Anti Inflammatories for Knees?!
Question: I've been taking anti inflammatories for painful knees, 3 times a day for 3 weeks now. When I miss a tablet the pain and stiffness returns far worse than it was before I was perscribed them in the first place. I've got 1 1/2 weeks left to go but what will happen when I stop taking them? What is wrong with me?!!? I'm only 31 but do a fair amount of walking and crawling around the floor with toddlers.
Answers: I've been taking anti inflammatories for painful knees, 3 times a day for 3 weeks now. When I miss a tablet the pain and stiffness returns far worse than it was before I was perscribed them in the first place. I've got 1 1/2 weeks left to go but what will happen when I stop taking them? What is wrong with me?!!? I'm only 31 but do a fair amount of walking and crawling around the floor with toddlers.
31 is certainly early to have osteoarthritis, so it is possible this is not the problem. One possibility is the problem is soft tissue. If you have been an energetic sports-person, then the problem could be cartilage. Another possibility is that you have another form of arthritis, some of these have specific managements. Some can be diagnosed in general practice, just with blood tests, and I would hope that in view of your age, you have already had some level of investigation. Others need specialist referral, even to get the diagnosis established.
Anti-arthritic drugs are not really advocated for long term use these days, though this rather old fashioned usage still persists. This is because there a significant concerns with regard to their risk benefit ratio.
If you have had little investigation to date, i would push for more activity down that path, failing that a rheumatology referral would seem justified.
thats it ...old age has got you..its all down hill now
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If your 31 than it can be solved by surgery
Taking ibuprofen for too long can cause a rebound effect. You might try just tapering off rather than going cold turkey. Also, if you haven't tried it yet, Aleve (Naproxen Sodium) is good for joint pain too. As far as the continuing pain and stiffness goes, you might want to ask your doctor about rheumatoid arthritis possibly. It generally starts in the 30's. I'm 32 and I get it intermittently in my knees, ankles and wrists. It can affect any joint though. Mine goes through phases where it'll flair up for a few months and then go away for a while. You want to find out as early as possible though because if that's what you have, the sooner you start treatment the better!
I can't tell from your description where exactly the pain in your knee is (front, back, inside, medial or lateral) whether there is redness or swelling or what activities aggravate it. That would be helpful in localizing and diagnosing the source of your pain. The crawling on the floor may be a cause. That's why you see carpenters and carpet layers wearing knee pads.
Doctors typically approach such pains with an initial course of an antiinflammatory medication. Most such conditions will subside within two weeks. If the pain has not subsided, go back to your doctor. There are additional steps that he or she can take to further elucidate what's happening. Steps such as X-rays, an MRI, lab tests, and trials of other medications. There are a lot of arthritis medications out there because no one responds predictably to any single one. Sometimes, patients will only respond to one, and not any of the others.
So be patient. the medical process sometimes takes a while and you need to stay in touch with your doctor. Remember, if you don't com[plain, he or she won't know that you're not improving and will assume that every thing's OK