Friday 16 December 2011
yet another surgeon
so after emailing a lot more surgeons to see if they could do anything,, it looks like there is some hope as a surgeon near my hometown of stevenage wants to see me, the surgeon is based in Harpenden and is sure that something can be done --- finally something positive and more permanent may happen as opposed to only temporary solutions yet it still get me out of the operation have on the 12th of January :-(
Tuesday 6 December 2011
Now --
At Present I walk around with crutches and in a lot of pain, It does get me down but it would for anyone but I promise there is support out there but you just have to look ! x
Background to My Knee Condition
Dear All
This is my first post so I thought I would give you all a bit of background to me and the condition that I have in my knee.
I am 18 years old and studying my A-Levels at the Nobel School in Stevenage. I study Psychology and English Language and Literature. I used to swim to a National Level and for this had to train up to 10 times a week for 2 hours each session. Before swimming became my main sport I played football as well for Stevenage Borough Juniors, however swimming was my main sport and training for that and the commitments that came along with it took up more of my time meaning I had to drop the Football.
My Knee
When I was in year 7 I was playing football regularly both for my school team and my club team, one night a training session was cancelled so I went out for a run in my local park, towards the end of the run I felt a pop in my knee as it gave way and I went back home because it was very painful, the next day I went to my GP and she said I had torn a ligament in my knee and rest would be ideal for it so she signed me off sport for two weeks this was both swimming and football plus PE. I had two weeks off but my knee still wasnt right but I carried on playing football doing PE at school and swimming, with the swimming it meant competing every weekend usually after my football match on sunday as well.It still wasnt right but I carried on nonetheless.It carried on not feeling right for another three years and by 2007 three years after the initial injury I knew something still wasnt right as it kept getting increasingly painful. I went back to my GP and she thought the ligament that I had torn still hadnt healed so she sent me to see an Orthopaedic surgeon at The Pinehil Hospital, Hitchin. I saw a surgeon called Mr Powles, he performed an ultrasound scan and found I had degeneration in my Quadriceps Tendon, and he diagnosed me with Tendinosis which is an overall name meaning problem in a tendon. I had physiotherapy which included ultrasound therapy, electrotherapy, massage therapy exercise therapy and was given several types of stretching, I carrid out this course for several months but was not seeing any benefits so Mr Powles sent me for an MRI scan, he found my ACL had torn but had a lot of scar tissue around it which was in effect holding it together and also found the degeneration in my tendon again. So in the January of 2008 he gave me a Cortisone injection during his friday clinic, where he injected 40mgs of Depo-Medrone into the area of the Quads tendon. I then carried on with normal activities but it still hurt, I returned for physio throughout the year but by May 2008 there was no improvement at all, so Mr Powles decided to Operate, in June 2008 he did an Arthroscopy and Open Debridement of the Quads tendon and Articulate Cartilage whilst removing Scar tissue from the Main Joint Capsule. This seemed to be successful at first and I went back to physio for 9 months but by November 2008 whilst continuing with Physio there was no progress so Mr Powles sent me to see Mr Hakan Alfredson at Pure Sports Medicine, Bank, London. I saw him and he found nerves were embedded into the tendons in my knee and that was what was causing the pain he set me an eccentric loading programme and told me to carry on physio, but my February nothing was working and I stopped physio at the hospital but carried it on at home and Mr Powles couldnt do anything for me. I went away and my GP reffered me to a Pain Specialist, he sent me for acupuncture but that still didnt work. So I went back to my GP and got him to refer me to an Orthopaedic surgeon, I went to see Mr Chatoo at Pinehill Hospital and had an MRI and Ultrasound scan to confirm that there was more Degeneration in My Quadriceps Tendon and damage in the knee joint, Mr Chatoo then operated on me in February 2010 and did an arthroscopy and an Open Debridement of both the Articular side of my Quads Tendon and then Shelled out a large area from the middle of my Tendon of Degenerative tissue. After this I was put in a knee brace which was supposed to be for up to 3 months, I went to physio every week but still I was in a lot of pain and could not bend my knee past 20degrees, Mr Chatoo couldnt do anything and reffered me to Mr Andy Williams in London, but before I saw him my knee swelled masively and Mr Chatoo took me back to theatre and Manipulated it Under Anasthetic and put me on Continuous Passive Motion for 27hours. I saw Mr Williams at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in Decmeber 2010 he thought he could help, he gave me a new brace, did an Ultrasound Guided Injection of Local Anaesthetic into the Knee joint but this didnt help and I returned to Mr Williams in the New Year and he said nothing could be done and the previous diagnosis was wrong and that the degeneration has spread throughout my knee into all soft tissue, bone, tendon, ligament and cartilage. I went back to Mr Chatoo and he reffered me to Mr Thompson in Warwick but between seeing Mr Williams and Mr Thompson I saw a pain specialist who prescribed me with Medication to control the pain. I saw Mr Thompson and he said he couldnt do anything, I wetn back to Mr Chatoo who didnt have any ideas of what to do.
