Osteoarthritis in knees, euflexxa shots

[bclover]

Anyone else suffer from OA of the knees? Anyone had shots to help relieve the pain?

Last month I had a cortisone injection and it relieved the pain but only for about 3 weeks?

Doctor suggested a new type of medicine, also an injectable called Euflexxa. It's a series of once a week shots for 3 weeks but has given 6 months of relief.

 

[aja8888]

My DW is going through this and Medicare insists on shots before a new knee is implanted. So we are done with the shots and now it's time for a knee replacement. But DW is tough and is holding out. For what, IDW?

My knees are good, but I do have a titanium hip implant (7 years now). I paid for the long distance running at a younger age, I guess.

 

[bclover]

My DW is going through this and Medicare insists on shots before a new knee is implanted. So we are done with the shots and now it's time for a knee replacement. But DW is tough and is holding out. For what, IDW?

My knees are good, but I do have a titanium hip implant (7 years now). I paid for the long distance running at a younger age, I guess.

I'm definitely going to need a knee replacement at some point. I'm 55 and the conventional wisdom seems to be that réplacement be the last resort.

 

[Nodak]

I had OA in my left knee for 12 years. Shots helped for awhile and I took Xiox (I think that was the name) until it was taken off the market. Had the knee replaced in 2009 and no problems since then. One has to give up kneeling and running but it sure beats ths pain.

 

[Major Tom]

I have OA in both knees and at least one of my hips. A doctor did schedule me for a cortisone injection but luckily, my next appointment was with a different doctor who advised against it, as I am in the early stages, and less drastic steps suffice to keep me active. Currently, I pop an Ibuprofen or two before going on walks, which helps quite a lot. My physical therapist is a proponent of medical marijuana, which I tested out recently (it's legal here) and was pleasantly surprised to find that the analgesic effect seems to last for a couple of days.

For the record, I'm 52, and the plan is to wait as long as possible before needing steroidal shots. I hope to not need a knee or hip replacement much before the age of 65.

 

[samclem]

Doctor suggested a new type of medicine, also an injectable called Euflexxa. It's a series of once a week shots for 3 weeks but has given 6 months of relief.

This is a hyaluran product, and FWIW, Wikipedia doesn't think they very useful.

Hyaluronic acid has been used in attempts to treat osteoarthritis of the knee via injecting it into the joint. It has not been proven, however, to generate significant benefit and has potentially severe adverse effects.[40]

OTOH, DW had some of these "rooster comb" injections when she had injured her knee and had bursitis. She did get quite a bit of relief from it these shots, and it did last for months. I have read (and I can't recall where, sorry) that the skill of the person doing the injecting has a lot to do with whether a particular patient gets relief. I know some clinics use some type of radiographic imaging to help the technician get the needle in the right spot, which sounds like it might be a good way to do the procedure.

Best wishes for some relief!

 

[Nemo2]

I was diagnosed as bone-on-bone OA in both knees when I had arthroscopy in 1998, (the end of my running days); two separate orthopedic surgeons have said I'll "Need replacements 'sooner or later', but best to make it later".

Neither suggested the shots, and 'luckily' for me my knees don't really bother me that much.

 

[donheff]

My physical therapist is a proponent of medical marijuana, which I tested out recently (it's legal here) and was pleasantly surprised to find that the analgesic effect seems to last for a couple of days.

Just curious about MMJ for pain relief. DW uses it very successfully to combat restless leg syndrome that used to keep her awake and was driving her to use scary Parkinson's drugs. But she just has a few hits at night and goes right to sleep. If you vape it or ingest it for OA pain, I assume you are doing it in the day and could get distracted by the high. Was your multi-day relief from a large dose or just a few tokes? Did you have to get high for pain relief? By the way, I have nothing against getting high but I don't like the idea of needing to get high when I would not otherwise want to in order to fight pain.

