When should I get a cortisone shot in my knee?

[mylilnikita]

OP I am so very sorry that the NP is inept. To not help the inflammation smh that is what causes the pain.
I read it is a a Osterporsis clinic. Do you have a sport medicine/ orthopedic office where you live? Because honestly the NP hasn’t gotten that it’s been a few years and this condition does not get better.


I have bone on bone osteoporosis on one knee and my “better” knee is starting to wear down.

I was diagnosed last year when I was referred to a orthopedic/ sports medicine office.

I am freaked out by needles but I caved a few months ago and had a cortisone shot. It has made a world of difference.
Cortisone will damage over time any cartridge but that is why you can only get the shots 3 times a year and it is a temporary fix not a long term thing to do.
It will also depend on each person and each time.

I hope you get the relief you deserve. And shop around even at the same clinic if that is only what is near you, you don’t have to have the NO again if you don’t want.

 

[robinb]

I thought I updated this thread, but apparently did not. My insurance denied the Synvisc-One treatment. I reached out to the NP that saw me and she refused to challenge the insurance's decision. She said that I should go back to the Osteoarthritis Clinic instead. BTDT and I don't want to do it again. My doctor also refused to go to bat for me since she has never seen me before. I *tried* to see her back in June and she told me to see the NP witch instead. So, I am in limbo now until I can find another doctor who will have time see me. My insurance has a high deductible but there are a lot of doctors who are covered. I may have to change groups for an orthopedist as the group I'm with has a reputation for treating their overweight patients poorly. They are very "outcome driven" and don't want to mess with patients who may not have the same outcome as a thinner patient. They like to keep their high rating of "success". I have two friends who were denied treatment with this group because of their weight who had to see someone in another group to be treated.

 

[sasywtch]

I'm sorry you are having a problem gettng treatment. My pcp gives me a shot once a year. I usually wait until I can't get comfortable sleeping trying to get my knee in a good position without pain. Do try that cream a previous poster mentioned. It did work for me.

 

[auntfrannie]

I thought I updated this thread, but apparently did not. My insurance denied the Synvisc-One treatment. I reached out to the NP that saw me and she refused to challenge the insurance's decision. She said that I should go back to the Osteoarthritis Clinic instead. BTDT and I don't want to do it again. My doctor also refused to go to bat for me since she has never seen me before. I *tried* to see her back in June and she told me to see the NP witch instead. So, I am in limbo now until I can find another doctor who will have time see me. My insurance has a high deductible but there are a lot of doctors who are covered. I may have to change groups for an orthopedist as the group I'm with has a reputation for treating their overweight patients poorly. They are very "outcome driven" and don't want to mess with patients who may not have the same outcome as a thinner patient. They like to keep their high rating of "success". I have two friends who were denied treatment with this group because of their weight who had to see someone in another group to be treated.

That really sucks. For what insurance costs you should be able to see a doctor directly and NOT have to jump through hoops! I would definitely be switching doctors. Best of luck to you!

 

[slo]

I thought I updated this thread, but apparently did not. My insurance denied the Synvisc-One treatment. I reached out to the NP that saw me and she refused to challenge the insurance's decision. She said that I should go back to the Osteoarthritis Clinic instead. BTDT and I don't want to do it again. My doctor also refused to go to bat for me since she has never seen me before. I *tried* to see her back in June and she told me to see the NP witch instead. So, I am in limbo now until I can find another doctor who will have time see me. My insurance has a high deductible but there are a lot of doctors who are covered. I may have to change groups for an orthopedist as the group I'm with has a reputation for treating their overweight patients poorly. They are very "outcome driven" and don't want to mess with patients who may not have the same outcome as a thinner patient. They like to keep their high rating of "success". I have two friends who were denied treatment with this group because of their weight who had to see someone in another group to be treated.

I’m sorry to hear this Robin.
Are you on Facebook? If yes, do you belong to any local pages that you can ask for othopedic referrals? If not, definitely find a local page and subscribe and ask for referrals - people normally will give you good and bad reviews of doctors.

Do you live anywhere close to a city that has really good hospitals?
I live in the Chicagoland area, and we are lucky to have some awesome hospitals by us. I need both my knees replaced, but keep pushing it off, but I’m not sure how much longer I can do that (these knees are really starting to negatively impact my life). When it’s time I’m only going to Rush in Chicago. If you have somewhere that‘s in a reasonable driveable distance, you should look into them and hopefully they can help you.

Good luck and God bless

 

[mylilnikita]

I thought I updated this thread, but apparently did not. My insurance denied the Synvisc-One treatment. I reached out to the NP that saw me and she refused to challenge the insurance's decision. She said that I should go back to the Osteoarthritis Clinic instead. BTDT and I don't want to do it again. My doctor also refused to go to bat for me since she has never seen me before. I *tried* to see her back in June and she told me to see the NP witch instead. So, I am in limbo now until I can find another doctor who will have time see me. My insurance has a high deductible but there are a lot of doctors who are covered. I may have to change groups for an orthopedist as the group I'm with has a reputation for treating their overweight patients poorly. They are very "outcome driven" and don't want to mess with patients who may not have the same outcome as a thinner patient. They like to keep their high rating of "success". I have two friends who were denied treatment with this group because of their weight who had to see someone in another group to be treated.

Get rid of that group fast!

The first time I went to my Ortho Dr my first words were “ I know I’m over weight but since 17 I’ve had issues with this knee.
I have lost weight due to finding out I had high bp as well as getting Covid the same week I was diagnosed with bp and food doesn’t smell taste the same .
I am going next week for another cortisone shot but get it done for both knees because my “better” knee has worn down trying to over compensate.