I then took it upon myself to look for someone my self I have seen Mr A Paul in Manchester and Mr A Hart in London.
To Date I have had:
7 MRI Scans
8 Ultrasound Scans
3 years combined total od Physio
2 years in a brace and I am still in it
4 surgeries and awaiting surgery number 5
I am on:
3600mg Gabapentin per day
180mg MST Morphine per Day
4000mg Paracetamol per day
1000mg Naproxen Per day
150mg Diclofenac per day
150mg Tramadol per day
100mg Oramorph per day
At the moment they have found that it is a degenerative disease that effects my tendon, cartilage, ligament and bone in my knee and it has spread up to my hip and whilst degenerating all of the soft tissue, bone and other structures in my hip it has caused Osteoarthritis and degeneration has gone on in the left side of my Pelvis as well. I also have Osteoporosis in my left leg, and I have CRPS a condition with the nervous system causing the nerves to swell and in my case have lesions in causing pain all over my body and excentuated pain in the damaged areas. I am awaiting Operation Number 5 in January which is a temporary solution and I am ongoing in my search for an answer.
But if you need any advice please ask I am more than happy to help :-)
This is my first post so I thought I would give you all a bit of background to me and the condition that I have in my knee.
I am 18 years old and studying my A-Levels at the Nobel School in Stevenage. I study Psychology and English Language and Literature. I used to swim to a National Level and for this had to train up to 10 times a week for 2 hours each session. Before swimming became my main sport I played football as well for Stevenage Borough Juniors, however swimming was my main sport and training for that and the commitments that came along with it took up more of my time meaning I had to drop the Football.
My Knee
When I was in year 7 I was playing football regularly both for my school team and my club team, one night a training session was cancelled so I went out for a run in my local park, towards the end of the run I felt a pop in my knee as it gave way and I went back home because it was very painful, the next day I went to my GP and she said I had torn a ligament in my knee and rest would be ideal for it so she signed me off sport for two weeks this was both swimming and football plus PE. I had two weeks off but my knee still wasnt right but I carried on playing football doing PE at school and swimming, with the swimming it meant competing every weekend usually after my football match on sunday as well.It still wasnt right but I carried on nonetheless.It carried on not feeling right for another three years and by 2007 three years after the initial injury I knew something still wasnt right as it kept getting increasingly painful. I went back to my GP and she thought the ligament that I had torn still hadnt healed so she sent me to see an Orthopaedic surgeon at The Pinehil Hospital, Hitchin. I saw a surgeon called Mr Powles, he performed an ultrasound scan and found I had degeneration in my Quadriceps Tendon, and he diagnosed me with Tendinosis which is an overall name meaning problem in a tendon. I had physiotherapy which included ultrasound therapy, electrotherapy, massage therapy exercise therapy and was given several types of stretching, I carrid out this course for several months but was not seeing any benefits so Mr Powles sent me for an MRI scan, he found my ACL had torn but had a lot of scar tissue around it which was in effect holding it together and also found the degeneration in my tendon again. So in the January of 2008 he gave me a Cortisone injection during his friday clinic, where he injected 40mgs of Depo-Medrone into the area of the Quads tendon. I then carried on with normal activities but it still hurt, I returned for physio throughout the year but by May 2008 there