Week 3, Gel Injections

Week 3, I normally received my gel injections on Monday's but this week I will be getting them on Thursday.  I explained to the medical technician that my first injection made my knee's feel wobbly but that I was completely pain free for two days. He thought that being pain free was a good sign and stated again that most people do not get those results until the third injection.  He did put less of the gel in my knee last week and there was no ultrasound machine to help him guide the gel into my knee.  I have had knee pain all week but again in comparison to what the pain was like before the gel injections it is VERY minimal.  I am anticipating my third round of injections on Thursday.  I am curious to find out if running or other activity causes the gel to leave the knee at a faster rate.  You can only receive the gel injections once every 6 months and I want it to last as long as possible.  

Week 2, Second round of Gel Injections

I will be getting my second round of gel injections this after noon.  Last week I received my injections on Monday, I was pain free Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday night the pain started to come back just a little, Friday I was a little soar and that continues through the weekend.  I am not in as much pain as I was before the gel injections but I would say my knees are the same as they were before the first injections with the pain intensity less. So in other words everything hurts in the same place but instead of an 8 pain rating I am a 4.  I am able to get up and down off of a stool pain free, sit down and stand up pain free, I even found myself running in the rain yesterday :).  My quality of life is increasing and I pray to God these shots continue to work.  I am trying not to get my hopes up but the more I find I am able to do the more I realize how limited I was in just the simple day to day activity and keeping my hopes at bay is becoming increasingly difficult.  I find myself day dreaming about personal trainers and getting back into shape.  I need to simmer down and take it one week at a time.

March 14,2012 Vitamins & Gel Shots

I have ditched the liquid oil, I couldn't stand the taste or the slimy texture.  I exchanged it for a pill form, they make me burp if I don't take it with food.  I did notice less pain after taking all three pills on a regular basis. Downside to starting them all at the same time is I don't know which one is helping and which one is not. 

I received my first gel injection on Monday, March 12 at the Core Institute.  They iodine the area of injection, spray a numbing liquid to the area, inject the knee with a needle to insert a numbing medicine (this was a little uncomfortable) then the twist off the syringe leaving the needle inserted in the knee and attach a syringe with the gel.  Then they used a ultrasound machine to guide them while they inserted the gel into the knee.  They performed this on both my right and left knee.  I would say the procedure was rather painless, I hardly felt anything on the right knee and a little pain in the left.

After the procedure I felt normal, as the day progressed my knees started feeling swollen and I contribute that to the numbing medication wearing off allowing me to feel the difference with the gel in my knees.  I felt a little wobbly and weird walking Monday.  Tuesday I am happy to report I woke up for the first time with no pain when I stood up to get out of bed.  I also noticed when I was bracing for pain every time I stood up or sat down and no pain was experienced.  Funny thing is, I didn't even realized I braced for pain every time I stood up until yesterday.  I also noticed it doesn't hurt to step up onto a curb.  I am anxious to try stairs but I haven't come across any yet.

The downside is that my back is soar, I contribute this pain to walking different.  I am sure not being in pain is allowing me walk normal and the muscles in my back that are soar haven't been used in a while.  I am sure this will go away soon and if the knee pain stays away I will gladly take the temporary back discomfort.  Also the area around my knee that was injected is soar like a bruise although there is no visible signs of bruising.  I wonder if they inject the same area every week or if they move it around.  I am hoping they move it around.