Swollen Knee update!

So in a post a couple of days ago, I posted a pic of me in the ER and my swollen as heck knee.  It had gotten so swollen and so full of fluid that I couldn’t even walk! Well, I could walk, but I was definitely limping like crazy!

So as I mentioned, the rheumatologist did come in and remove fluid from my knee. They removed a full 40cc (or 40ml). This is actually quite a bit of fluid to be removed! After removing the fluid, I was given a prescription for naproxen. This is only a 7 day course of naproxen, which is an anti-inflammatory.  There is much controversy about taking naproxen, especially since it isn’t considered the best thing for my kidney. I was also given an appointment to see another doctor on Friday just to see how my knee was doing.

In the meantime, my nephrologist ordered some blood work to see how my creatinine was doing. He wanted to make sure that the naproxen wasn’t having an immediate negative affect on my kidney. I also did a urine test. Hopefully the tests came out ok, as I will not hear anything about the results until at least Monday. With today being Saturday, I’ll have already taken 5 more pills by then. Praying it doesn’t affect my kidney in any way, shape, or form.

Anyhow, at my appointment yesterday, my knee was tapped again. A student doctor tapped my knee. From what I could hear from the main doctor, she put the needle a bit too low, and therefore the optimal amount of fluid to be removed was not removed.  Some coricosteroid was injected into my joint as well to help with the inflammation.  I was told to stay off of my feet until today, and by today my knee would feel better.  To tell you the truth, with it still being early, I haven’t actually had the opportunity to “test my knee out”, but I’ll definitely be doing that soon as I do have to go out.

As for the x-ray that was done on Tuesday, the doctor did say, as for where my joint is concerned, that it is essentially a “bone on bone” situation. I don’t have much (if any) of the cushioning that people usually have in their knee, and this can cause a lot of pain. There are also “bodies” (aka, bits of bone and stuff) floating around in my knee, which also causes a lot of pain and can also cause inflammation.  Bottom line? Knee replacement in my near future.  It kind of sucks that it came at this time-I wish it came earlier in the summer. Maybe I could have gotten it done in early September, and by early November it would have already been 8 weeks, and probably full healing would have taken place by then. As for now, with winter coming, having a knee replaced in the winter and having to deal with getting around in the snow won’t be fun. On top of that, my parents are going on vacation towards the end of November, so doing it now wouldn’t be an option either as I would pretty much be confined to home, and getting to doctor’s appointments would be a nightmare.

Anyhow, I am able to walk now and my limp is minimal. However my right knee can now easily be mistaken for a bowl of Rice Krispies, as I certainly do snap, crackle, and pop with every step.

But…I can walk..!