Would you go ahead and do the surgery?!
Question: In Dec. of '05 I fell on my knee and I was on crutches for a month. After that, my knee has been killing me since. I had a MRI done and it showed up normal. They had me go to physical therapy for 2 months and it didn't work. They we're about to preform surgery when things happened and I had to move (5 hours away). I just "ignored" the pain for 6 months until things calmed down again. Well, I went to a speacilist and he said theres nothing they can do, but they can preform surgery to see if there really IS anything wrong.. That doctor sounded like a joke and so I plan on going to another speacilist for a 2nd opinon. The pain has been killing me for 2 years.
If he says the same thing would you do the surgery?
Answers: In Dec. of '05 I fell on my knee and I was on crutches for a month. After that, my knee has been killing me since. I had a MRI done and it showed up normal. They had me go to physical therapy for 2 months and it didn't work. They we're about to preform surgery when things happened and I had to move (5 hours away). I just "ignored" the pain for 6 months until things calmed down again. Well, I went to a speacilist and he said theres nothing they can do, but they can preform surgery to see if there really IS anything wrong.. That doctor sounded like a joke and so I plan on going to another speacilist for a 2nd opinon. The pain has been killing me for 2 years.
If he says the same thing would you do the surgery?
I've had arthroscopic surgery AND open knee. The scope is the best way to find certain injuries or wear and tear. It's not a traumatic surgery and sure beats being in pain.
Jessica=wrong btw
For anyone to really answer this question is practicing medicine without a license, which is ILLEGAL and leaves that person open to lawsuits if you follow their advice then and something bad happens.
A second opinion is long over due. You are absolutely right to question this.
Find another doc who can do an orthoscopic examination of the knee joint.
If there's not too much damage, then there are shots that can help lubricate the joint and relieve your pain.
A second opinion is definely in order, along with en explaination to the next doctor of how you were snubbed about your pain- and ask if they can improve your quailty of life- with out the pain.
Go to an orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion, but sometimes the only way to find problems is through exploratory surgery. (I had a lot of tiny fibroid uterine tumors and a spot of endometriosis on my intestines that my doctor didn't know about until he did a hysterectomy....so don't discount his suggestion as a joke necessarily..) If they haven't done an orthoscopic exam though, they should probably try that first....
You could try the anti-inflammatory diet. It is based upon the fact that sugars, fats and proteins make prostaglandins that create pain, so it is a low fat, low protein and low sugar diet.
Anti-Inflammatory Diet
To supplement anti-inflammatory nutrients while continuing to ingest pro-inflammatory substances is counter-productive. These dietary guidelines help reduce inflammation for most people.
1. Decrease or eliminate red meat and dairy products. Some arthritis patients also seem to react to poultry.
2. Decrease or eliminate refined sugar.
3. Eliminate caffeine (including coffee, black tea, cola drinks, and chocolate).
4. Eliminate any likely food allergens during the initial three or four weeks such as gluten grains, citrus fruit, and night shade vegetables (tomatoes, white potatoes, red and green peppers, eggplant, paprika, and tobacco). These foods can be added back into the diet one at a time (one new food every third day) while carefully observing the effect. Forms are available to make it easier to monitor the effect of these foods.
5. Drink plenty of pure water. Chlorine is an antibiotic and can diminish our friendly gut flora. Studies have associated chlorine in drinking water with increased risk of some types of cancer. It is probably best to drink at least a half hour before the meal and no sooner than a hour after so the digestive juices won't be diluted.
6. Increase your consumption of fresh, raw or lightly steamed fruits and vegetables. Good fruit choices include apples, bananas, grapes, mangoes, papayas, peaches, pears, prunes, kiwis, and other sub-acid fruits. Use discretion if the patient has blood sugar problems although fruit often does not cause a problem if the diet is low fat and high fiber. Good vegetables include asparagus, spinach, zucchini, parsley, artichoke (without the butter), kelp and other sea-veggies, okra, snow peas and many more. Cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower as well as onions, chives, and peppers are very nutritious but may create digestive difficulties for some people. The solution is often simply chewing the food better and possibly adding supplemental digestive enzymes such as Metazyme or Beano. Spices such as garlic, tumeric, etc. are also very healthy and should be used regularly if well tolerated.
7. For snacks, consider raw vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds. The fruits and veggies contain lots of enzymes, bioflavonoids, and other phytochemicals, while the raw nuts and seeds are rich in essential fatty acids, especially flax seed, pumpkin and sunflower seed, walnuts and almonds (almonds can be allergenic to some people). Raw seeds like sesame and flax need to be ground for proper digestion. An electric coffee grinder works well.
These healthy snacks can be combined e.g. raw vegetable sticks dipped in tahini (ground sesame seeds) or almond butter.
These suggestions are very helpful for most people with inflammatory conditions such as sprains, strains, bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, etc. and can be used in conjunction with supplementation. Most people find that eating this way also often lowers blood lipids, smoothes out blood sugar variations, helps with weight management, reduces digestive problems, increases energy, and more. It is important to note that fats digest more slowly so when fat is reduced in the diet, we may become hungry sooner and be tempted to eat M&M's, corn chips, snack crackers, cookies, etc. This hunger is not a problem if we have prepared plenty of healthy snacks as mentioned above.
http://www.dcdoctor.com/pages/brimhall/p... (Anti-inflammatory diet