was no improvement at all, so Mr Powles decided to Operate, in June 2008 he did an Arthroscopy and Open Debridement of the Quads tendon and Articulate Cartilage whilst removing Scar tissue from the Main Joint Capsule. This seemed to be successful at first and I went back to physio for 9 months but by November 2008 whilst continuing with Physio there was no progress so Mr Powles sent me to see Mr Hakan Alfredson at Pure Sports Medicine, Bank, London. I saw him and he found nerves were embedded into the tendons in my knee and that was what was causing the pain he set me an eccentric loading programme and told me to carry on physio, but my February nothing was working and I stopped physio at the hospital but carried it on at home and Mr Powles couldnt do anything for me. I went away and my GP reffered me to a Pain Specialist, he sent me for acupuncture but that still didnt work. So I went back to my GP and got him to refer me to an Orthopaedic surgeon, I went to see Mr Chatoo at Pinehill Hospital and had an MRI and Ultrasound scan to confirm that there was more Degeneration in My Quadriceps Tendon and damage in the knee joint, Mr Chatoo then operated on me in February 2010 and did an arthroscopy and an Open Debridement of both the Articular side of my Quads Tendon and then Shelled out a large area from the middle of my Tendon of Degenerative tissue. After this I was put in a knee brace which was supposed to be for up to 3 months, I went to physio every week but still I was in a lot of pain and could not bend my knee past 20degrees, Mr Chatoo couldnt do anything and reffered me to Mr Andy Williams in London, but before I saw him my knee swelled masively and Mr Chatoo took me back to theatre and Manipulated it Under Anasthetic and put me on Continuous Passive Motion for 27hours. I saw Mr Williams at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in Decmeber 2010 he thought he could help, he gave me a new brace, did an Ultrasound Guided Injection of Local Anaesthetic into the Knee joint but this didnt help and I returned to Mr Williams in the New Year and he said nothing could be done and the previous diagnosis was wrong and that the degeneration has spread throughout my knee into all soft tissue, bone, tendon, ligament and cartilage. I went back to Mr Chatoo and he reffered me to Mr Thompson in Warwick but between seeing Mr Williams and Mr Thompson I saw a pain specialist who prescribed me with Medication to control the pain. I saw Mr Thompson and he said he couldnt do anything, I wetn back to Mr Chatoo who didnt have any ideas of what to do.
I then took it upon myself to look for someone my self I have seen Mr A Paul in Manchester and Mr A Hart in London.
To Date I have had:
7 MRI Scans
8 Ultrasound Scans
3 years combined total od Physio
2 years in a brace and I am still in it
4 surgeries and awaiting surgery number 5
I am on:
3600mg Gabapentin per day
180mg MST Morphine per Day
4000mg Paracetamol per day
1000mg Naproxen Per day
150mg Diclofenac per day
150mg Tramadol per day
100mg Oramorph per day
At the moment they have found that it is a degenerative disease that effects my tendon, cartilage, ligament and bone in my knee and it has spread up to my hip and whilst degenerating all of the soft tissue, bone and other structures in my hip it has caused Osteoarthritis and degeneration has gone on in the left side of my Pelvis as well. I also have Osteoporosis in my left leg, and I have CRPS a condition with the nervous system causing the nerves to swell and in my case have lesions in causing pain all over my body and excentuated pain in the damaged areas. I am awaiting Operation Number 5 in January which is a temporary solution and I am ongoing in my search for an answer.
But if you need any advice please ask I am more than happy to help :-)
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