topic Re: Injections in Knee? in Wellness

Injections in Knee?

patticakes — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 14:31:07 GMT

Anyone had either cortisone or hyaluronan acid injections in knee? If so, please tell me your experience. I'm looking at the possibility of either and have never had injections in my knee/knees before. Did your doctor numb the area before or did you have to ask him to do this first? If you had the hyaluronan, did you have the one injection or the multiple? Also, a big concern for me is will there be any down time? They schedule my doctor's appt two days before I was scheduled to have a dinner at my home. Will I still be able to do that or will I have to stay off my leg for a few days?

Re: Injections in Knee?

Carmie — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 14:48:23 GMT

I have never had knee injections, but my sister has. She received the brand called Synvisc, which is hyaluronan. She received a numbing agent first and said there was no pain after the numbing agent was administered.

She received a series of 3 injections over the course of a few months. From what I hear, these injections work wonders.

I work for a health insurance company and often hear from our subscribers that this medication is a godsend. I would not hesitate to get this if I had really bad pain in my knees.

My sister is a teacher and on her feet for most of the day. She had no down time, except the day of the injections when she came home and relaxed because she could, not becaue she had to.

Best of luck to you. I think you will be happy with little or no pain after your treatment, whichever one you choose.

Re: Injections in Knee?

kittymomNC — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 14:59:06 GMT

I've had cortisone injections in my knee when I had some fluid build-up that was going from my knee down into my calf, causing swelling and pain. I don't remember for sure, but I think they may have done a little topical numbing agent first. The injection that I had also had pain medication in it. It hurt a little, but not at all like the horror stories I had heard. The pain med started working by the time I got to my car, drove home, and the swelling started going down within a day. No after effects to speak of. That was a number of years ago, and I don't know exactly what they give you now or what your particular problem is.

For me, it was like a miracle injection!

Re: Injections in Knee?

marmot24 — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 15:02:29 GMT

I also had the cortisone injections, and they were a godsend. The dr. numbed the area and drained it before the injection. Wasn't painless, but not too bad. Felt so much better immediately and it lasted over 4 months. Good luck with whatever you decide. Marmot

Re: Injections in Knee?

ivey — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 15:08:47 GMT

You can go about a regular day after the surgery--but my Physician Assistant who administered the Synvisc told me that you want the injection to set so not to do a lot of running around. It takes a while for it to build up in your knee but my understanding was that you want the fluid to stay where it's supposed to after it's first injected.

Only you know what type of activity you will be doing in getting ready for the party.

There is some pain with the injection (I had no numbing) but it's nothing worse than the knee pain. More like soreness afterward.

Re: Injections in Knee?

pupwhipped — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 15:09:24 GMT

I had a cortisone injection about 6 weeks ago or so. It has really helped my knee. It may not help yours, but I have been very pleased. My doctor's Physician's Assistant gave me the injection. As I recall, she put a needle in that administered the numbing agent and told me that was the worst part of it...it did not really hurt that much. The needle stayed in my knee and she swapped out the numbing agent for the cortisone. The cortisone going in felt like a lot of pressure...kinda strange. I began to think she was going to overfill. HA! Now, after the shot, I felt like there was a big apple or something in my knee...I limped outta there more then when I went in. And to be honest, my knee felt worse for a couple of days before it began to feel better. It finally kicked in and I have had very good results from it. I hope you have good results, too.

Re: Injections in Knee?

squeaks — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:01:20 GMT

I have had this procedure done several times. The aide always numbs the area and the Dr gives the shot. He has always done five shots a week apart. They recommend ice on the knee. I was fine after relaxing with the ice pack for few hours. My lasted about a year.

Re: Injections in Knee?

Hoovermom — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:24:23 GMT

I just had a cortisone injection last week along with draining of fluid on my knee. The doctor numbed the area, inserted the needle to drain the fluid and then gave the cortisone. The worse pain for me was the probe getting to the two areas of fluid, mainly pressure. I got relief the same day and was able to go to a major amusement park the next day without little discomfort. BTW he did give me a month's prescription of Duexis (ibuprofen and famotidine 800mg) to help with the knee inflammation. Good luck!

Re: Injections in Knee?

CalminHeart — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:27:07 GMT

I had a series of 5 hyaluronic acid injections in 2011. Doc numbed the outside of my knee and the only thing I felt was when the needle went through the fluid sack around the knee. It was a very brief poke, not much worse than getting a shot in the arm. Doc said it'd take 2-3 months after the last one to notice a difference. It did help and I was able to put off my knee replacement until the summer of 2014.

Re: Injections in Knee?

Stray — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:31:10 GMT

I have had multiple injections to various joints. I always had a topical anesthetic by the doctor, the injections did not hurt and I went back to work right after with no problem.

Re: Injections in Knee?

RedTop — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 17:49:43 GMT

I have had both injections. My cortisone injections were early on, and then again about halfway in my 13 year journey of debilitating knee pain. The early injections provided moderate relief; the last injections provided less than 24 hours of relief. When I consulted an orthopedic surgeon to discuss knee replacement, he recommended I give Synvisc a try, so that I could say I had tried every relief option available, before having the surgery. A topical numbing agent was applied prior to each of the 3 injections, which were spaced several weeks apart. All the Synvisc did for me was to give immediate, but short lasting relief to the chronic pain and tension in my knee. I was told to take it easy for the rest of the day after each injection, which meant that I worked 1/2 -3/4 of my work day, went to the doctors office for my shot, then came home instead of back to the office. The surgeon and I both knew that my knee was too far gone for high expectations from the injections, but it was worth the risk. I started the injections in April and finished in September. I had my surgical consult on Halloween, and set my surgery date for early January. I had an awesome experience with my knee replacement surgery and recovery, and have continued to move forward with my life. I allowed my suffering to go on far too long, and truly felt that if I did not have surgery, I would not be walking in another year. I absolutely was not going to let that happen, so I did what I had to do, and made it a good experience.

