posted
I'm suffering from arthritis in both knees. Had my knees scoped to remove damaged cartlidge. I've seen four Orthopedic doctors all say the same thing, that the linning of my knees is inflamed and there isn't anything they can do.
They all know I have Lyme and am undergoing treatment for it. They did mention removing the lining but that that is only temporary.
So is there anything to take to reduce the pain? Some days I can't even walk.
Also I'm read that Lyme arthritis goes away most of the time.
My desperation has got me to thinking this, Get the lining removed and by the time it grows back, 1-2yrs, I'll have the Lyme undercontrol. I'm guessing this is risky but I've been on STD for 3 1/2 months now and want to get back to work bad.
Your orthopedic dr won't mention prolotherapy. Why? Because he doesn't know how to do it.
I would do ALOT of other things before allowing them to remove the lining. [miniscus??] I know someone who had that done. She is only 30 and has had 6 surgeries on her knees.
posted
Well, yes and no. Most of us have some laxity of our tendons and ligaments. You could have alot of laxity and if so, you would benefit from the treatment.
It keeps the joint stable, therefore you would have less pain when walking or moving the joint. Keep reading. Maybe you'll find the key.
posted
check your email
Posts: 96223 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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minoucat
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5175
posted
My husband had terrible joint pain -- knees, hands, elbows, shoulders. Had both knees operated on to repair cartilage tears, but the joints continued to be inflamed and very painful.
Since this last round of abx for LD, babs, and now bart, almost no joint pain. AMAZING. The bartonella seems to been as much a cause for joint pain as the LD.
Bb does migrate to the synovial fluid; no info on bart and that area, except for personal experience. In our case treatment did take care of the problem, but it took a while (this time, a year of abx tx). He also took Celebrex, which helped.
He's finding the portable steam sauna makes him feel better all over. The portable saunas are pretty cheap -- ours was $99 pre tax and shipping -- you might try that?
We've always found that surgical procedures/anesthetic really push us back a step. I'm very doubtful about the removal of the synovium as an effective treatment.
I'm sorry that the arthritis is so bad. I do know how awful it is. Good luck.
just don
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 1129
posted
Minoucat, Very interesting reading of your husbands bart treatment actually helped his arthritis the most. Did it resemble rhematoid or osteo version??? AND what abx helped him the most to get over the bart???
DC, Sounds quite serious to do this. Will it help to take this out??? Think I would at least try the prolo therapy and other alternates first. Do you take pain meds? Would your doc up them if needed? --just don--
Posts: 4548 | From Middle of midwest | Registered: May 2001
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timaca
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 6911
posted
You might try a prescription creme: "ketoprofen". It is a non steroidal, anti-inflammatory creme. Rub it into the joint that hurts. It needs to be compounded by a pharmacist. But, it helps me when my knee gets irritated.
Tina
Posts: 2872 | From above 7,000 ft in a pine forest | Registered: Feb 2005
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minoucat
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5175
posted
Don,I think his symptoms were closer to RA -- lots of swelling and inflammation, as well as pain. He'd be so sore sometimes he couldn't bear for the joint to be touched or bumped even lightly. Also lots of muscle pain
He got less and less sore after the 6 month mark on IM bicillin and on mepron/zith/art.
But it wasnt until after he completed the bart tx -- Levaquin for 2 months (very scary med, but he was OK on it, although his muscles were quite sore the whole time) then septra (but had to stop after 2 weeks because of allergy) and now samento and ketek (for the past 2 weeks).
He discontinued the mepron/zith a month ago, after 10 months. He's still on bicillin IM (worked very well for us), ketek, and samento. And a high dose of glucosamine sulfate/msm and CoQ10.
This past week he's pruned several fruit trees and hauled several full wheelbarrows to the burn pile. Unthinkable, in terms of joint pain, even 4 months ago.
