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Cartilage problems?

Robinredbreast

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Hi there

Just wondering if anyone has or is suffering from Knee problems that could be cartilage?

My GP is referring me to a Muscularskelatal unit because of ongoing joint problems ( fingers, hands, wrisits, left foot and the hips but not when mobile only to the touch) and my knees are getting worse by the week. The left knee has always been worse and nothing much in the right knee, but lately the right knee has started to hurt and the left one is getter more and more tender and painful, but still getting about. My GP suggested it could be cartilidge but he was puzzled.

Any advice or having the same symptoms what be a great help.

Thank you RRB
 
You did not state how old your are.

I have several joint problems starting at my ankles and ending at my neck and shoulders because everything is wearing out. Its called arthritis in most of them and fragmented cartilage in the rest (mainly my knees) due to several sports injuries over the years, but mainly due to my age of 70 this month.
I've tried the surgeons knife to little effect where cartilage was the primary problem so now it will mean complete new joints when I can no longer stand the pain and limited mobility.
My wife has already had new knee and that made my mind up to wait until absolutely necessary before I submit to the ordeal!!
 
I have been having problems with my right knee for several years, and got fed up of bring it to the docs attention. What could happen was that I could be walking normally then without warning I would get a severe pain in the knee joint as some thing had ripped.

For several days after this it was impossible to put weight on the joint and even walk, its more like a hobble, and what's normally a 5 min walk takes an hour.

Finally another doctor sent me for an xray after I complained again about the pain, which showed the knee joint is out of alignment and the joint has worn out, still feels to me when it happens at its worse that some thing has slipped out of position an trapped its self between the joint. I am now on codeine as and when required as I react badly to the naproxen types of medication.

Now just have to wait and wait to see if and when they will do any else other than give me pain killers.
 

Hi Hobs thanks for your reply. I know a vast majority of people, as they age will get some joint problems. I'm 55, slim build and always been active. Things like, digging up gardens, DIY, hauling furniture from one place to another, as I don't drive, I walk a lot and I am always carrying something or pushing or pulling something ( shopping). So probably wear and tear which is also known as osteoarthritis. I have been tested for RA and other inflammatory conditions and the result was negative.

I walked down to collect my DD from her friends house, a 5 minute walk and I had a lot of pain on the inside area of left knee,it made me limp

Not much fun getting older,is it ? and I'm a carer for my elderly dad :eh:

Best wishes RRB
 


Hi Pav you sound as though you have had an awful time. What I cant understand is why your GP hasn't referred you to a to joint specialist :shock: you can't put up that pain for years and years, that doesn't seem acceptable. if a person has pain, its not normal and there must be a cause and that needs to be investigated fully.

I have just finished Naproxen and they didn't do alot to help, my joints are always 'clicking and cracking'. I just don't want to get any worse as I am a carer for my elderly dad and I have a 12 year old as well, I don't want her to end being a carer, which I'm sure wont happen, but its getting more painful each week.

I hope you can get a proper diagnosis soon.

Best wishes RRB
 

My docs has made the local news and radio for the amount of complaints put in with them (including several of mine), there are a couple of other practices local'ish, of which one has stopped taking on patients unless they are local to the practice ie in the same village the other one I need to do a bit more digging as I have heard mixed reviews

Though its getting / got to the point where my health comes first and need to find a recommended practice. Before being diabetic I rarely went to the docs, since becoming diabetic, I am a frequent'ish flyer at the practice, still get the impression especially with recent things going on they think people like me and being type 2 are a nuisance value to be ignored, (can't help being ill and only go when absolutely necessary).
 
Robinredbreast said:
I walked down to collect my DD from her friends house, a 5 minute walk and I had a lot of pain on the inside area of left knee,it made me limp

Not much fun getting older,is it ? and I'm a carer for my elderly dad :eh:
Click to expand...

