Mark Twain

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Friday, May 26, 2017

The knee bone is connected to the stomach bone is connected to the ....!

I think I am due for a Rant!!  

Exactly one week ago I awoke with a left knee that was talking to me.

And by 'talking' I mean yelling.

Both knees talk to me and have done so for years.  You know what I mean - popping and clicking and sometimes little pains.  But yelling - that is a very different kind of talk.  I looked up a blog post that I did on my left knee (Yep!  Only the best bloggers do blog posts on their left knee.  Ha!) and it was November 2013.  That was the last time my left knee did any yelling.  I had ignored the yelling for quite sometime in 2013 before I was forced to seek medical help.  

And by 'help' I mean switching one problem for another.

During the 2013 knee episode I saw my general doc and he sent me to an ortho doc and then I got handed off to physical therapist and eventually the knee pain resolved - after approximately 4 months - and lots and lots of Advil.

And by 'resolved' I mean back to only talking ... not yelling.

Talking I can live with.  But now my stomach was talking (ok, yelling) at me because Advil is hard on the GI system.  So the saga of the cranky knee continued through a visit to a gastroenterology who did an EGD (tube with a camera down the throat) to take a look around.  It was simple reflux that was caused by the Advil.  So I was put on a high end reflux drug that after about 4 months I stopped because ... wait for it ... it was adding to my leg cramp problem.  (Jeez!!)  It took a few years but just recently I got the reflux manageable with over the counter drugs and life style changes. 

So now three and half years later - that left knee is yelling at me again.  AGAIN!!!

I am not waiting another two months for it to go away before seeking medical help to resolve this issue.

And by 'help' and 'resolved' I mean going to a rheumatologist who is better trained to treat possible arthritic conditions and management without the treatment taking out another organ system. 

So how many of you have problem knees?
And what do you do for them?
And is it fair that my expiration dates are various body parts 
are starting to come due??

Rant over.  Back to being a rational human being.  (ok, 'rational' is a bit of a stretch 😊.)

6 comments:

Michelle said...

Yep, knee problems. I'm cranky about it, too.

happyone said...

Sorry to hear of your pain. I hear this from a lot of people I know. Thankfully I am happy to say my knees are still fine. Hope they stay that way.

Priscilla said...

I laughed out loud because I thought I was the only person who used the word "yelling" to describe a body part! My knees are fine, they're great! My HIP on the other hand yells at me; goodness, does it yell. And this month I started lifestyle changes for chronic heartburn (GERD, I guess). So I totally get it. To answer your question, I exercise daily (albeit gentle exercise like jogging or yard work or walking the dog) because my hip is worse when I sit around afraid to move because of the pain. As for the GERD, I've cut waaaaaay back on coffee, and I don't eat the last 3 hours before bed . . . but those two things have only helped a little bit, sigh. Yes, it's fair that our body parts' expiration dates are starting to come due because it makes us more thankful for what we DO have left.:-)

Lois said...

I feel your pain. Having little muscle my knees give me a lot of trouble, especially my left one. It took years to diagnose but it was a problem I created. To avoid falling, which I did regularly as a child, I'd begun to lock my knees. turns out that did a lot of damage. The only solution I have been offered is knee replacement and I'm not willing to go there yet.

Cynthia said...

What is it with left knees? I just completed 4 months of physical therapy, which have made mine tolerable but I still limp a lot of the time because it hurts. Surgery is in my future, but I am putting it off as long as possible.
Sorry about your pain and hope you get it resolved much quicker than last time.

Debbie said...

Both of my knees yell and sometimes go on strike. I use Voltarin (topical), ice, wrap in tensor banadages and for some reason the Sudafed Sinus Advance has ibuprofen and seems to help the joint pain along with sinus stuff, go figure.

So some days are diamonds and others, not so much.

Good luck with your pending appointment.

take care