 

[Livefree]

I have OA in my right knee. I"ve had Orthovisc, Synvisc, and Euflexxa shots. Othorvisc worked the best for me. These shots work if you have minimal OA..if your bone on bone it won't help much.

A new treatment called Stem Cell Injections are supposed to work well, but are not covered by insurance that I know of.

The Euflexxa etc shots will wear off, but the Stem Cell is supposed to be semi permanent. They claim the cells create some growth to replace cartilege

 

[Major Tom]

If you vape it or ingest it for OA pain, I assume you are doing it in the day and could get distracted by the high. Was your multi-day relief from a large dose or just a few tokes? Did you have to get high for pain relief? By the way, I have nothing against getting high but I don't like the idea of needing to get high when I would not otherwise want to in order to fight pain.

If you're in a state where MMJ is legal, you can purchase high CBD strains that have a high ratio of the compounds that give pain relief, but are low on the stuff that makes you high (the THC). I haven't tried these yet but apparently, they give pain relief without making you high.

As for me, I am very new to this, disregarding my dabbling many years ago Because I haven't yet determined whether I'll be doing it on a semi-regular basis, I have not yet invested in a vaporizer, choosing to roll joints and smoke it that way. However, if I decide to do it at least semi-regularly, I'll either use edibles, or a vaporizer, and will probably go for the high CDB stuff. Like you, I don't have anything against getting high occasionally, just as I like the occasional beer or glass of wine. I don't like it when it begins to take away from my productivity or enjoyment of life though. While I don't think a few tokes on a joint is going to do much to my long term health, I don't want to use that method going forward if I decide to do it on anything other than an extremely occasional basis.

Two tokes is my maximum. The high lasts a few hours, but the pain relief seems to last for a few days. The fact that my osteoarthritis is at an early stage probably helps too, so not much is needed. I have read that the high from vaping is less intense, so even with a strain that has moderate amounts of THC, I'm thinking that one toke with a vaporizer might give a pleasantly agreeable mild high, combined with the needed pain relief. Alternatively, a high CBD strain is always a possibility.

If my rambling answer wasn't clear, my multi-day pain relief came from just two tokes. I am a lightweight! Hope that helps.

PS, I'm thinking that eating a high CBD strain is the way to go for multi-day pain relief, as the effects of eating it last longer.

 

[AllDone]

I have OA in my right knee. I"ve had Orthovisc, Synvisc, and Euflexxa shots. Othorvisc worked the best for me. These shots work if you have minimal OA..if your bone on bone it won't help much.

A new treatment called Stem Cell Injections are supposed to work well, but are not covered by insurance that I know of.

The Euflexxa etc shots will wear off, but the Stem Cell is supposed to be semi permanent. They claim the cells create some growth to replace cartilege

The Euflexxa and similar shots work well the first couple of times, but are usually less effective with time.

Autologous stem cells are looking pretty good in early stage trials, but they are not yet being performed outside of clinical trials by legitimate providers. There are a bunch of quacks who are willing to inject your knees with who-knows-what labeled "stem cells", so proceed cautiously.

PRP was hot for a while, but it's fallen out of favor because it didn't work. There are still a lot of quacks selling it.

 

[latexman]

I had OA in my left knee for 12 years. Shots helped for awhile and I took Xiox (I think that was the name) until it was taken off the market.

I think you mean Vioxx. Good stuff! I took it for inflammation in my hands. I could actually feel it work when I took it. It's a shame it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.

 

[Nodak]

I think you mean Vioxx. Good stuff! I took it for inflammation in my hands. I could actually feel it work when I took it. It's a shame it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke.

That's the one.

 

[trapperjohn]

Similar to Euflexxa, my doctor gave me a Simvisc injection 6 months ago. It it supposed to last 6 months to 2 years depending on how active you are. I exercise every day and have almost no pain.

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[Chuckanut]

I had a shot of one of these things and it seems to help. Knees only.

Studies indicate it might just be the placebo effect, so maybe it's in my imagination


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