GEDEN13
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 4151
posted
i had an open synovectomy(removed most of synovial lining) .they do not grow back.the surgery does not remove all of the lining.only what they can get to..
my postop dx is lyme arthritis with extensive synovitis.my range of motion i n my knee(right) is limited.stair's are difficult to walk.one at a time.
i don't know if abx will help me.i take 400mg of doxy daily.i know this is not enough abx.but it's something.
pain and swelling continue.i am on the durgesic patch(50), plus percocet5/325,between 6 and 10 daily.surgery was ,2 year's ,this march.
my next move is knee replacement.but orthopedist sez i am to young.(i'm 50).lol..
i have looked all over the net,for somebody with the same as me.can't find anyone.
my advice to you is,get 2nd opinion's.search the net for info.watch out for myth's.
i don't know if iv abx will help me.i can't get on it.and can't find anyone who has.
for quick pain relief,use ice.no longer then 20 min's.
just remember,everyone's situation is differant.take in all the info you can gather.stay away from bextra,vioxx,celibrex.that's useless crap.(as you see now in the new's)
also ,my synivial lining was in shred's.that was one reason for all the pain and swelling.
try to find an orthopedist who has dealt with this same situation.(lyme)cause the rest know little or nothing..
hope this help's,sorry for your situation.but the more you know,the better off you are.lyme fog? write everything down..
my address is on here ,if you want to know more.i will try to help......gary
posted
My worst (and initially only) symptom for a long time was arthritis, the rheumatoid type though I have a negative rheumatoid factor.
I'm on two "DMARDs" (disease modifying arthritis drugs): Plaquenil and Enbrel. The main reason for doing this is to control the arthritis while the abx is doing its work and prevent damage.
So far, I seem to have escaped permanent damage. I can't tell you for sure that these meds did the trick ... I guess I'll never know for sure.
I know a number of people here take Plaquenil, some for other reasons. Enbrel in particular is a serious decision. It's a biotech drug that hasn't been on the market that long, and because it surpresses the immune system, this could be problematic for many here. It's also quite expensive if you don't have good insurance coverage. I personally have had no problems with it other than sensitivity at the injection site.
monkeyshines
Posts: 343 | From Northern VA | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
I've seen 4 different Orthopedic doctors. One of them is in the top 3% of ortho doctors in the country. All say the same thing. I have an apponitment next week with one of them. I'm gonna call my LLMD and see if I can get some communication between them.
I do the ice packs when the pain get unberable. I'm just trying to explore all avenues to get better.
Now I'm on Zithromax M-F and Flagyl Fri-Sun. I'm also on Armour, Zoloft, Plaquenil and give myself 3cc injections of B-12 twice a week.
I'm on no pain killers. I don't want a drug addiction on top of Lyme.
[This message has been edited by DC (edited 20 February 2005).]
posted
Another alternate treatment is PEMF. That stands for Pulsed ElectroMagnetic Field.
I have been testing it on my hips. The pain keeps me from standing, but walking is not as painful. So I treated my left hip several times, at first it hurt worse for a couple of days. Now it does not hurt at all, but my right hip is still in pain.
When I first tried PEMF my chiropractor said my neck and left foot were "beyond hope". Now they are pain free! That was two years ago.
My setup is based on the "Doug Machine". You use a frequency generator, it can be a program running on a PC. Then you get a high power audio amplifier like what the rock bands use. Generally you need 400 to 1000 watts of power. Next you need a degaussing coil for a TV or Computer Monitor.
The coil will get hot in one or two minutes but that is all the time it takes to end your pain. You will need to treat each joint daily at first, eventually weekly will work.
"Doug" observed tath a frequency of 306 or 612 Hz will kill spirochete bacteria. All I know for sure is that it ends the pain. You may herx, it may hurt worse after an hour or so.
The hips and the shoulder are the hardest joints to treat. It might be a matter of needing a bigger coil or more power.
Posts: 499 | From Western NY | Registered: Dec 2000
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posted
My husband had severe synovitis from Lyme and, unfortunately, has some joint damage in his hands because some "duck" rheumatologist gave him steroids for a year and NO abx. He was told by an ortho. that he should not have synovectomy or knee replacement since he had "infection" (LD) in the synovium. If you can, get yourself to a LL Rheumatologist ASAP before the damage is done. There are 2 women in NJ (Dr. F and Dr.G) that I know of who are excellent.Although he starts getting worse again after off ABX for awhile, he is 99% better thanks to Dr.F !!!
Posts: 16 | From Canaan, CT, USA | Registered: Jul 2004
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