I promise this is the only picture you'll see of my knee surgery! But I just had to show you the difference between what was and what is now! Just imagine that my ankle is two inches to the left of that bent knee on the left! Now it's directly below it where it belongs. And for those who were curious, those little white lines above and below my new hardware are the staples that held all the stitching together. Thankfully they're out now.
Yes, the other knee still has a few issues, but the stuff I'm taking to rebuild cartiledge (I don't know how to spell that!) and stem cell should do the job so that I don't have to go through this again- at least I hope so!
You were bone on bone. I'll have to do a search related to the use of stem cells to increase cartilege. This is an exciting new treatment that I haven't heard of.
So good to hear that you are getting better. Interesting about medication that will re-grow cartilage and the stem cell therapy. Not sure if anyone can provide that around Fort Worth, but my husband needs some knee help. Already two surgeries on it a few years ago, now hurting him again.
I'm faving this because I am considering the same surgery and this is so Illuminating! So I am guessing you would recommend the surgery if it's indicated? So glad to hear you are doing so well!
Thank you all- and a special thanks for all those get well wishes! I do believe they help. I've been told I'll see differences at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and a year. So far I notice the day to day improvements more than the weekly ones.
@randystreat@grannysue@eudora
There are several different kinds of stem cell replacement therapies. The ones which seem to be making the biggest difference are the where the stem cells are removed from the body's own stock pile of them (from your fat) and then injected into the depleted area much like a cortisone shot. Most insurances do not cover this treatment because it is still too new and untested. Another draw back is that it's very expensive and there are no guarantees that it will work. Those last two factors are what steered me away from stem cell replacement- but the plus side is that is non-invasive and uses the body's own healing abilities to rebuild the knee. I would have preferred to go this route, but did not have the resources or ability to pay for it. And then there was the possibility that it would not work. (However, in the area of cancer treatment, stem cell replacement seems to be making a huge difference!)
I also tried to stimulate regeneration of the knee tissue through acupuncture. While the treatment didn't help rebuild the knee, it did help a great deal with pain management. But living with the pain forever did not seem like a good way to live and my acupuncture dr. was honest with me and said she'd pretty much done all she could.
That left surgery as the only option. I wasn't sure how I would pay for it, but the HR department helped to get me into a state program that has taken care of everything (it's the only time I've been glad to be unemployed!)- my tax dollars are finally working for me.
So, would I recommend this? Yes- but I will qualify it by saying two things, 1) talk to your dr. about the options and 2) do everything else that you think will help first and make the surgery your final stop. For me, doing it that way really helped solidify that I was getting the right treatment for my situation. I went into surgery really confident that "it was time" and this was the way to take care of it.
I can give you more info about the supplement I'm taking if you email me: Olivetreeann@mail.com (not gmail, mail.com).
Thank you all- and a special thanks for all those get well wishes! I do believe they help. I've been told I'll see differences at 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 3 months, 6 months and a year. So far I notice the day to day improvements more than the weekly ones.
@randystreat @grannysue @eudora
There are several different kinds of stem cell replacement therapies. The ones which seem to be making the biggest difference are the where the stem cells are removed from the body's own stock pile of them (from your fat) and then injected into the depleted area much like a cortisone shot. Most insurances do not cover this treatment because it is still too new and untested. Another draw back is that it's very expensive and there are no guarantees that it will work. Those last two factors are what steered me away from stem cell replacement- but the plus side is that is non-invasive and uses the body's own healing abilities to rebuild the knee. I would have preferred to go this route, but did not have the resources or ability to pay for it. And then there was the possibility that it would not work. (However, in the area of cancer treatment, stem cell replacement seems to be making a huge difference!)
I also tried to stimulate regeneration of the knee tissue through acupuncture. While the treatment didn't help rebuild the knee, it did help a great deal with pain management. But living with the pain forever did not seem like a good way to live and my acupuncture dr. was honest with me and said she'd pretty much done all she could.
That left surgery as the only option. I wasn't sure how I would pay for it, but the HR department helped to get me into a state program that has taken care of everything (it's the only time I've been glad to be unemployed!)- my tax dollars are finally working for me.
So, would I recommend this? Yes- but I will qualify it by saying two things, 1) talk to your dr. about the options and 2) do everything else that you think will help first and make the surgery your final stop. For me, doing it that way really helped solidify that I was getting the right treatment for my situation. I went into surgery really confident that "it was time" and this was the way to take care of it.
I can give you more info about the supplement I'm taking if you email me: Olivetreeann@mail.com (not gmail, mail.com).