Company’s calling - a year of knee pain
This week, we speak with Cynthia Boris, a writer in Orange County, CA. She talks about the knee pain she’s been experiencing for about a year now.
Can you tell me about when you first started experiencing the pain and what kind of pain it was?
I’d guess about a year ago, I started feeling this ache in my knee and then I got to the point where it was so tender I couldn’t even sleep, just the pressure of one knee pressing down on the other was excruciating. At the height of it I took up sleeping on the recliner in the living room as it was the only way to get relief.
It was a deep throb like pressing on a bruise but it was constant.
Did you seek help right away?
I didn’t and for a dumb reason. I was afraid I had torn something in my knee and I was afraid they’d want to operate. I did the bad thing and I went online and asked friends and everyone knew someone with a similar condition and from them I kept hearing cortisone shots in the knee and you have to keep getting them. I was terrified. After months of this, I finally decided that shots would be better than the pain, so I went to the doctor.
What did the doctors tell you when you did seek help?
The pain was diagnosed as bursitis in my knee. He mentioned the cortisone shots but didn’t really recommend them. Much of the strain was due to my weight and the swelling from too much water in my body and he suggested ibuprofen and cold packs, keeping my feet up, and we discussed which kinds of movement made it better or worse.
Can you tell me a bit about what worked and what didn’t?
I found that actual ibuprofen did help when the pain wasn’t at its worst. When it was, keeping it elevated and ice packs helped (but what a pain to deal with). I also found that it came and went with my menstrual cycle, giving credence to the fact that when I was more bloated the pain was worse.
How does having this pain make affect you in terms of how you live your life?
At the worst, it keeps me from sleeping which is bad on so many levels. Other than that, it’s made me very cautious about engaging in activities where I must do a lot of walking or standing. I crew movies for fun and after the last shoot I was really feeling it in my knee for a week after. I guess I go into everything weighing whether the current activity is worth the pain I’ll feel afterward.
If you were to look back over what you have tried/haven’t tried, would you change anything? If so, what would you change?
I would have gone to the doctor sooner - just the peace of mind knowing that I hadn’t torn a ligament was worth the price of the visit.
What would you say to someone in a similar situation who is just starting to try to find treatment and relief?
Ibuprofen and cold packs. They do help. Give it a chance to get better with rest and elevation before going to the shots.
Would you like to add anything?
It’s a funny thing. I’ve had the pain for so long now that the other morning when I felt the pain return, I realized that it HAD been gone. Do you know what I mean? I didn’t notice the absence of pain until it flared up again. This is what really cued me in to the fact that it was running with my menstrual cycle. Knowing that helps because I can count on it going away for at least a few days out of every month.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I do know what you mean about noticing when you don’t have pain. I had the same thing when I had daily headaches. Sometimes, at the end of the day I’d say, “hey! My head hasn’t hurt all day.” We just get so used to it.
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Image: iStock.com
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