 

[DVCjj]

Either the pain isn't caused by inflammation or they missed the target with the injection.

I agree with you. I had my first shot last year in bad knee and it did absolutely nothing. 3 months later changed Ortho Dr and his assistant have me another shot as I was leaving for Disney soon and was desperate to try again. I was in large amount of pain.

When I walked literally out of office after that second shot, I felt amazingly better. Shocked. Totally shocked. Disney was no problem at all.
I noticed the second shot was put in differently in a slightly different area. Possibly that made a difference.

 

[mousefan73]

did and search and found this thread.. I am having knee issues. long story short, I had ankle surgery during covid, think my gaint went off and much bike riding this summer. and am obese.. 4 weeks ago suddently my left knee ( bad ankle side) starting acting up. Nothing acute like ouch or an injury.. what happened was when I would sit long ( office job) and get up putting weight on that knee hurt.. I would wobble and need to stretch. then it was better but a limp over overnight. waited 4 weeks, kept active but couldnt run/walk for long.. finally called got ortho appt end of september.. went to family Dr and got 6 PT sessions prescribed..

long story short, my muscles are totally shortened. cant get my heel down.. still limping but there really isnt any knee pain per say.. feels more blocked and heavy.. PT tests might show outer mesniscus.. maybe a pain of 1 on the scale. hurts more when weight is on it.. sleeping or sitting zero knee pain, can bend but cannto straigthen...

My question is.. IF i have a meniscus thing.. how long can this go untreated ( surgery)? My ortho is on the 25th of sept. on 10/1 we fly to Vancouver for hte Disney wonder Hawaii sailing So It's like Dr tell me what I have and BTW I am outa here for3 weeks.

Does an outer mensisucs "issue" always mean surgery? do these go away on their own.. and yes I need to lose serious weight.

 

[seshat0120]

I've had a torn meniscus in my left knee for over 3 years. I did PT to strengthen the muscles around it and have gotten a few cortisone shots to help with the discomfort...last one was in December. I also wear a brace if I'm going to be doing a lot of walking or anything strenuous. The ortho I'm seeing for it has said surgery can be put off indefinitely...basically when the pain interferes with my day to day life. It's up to me when/if I want to have it done. Right now, I don't see it in my immediate future.

What my physical therapist said about it healing on it's own was that that didn't really happen since the meniscuses don't have a really good blood supply. He said it it's a tear on the outside of it, there may be some healing because of a better blood supply. My tear is deeper (posterior horn and body of the medial meniscus, it that means anything) so it really wouldn't heal on its own.

 

[dclpluto]

I will tell you what worked for me. It might not work for you but you have nothing to lose. I tore my meniscus in July 2020. Had two cortisone shots last one was in June 2021. Second one didn’t last long. So I was looking up the surgery how long I will be out of work and so on. Then I seen where people were cured from eating an anti inflammatory diet. It works for me. Thought it was BS but what did I have to lose.

 

[mousefan73]

I will tell you what worked for me. It might not work for you but you have nothing to lose. I tore my meniscus in July 2020. Had two cortisone shots last one was in June 2021. Second one didn’t last long. So I was looking up the surgery how long I will be out of work and so on. Then I seen where people were cured from eating an anti inflammatory diet. It works for me. Thought it was BS but what did I have to lose.

been thinking about dong that.. need to lose weight anyways.. the "discomfort" i feel i smost when I put weight on the leg and really push that weight more from the back/heel. It seems my limp is due to that. and the limp is causing other issues.. the muscles in my calves are so tigh especially under the back of the knee they hurt.. The whole not straightening my leg thing is bothering me..


thanks everyone.
I wasnt sure if walking on a damaged mesniscus would make it worse. is it like a sprained ankle thing where you keep weight off

 

[seshat0120]

been thinking about dong that.. need to lose weight anyways.. the "discomfort" i feel i smost when I put weight on the leg and really push that weight more from the back/heel. It seems my limp is due to that. and the limp is causing other issues.. the muscles in my calves are so tigh especially under the back of the knee they hurt.. The whole not straightening my leg thing is bothering me..


thanks everyone.
I wasnt sure if walking on a damaged mesniscus would make it worse. is it like a sprained ankle thing where you keep weight off

Your orthopedist would be the best one to advise regarding weight bearing. I've been fully weight bearing on my knee since I tore my meniscus, but that may not be true for everyone.

 

[robinb]

Update:

I made an appointment with another doctor in another practice. He was recommended to me by a friend. I gave him a quick run down of what happened with the awful NP. He said that she was wrong and that she was lazy for not following through. He said that his goal was to help me do the things that I wanted to do without pain. He gave me the cortisone injection then and there. It’s now been a week and my pain level is down and so is my inflammation and stiffness.

I am incredibly angry that my original medical team denied me this treatment.

 

[SharonZ]

IMO, you are wasting your time with a regular doctor, and need to see an ortho doctor. Get the proper testing done, let them diagnose and see what they suggest to do. I had bursitis in both hips with a torn labrum, diagnosed through an MRI. Cortisone injections started lasting a month or two and ultimately had surgery for correction.

 

[robinb]

IMO, you are wasting your time with a regular doctor, and need to see an ortho doctor. Get the proper testing done, let them diagnose and see what they suggest to do. I had bursitis in both hips with a torn labrum, diagnosed through an MRI. Cortisone injections started lasting a month or two and ultimately had surgery for correction.

I saw someone in Sports Medicine in a different practice than my usual one last week.