Well RRB, I'm no expert but that does suggest arthritis to me and to make it through to your 50's before it becomes debilitating, I consider a tad on the lucky side.
My problems became restrictive in my late 30's and by 40 I had my first cartilage op and more since. I was a keen rugby player at school as well as an avid member of the rowing eight which followed my into adulthood. I eventually gave up both at 35 but tried to keep as active as possible, which may not (with hindsight) have been the smartest approach; but I'm still able to get around (just, some days) and have to accept the limitations my joints impose on me ... but hey, many are a lot worse off than me :wink:
I know that one day in the not too distant future new knees at least will be on the to do list, but I'm hanging on to what I have until absolutely 'screamming-with-pain' necessary for getting around the house and locality. My consultant said the shoulders are a very complicated, so I doubt if I'll get those replaced; although they do really play up when I'm forced to use both walking sticks instead of the usual one.

Perhaps as you are a carer, you might get fast tracked onto the consultant's list.
 
Hello
I hope its ok to jump not this conversation. I'm 42 and I have some experience with poorly knees having had three knee ops now. The cartilage in my knees had crumbled and the joints were worn so I had the crumbled bits taken out, fairly common I think. However my knee caps were also wrongly aligned so they have realigned them by unattaching them and then stitching them back together. I wonder if this is what they might offer you? Not very nice and it took a while to get over with lots of physio and a period off work but now they are much better. I have been told that my knees might twist back and I may need a repeat op. to rectify it all again but that's in the future and I'm not going to worry about it now. I cycle and do a lot of power walking. I have even done Zumba although that can cause me pain and difficulty walking for while. so have had a good result, my knees aren't as painful as they were unless i do stuff with high impact (so i don't) and don't collapse as they did. Hopefully you will have a good outcome for your poor knees as well.
 

Hi thank you for your input. I'm sure my knee/s are no where as bad as yours used to be , mine is probably just a bit of wear and tear :shock: 3 operations, oh my goodness that sounds awful but I'm pleased to read your knees are feeling a bit better now. Have you been an active person and did you do a lot of walking? as I do, as I can't drive.

I have now been given an appointment for Friday afternoon at the Musculolskeletol unit. My GP has only requested for an investigation for the left knee, but its all of my left leg, including the left ankle that has restricted movement and a boney protrusion below the left big toe, which could be a bunion, and I told my GP I do not wear ill fitting shoes or boots and not high heels.

Take care, with best wishes RRB
 
Sounds very much like arthritis to me, both my parents had it it (both osteo and rheumatoid), My brother had it, I and have what the doctor says is osteo on my knees and what may well be rheumatoid in my wrists and hands. My doctor told me that the RA tests can only confirm you DO have rheumatoid, it can't prove you don't have it as not all sufferers show the RA markers in blood tests.
 

Thanks, you're not the only one that thinks its arthritis, but my blood tests came back negative. Anyway, I have stiffness in my fingers, hands, index finger on right hand is veering more to the right, some pain in the knuckles and also some boney lumps appear at times to be more raised around knuckle area and weakened wrists, pain in elbows and to touch, the outside of both upper thighs and both hips.

What will happen at the Musculolskelatol unit I don't know, because I'm only being refered for a small % of the joint problems. I think I need a body MOT or something along those lines :roll:

All the best RRB
 
Robinredbreast said:
My GP is referring me to a Muscularskelatal unit because of ongoing joint problems ( fingers, hands, wrisits, left foot and the hips but not when mobile only to the touch)
Click to expand...

How sensitive is it to the touch? If it is red and inflamed and you can't stand any touch, it sounds like gout. I had that and anti inlamatory tablets and drinking lots of water ease it. The anti inflamatory eases the swelling and pain and the water flushes the joins clean. Gout is a build up of urea crystals. You get gout type problems if you eat lots of protein but don't drink enough water.

I got something similar later in my ankle. That was definitely painful in use but also it could be much worse when I sat down or even laid down in bed. I never understood this but a couple of doctors told me that that was classic arthritis. Turned out to be osteoarthritis but apparantly, only a mild case. Heaven help me if it is ever severe. Losing weight, massage with warm water, keeping foot warm and wearing insoles have all helped and generally it is now only painful after a lot of use. Driving a car hurts after a while too because the foot is held at odd angles.

