottles are cheaper per mg of medicine than the 120 ct)
4) "Buy one get one 50% off" -- my local drugstores have these sales frequently.

Hope that helps!

[aome.livejournal.com]

Yay for no surgery but boo for arthritis. I know that pain. :P

Btw, I know it's not practical for now, given the cost, but if circumstances improve, one thing you might consider trying is FlexNow - it's supposed to have a fantastic reputation for joint pain relief.

Did you get the card I sent, btw?

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Yes, I did! I'm sorry I didn't acknowledge it (boo, I'm a bad friend.) But I really was grateful. The day that I came home and found it was a particularly tough day, and I really appreciated it. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before.

[chelsearoad.livejournal.com]

It's better news than you were expecting.

Have some chocolate with that Glucosamine/Chondroitin!

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

You also might ask about taking something like Mobic or Celebrex. (I take Mobic, well, the generic which is meloxicam but I have arthritis pretty bad). Studies says glucosamine doesn't help but enough people have said yes it does that it's sure worth trying. I've read, too, that they're doing research and actually trying to grow cartilage, and perhaps they will be able, eventually, to replace what's worn away.

Another thing you can do that helps immensely is, when your legs are hurting, put a blanket over them if you're watching TV or on the computer or reading or whatever. Warmth helps a LOT and you should feel better when the weather warms up--I always do.

[skg.livejournal.com]

If it makes you feel any better, my dad (long-time runner and outdoorsman) has gotten pretty good relief from glucosamine chondroitin.

Glad you don't need surgery!

[cathschaffstump.livejournal.com]

Aging. Feh.

Catherine

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

[tinymich.livejournal.com]

Hey Peg, I saw this today:

http://elations.com/categories/elations-and-you/faqs.php

I don't know if it's available near you, or how expensive it is, or how good it tastes, but if works like it's supposed to, then it might be an interesting option for a midday something-cold-and-sweet.

Just wanted to let you know about it! Might be worth checking out once if you see it at a gas station one day, or something. :-)

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Interesting. Thanks for the heads up!