Re: Injections in Knee?

Sunshine — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 18:14:42 GMT

I had a cortisone injection in my right knee many years ago. My Dr. didn't numb my knee first and I almost passed out from the pain. And I didn't get any relief from the cortisone. But, many people experience pain relief from the injection. I ended up having knee surgery b/c my knee wouldn't bend and I could barely walk.

Re: Injections in Knee?

chlema — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 19:57:56 GMT

Had a cortisone shot last May, it lasted over 6 months. Nurse sprayed the area before the injection. No pain,just felt a pinch. Had a second shot last month but this one will not last as long as the first. Doctor suggests trying Euflexxa, a series of 3 shots a week apart. Eventually the knee will have to be replaced.

Re: Injections in Knee?

Kachina624 — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 21:46:11 GMT

I've had cortisone injections in various joints many times. My doctors have first used a deadening injection rather than a spray. The big cortisone injection then doesn't hurt. The joint usually feels worse the next day due the trauma of sticking a needle into the area, then it starts to feel better. These injections rapidly lose their effectiveness after the first one until they're totally ineffective.

Re: Injections in Knee?

Gooday — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:17:12 GMT

I had a cortisone injection in my knee about 6 weeks ago. They sprayed a numbing agent at the site. I got about 10 days of wonderful relief but sadly... I am scheduled to get Monovisc injection on Monday. It's like Synvisc or Supartz but it's a one time injection. The injection/medication cost is $1,250.00 and my copay is $275.00. Part of that is my deductible. I am not medicare age yet.

Some doctors put xylocaine or lidocaine in with the cortisone. Either way, it only hurts a little when the needle goes in. Nothing that is horrible.

Re: Injections in Knee?

Mmsfoxxie — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 07:02:21 GMT

I had the Synvisc One injection in both knees in August. The doctor numbed me first but it still hurt like heck....just for a moment, though. I really think he just pretended to numb me, lol. I was able to walk fine the day I received the injections but the next day was difficult. On the third day, it felt much, much better. I was supposed to go for another round in 6 months, which would be about now but the pain has not gotten to the level that it was so I haven't called him. It's bearable.

Re: Injections in Knee?

sfnative — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:55:10 GMT

Yes, I have had a few cortisone injections in each knee, both hands and my left shoulder. The knee injections weren't effective for me because of the pathology that was evident in the joint, so don't let that figure into your decision. The others were great.

However, please know this: I have ALWAYS asked for the "freezing spray." I give it this generic term, so that everyone can understand what it is and the fact that if you use this term with your doc, he/she will know exactly what you're talking about.

So, if I were you and going into the office for a cortisone injection, I would let the doc know up front that, "I want you to use the freezing spray, please." This is so common, it would have to be something extremely unusual for your doc to say "No."

My bottom line is that if I see the little tray brought into the exam room with the bottle of cortisone, a hypodermic needle (or a hypodermic needle already prepped with the cortisone), 1 or 2 alcohol preps, a Band-Aid, and maybe a few 2x2s, which is placed on a Mayo stand, but I don't see a dark brown bottle with a trigger handle (that's the spray) sitting either on that Mayo stand or on the counter, I'm going to be sure to remind the doc that I DO want the "freezing spray."

Good luck!

Re: Injections in Knee?

goodstuff — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 16:12:25 GMT

I've had double knee replacements, and before the surgery I had cortisone injections in my knees several times. My doctor added a local anesthetic to the medication being injected, so the knee was deadened as the medications were injected, and the shot was minimally painful. No down time, and the shots helped my knee pain and inflammation for a while -- sometimes for just a week or two, sometimes for several weeks. I was told that I couldn't have cortisone injections too frequently, because too much cortisone could actually worsen the joint problems and hasten the breakdown of already damaged and disintegrating cartilage. A shot or two helped the pain for a short time, but I needed surgery to decisively address my knee problems.

I haven't had the Synovisc injections, but was told they wouldn't involve any significant down-time either.

Re: Injections in Knee?

patticakes — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 11:51:24 GMT

Thanks, everyone, for all the good info and advice. One more question, would you say, then, that there's more success with the injections if you don't wait until your knees get too bad? That's what I'm getting from most of these experiences and that's why I wanted to seek out the care of an ortho. specialist now rather than waiting until it was so bad that there were no options but surgery. Perhaps getting the injections will delay more serious treatment. What do you think?

Re: Injections in Knee?

CalminHeart — Sat, 14 Mar 2015 12:44:32 GMT

On 3/14/2015 patticakes said:
Thanks, everyone, for all the good info and advice. One more question, would you say, then, that there's more success with the injections if you don't wait until your knees get too bad? That's what I'm getting from most of these experiences and that's why I wanted to seek out the care of an ortho. specialist now rather than waiting until it was so bad that there were no options but surgery. Perhaps getting the injections will delay more serious treatment. What do you think?

A lot depends on what is wrong with your knee. An orthopedic surgeon may not think injections will help in some situations...and they might make a huge difference in others. I would listen to the advice of your specialist.