Now I have joint pains in my wrists around the thumbs. I thought it might be statins but have now decided that I am getting old. My brother has had pains for several years but his GP can't get to the bottom of it. My first line of defence is 600 ibuprofen. Has to be 600 for the anti inflamatory effect to work and then drinking lots of water. It does help so, it may be gout related. But, there are many possible causes so a referal to a specialist is a good step. My poor brother's GP only prescribes paracetamol. Apparantly he doesn't believe in medication. I think he is a new ager or tree hugger or something.
 

Hi there thank you for your information, but its not gout. No inflammation and I can feel tenderness/soreness when I run my fingers up towards my hips ( by pushing in gently). My left foot has had restricted movement for many, many months now( since last year), GP at first, gave me some Ibuprofen gel to rub in, but it didn't do any good at all. I feel as though my bones a bit out of sync, out of line :? and one thing seems to be triggering off other things. I weigh 56 kilos and never had any weight issues and as I am always on the go, my joints are kept moving.
I did have a thought last night :think: I have suffered from RLS, Restless Leg Syndrome, I take Ropinerole tablets late afternoon and 1 hour before bed. Before I was diagnosed with RLS and on no medication, I had to shake my legs vigourosly, hit them with my fists, rub the back of my legs and constantly walk about, so I am thinking that the problems I am having now, could be associated with RLS :idea: if its not Osteo, but I still have problems in upper body joints.

Also I can't take Ibuprofen tablets because it could damage my stomach because of the Coeliac Disease and I take Omepazole Gastric resistant tablets.

Thanks Yorksman and your last sentence did make me smile, but your poor brother, ouch!!!!

All the best RRB
 
I have been having a lot of problems with my knees ever since I was a child.
My knees used to buckle underneath me and I would crumple onto the floor for no reason what so ever.
The past few months I have been waking up with pains in my left knee where it has been throbbing and feeling like someone is stabbing it with a knife.
I have been to the doctors about it and I had an xray done. Nothing showed up on the xrays. I was told I had anteria knee pains (frontal knee pains to us normal people ha) which I had physio for... However I found that made it worse.
I am starting to give up on trying to find out what's going on with it as this has been going on for around 10years. What to do

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 

Hi flicc90, 10 years is a long time to be having those type of pains, what a horrible thing to keep having after all these years. I kept pestering my GP, I kept going back because I know something is up with my bones, especially the left side and I get a lot of clicking when I move my joints. I did suggest to GP if a Xray would help, but he didn't say anything, so off to the Musculolskeletal unit tomorrow afternoon,

I do hope you can get a proper diagnosis soon.

Best wishes RRB
 
Hello all.

I have read all of your input and i would say there is a possible link to Diabetes and cartilage issues.
I have bad knees myself i have had an anthroscopy on my right knee and an MRI on both knees.
The anthroscopy cleared out debris i had in my knee joint and showed that i have uneven wear on my cartilage. But it's not bad enough to be classed as arthritis.
My right knee has had issues for years due to an old injury.
Now my left knee is getting as bad as my right knee used to be as it was really painful.
The problem i have is if i am on the floor with my knee still i find standing up difficult and painful. When i stand around still they both hurt and if i walk about 2 miles they get very tired and sore. As well as climbing the stairs.
My GP told me to keep on the move and to keep them warm.
I am 30 yrs old. I hope this helps someone


Sent from Terryson10 using DCUK App
 

Hi Thank you for your reply. I didn't realise how common knee and cartilage problems were, I will try and find out more about this medical condition. The whole of my left leg, from the foot upwards feels different to the right leg. I can feel pain now in the knee whilst I am sitting down.
Tonight I will be making a list of my leg and knee problems and also all of my medication to take with me tomorrow for the appointment. I just hope they can say what it is, or what it isn't. or investigate further, also hoping they will have a good look and a probe at the left ankle. Like you, I am often on the move, so active throughout the day.

Thanks for your help

Best wishes RRB
 
I didn't really know how common it was either. i just thought that it was one if those things that was just wear and tear. Are you going to feed back to the forum what your specialist people say


Sent from Terryson10 using DCUK App
 
Hi RRB. Just want to wish you luck on your appointment. I hope you get some answers. You sound like a very determined lady - if there is a solution to be found I'm sure you'll find it.

Sent from the Diabetes Forum App
 
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