After putting it off for most of a year, I got my first set of injections (5 injections, 1 week apart) right before Worldcon. My doctor used Supartz which, for whatever reason, he likes better than Synvisc. The results were PHENOMENAL! I am able to walk comfortably, climb stairs, do things I haven't done in literally YEARS. My doctor suggested six weeks of physical therapy after worldcon, and that helped me to bring back some tone to muscles that had atrophied because of disuse.
Why did I put it off? Didn't want to face the "big" shots, of course. Now my doctor was VERY good. He did a novocaine injection on each knee first (which stung a little) then waited three minutes, and then did the jello shots. Each shot took about fifteen seconds. There was virtually no pain on the first shot. The second, I felt some aching on one knee, nothing on the other. The aching was worse on the third and fourth, non-existant on the fifth. Your mileage may vary. What I'm trying to say is it was NOT bad, and absolutely not anything to worry about or a reason to not take the shots.
Now, I did NOT see any improvement until about a week after the last shot. I hear this varies person to person. With a little luck, I should be good until next summer. Will I take the shots again? You betcha! I wish you the best and think you will be delighted with the results.
P.S. I didn't notice any "lumps" in my knees at all, or any feeling that there was something there. Mostly I just notice, actively, a lack of the pain that has been constant for the last five years.
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mmmag
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Date: 2009-09-24 12:15 am (UTC)Why did I put it off? Didn't want to face the "big" shots, of course. Now my doctor was VERY good. He did a novocaine injection on each knee first (which stung a little) then waited three minutes, and then did the jello shots. Each shot took about fifteen seconds. There was virtually no pain on the first shot. The second, I felt some aching on one knee, nothing on the other. The aching was worse on the third and fourth, non-existant on the fifth. Your mileage may vary. What I'm trying to say is it was NOT bad, and absolutely not anything to worry about or a reason to not take the shots.
Now, I did NOT see any improvement until about a week after the last shot. I hear this varies person to person. With a little luck, I should be good until next summer. Will I take the shots again? You betcha! I wish you the best and think you will be delighted with the results.
P.S. I didn't notice any "lumps" in my knees at all, or any feeling that there was something there. Mostly I just notice, actively, a lack of the pain that has been constant for the last five years.