I also posted this on the JRA forum, but just in case this board is more active.........
I am new to the boards. I was also dianosed with JRA in 1970 at age one. It started only in my right knee and then at age 14 it spread to my right elbow. I know have JRA/RA, fibromyalgia, and osteoarthritis. I had so many years of swelling in my right knee when I was little that there is a lot of joint damage. I had an xray last week and there is very little joint space left in my right knee and I am in extreme pain right now, especially if I walk, put weight on my right leg or bend my knee. I have an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon next week to see what my options are. Have any of you had knee or any other type of replacement surgery? Do I have other options at 38 years old? As you can see I am a mom to 5 kids. I want to be able to keep up with them and right now I cannot.
I was forturnate to not have knee pain or flaring for many years and then all of a sudden it has come back with a vegenance!
Hi Mom to 5 boys...
I cannont imagine 5 boys. Oh My! My fiance and I are detemined that if... IF... we have kids, we want twins. I don't really want to do more than one pregnancy.
I can't pretend to understand your discomfort... but I wanted to share with you information on a product that you might find of use. It's called MonaVie. I'm not sure if you have heard of it or not, but basically it's 19 different juices in one bottle. The premier juice is Acai berry from the brazilian rain forest. Dr. Perricone calls it one of the worlds 10 most superfoods. There are two versions of the product... the original and active. Active has glucosomine and esterified fatty acids. Glucosomine is good for joints and the esteregied fatty acids are good for cellular health and speedy healing. I actually have a friend that was diagnosed with RA two years ago... 30 years old... a healthy kick boxer. She was on chemo and steroids. She drank the juice for 6 weeks before coming off her meds completely. She's doing great today.
This is something you've lived with for quite some time. I would not begin to promise results. However, I don't know of anyone (otherwise healthy or perhaps with various conditions) who has not benefited in some way, shape or form. In today's society, it's rare that we get all of the nutrients needed to keep our bodies healthy and maintaining good and proper function. The Acai berry has 10x more antioxidant properties than anyt orther fruit or vegetable else on the planet that we know of today. If you are interested or would like some more information feel freel to email me at monavieisgr8@hotmail.com or check out my website www.mymonavie.com/khokri8
In Health and Gratitude~ Kelly
Hi! I just answered you on the JRA thread!! Welcome! :)
I guess I'll say it here too - WOW! 1970!! What kind of meds did they have back then, and what have you been on? I know in the 80s my only options were pretty much IBU and MTX. My mom took me the Ibu route. I was dxed around 18months old, and I'm now 23- and in one H*LLUVA flare!!
BTW - I'm sure you know this but....please be leary of people wanting you to try juices and such ;-)
Katie and Mom to 5...
Please know... I only mean well. My post is merely a suggestion. Whatever Mom to 5 feels is right. If she's interested in the juice... I'll be happy to share information with her... if not... blessings and well wishes still abound.
As Herman Melville said, "We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."
In health and gratitude~
Kelly
I am also 38 years old and I will be doing a total replacement on my left knee as soon as my damaged nerve behind that knee totally heals. I had had what they call a high tibial osteotomy on that knee to shift the weight bearing to where I had SOME cartilege. That was 4 years ago. It was supposed to give me about 10-15 years before I needed replacement done but it didn't. There is also Synvisc and Hylan that you might be a candidate for.
Even being 38 years old I would rather have my knee replaced than be in pain all the time. The people that I have talked to on the board that are our age and have had a replacement done have told me it was the best thing they ever did.
Let us know what the doc says!!
Thanks for the welcome!
In 1970 my only options were two types of baby aspirin. Couldn't stand the St. Joseph's brand and I would only take the Bayer brand. 18 a day! YUCK!!! To this day I cannot stand anything orange flavored, it tastes like baby aspirin. I hated that stuff. My other options were physical/water therapy and a half cast (otherwise known as my toture device). I would lay my leg in the bottom half of the cast at night and then my parents would wrap an extra long ace bandage around it as tight as possible. That is how I slept. I guess the thought process was to straighten out my leg ince it was so swollen and stayed bent. It hurt like you can't imagine and I begged to not have to do it. As far as other meds. I have been on every NSAID there is until they quit working and then I went on to the next one and also have taken steroids whenever there is a flare up. The pain has been manageable until now. There is nothing like bone rubbing on bone when you walk!
I am happy to know that there are other options for kids now. One of my boys has JRA but extremely mild. He is managed with motrin and has a very active life. The only time his flares up is when he an infection in his body, like strep throat or sinus infection.
I am anxious to go to the doctor and see what he says. I am ready to have what I call my "bionic" knee!
There are lots more options now than there were even 5 years ago. 5 years ago, I was told I needed knee replacements both knees but that I would have to wait because I was 43. They did the Synvisc shots and Physical Therapy. And, I wore knee braces. This helped extend the time. Eventually, I had to add a cane. But all of this reduced my mobility significantly.Oh!! The half cast! I had those too! But you know what, they really did work. My legs aren't nearly as bent as they were when I was little. I also had one for my left wrist, because it kept trying to curl up on itself. *shivers* weird! It's pretty much alright now....as alright as it can be!
I was lucky to get the Liquid Ibu...mmmmm I LOVED that stuff!! It was soooo tastey! LOL
Has anyone heard about the different joint replacements for men and women? I am going to have a total knee replacement done. It is my only option at this point. Unfortunately it is still a couple of weeks off, so I want to try to learn as much as I can about it before the surgery.
Deanna, I will call my surgeon and ask about the PT prior to surgery, he didn't say anything about it to me. What were some of the exercises your PT had you do before surgery?
I met a woman at arthritis class who had a knee replacement (actually, IHi Momto 5
I had both of my knees replaced in 2000. I was a bit younger than you at the time. It was the best thing I ever did. Most of the knee implants are good and workable. It is generally the skill of the surgeon and your committment to rehab that makes or breaks the success of the replacement
good luck
I haven't had knee surgery, but I hope you and anyone reading this who might have surgery to MAKE certain all the doc's know you have RA (can't take MTX before surgery for instance), and after while you are healing it can be a big bother. ...so scope it out from all the docs!! ya need a plan.
sarah
Hi Momto5!
I am a fellow JRAer. I have done the same treatment you done when I was a kid... baby asprin, half casts at night to sleep in. Here I thought I was the only one who when thru that, glad to know I was not.
Welcome to the board and hope to see you around.
I thought I was the only one too. I never knew another kids with JRA when I was growing up. Unfortunately some of my doctors (we moved around a lot) also had never seen a kid with JRA before and had no idea what to do with me.