Euflexxa/Synvisc injections? What are my options? Starting to get frustrated.

[horsegal301]

Long story short since I posted a while ago about my knee problems: I tore my meniscus in March. I had a part of my meniscus taken out in April, and I started PT. I was cut off by insurance in June, but was able to do about a month more in September until I was cut off again. Continued pain and no increase in strength led to my PT telling me to get X-rays and a MRI again… I have really bad arthritis in my knee, and I’m feeling like someone out there is really laughing at me because I’m not seeing a silver lining.

Turns out I have a meniscal gastroc tear high up in my calf behind my knee, a Chondral flap, and patellofemoral chondromalacia… lots of big words for me, so trying to process that and get a better understanding of what I can do for all of this.

My doctor had started to talk about injections like Euflexxa, but that seems like a temporary fix, even if it is approved by my insurance, which is a huge if. I’m only 27. I haven’t been able to ride since the beginning of this year – not being able to do this has really hurt me. It’s an integral part of my life, and not being able to do this is extremely frustrating.

My doctor told me to get a second opinion and I’m doing that in January. He thinks I should get injections before he goes back into my knee. I’m still not sure what it’s solving… the tear? the flap? Physical Therapy didn’t help. Cortisone Injection didn’t help… he said my knee feels like a 70 year old person’s knee with OA. That is not at all reassuring.

A few questions, though: Has anyone had these injections? They’re not cortisone, which I received already, with no relief. I am trying to find experiences that aren’t as scary as what I’m reading online (super painful shots is freaking me out because I already hate needles), and anyone who has dealt with a “flap” and what they did with that, what the outcome was, etc.

I am still at the point where I can’t go upstairs, I haven’t run since March, I can’t kneel, or even walk without my left leg giving out, so I’m really losing it. I am hoping that this other doctor will give me some more insight into what I can do, but I am nervous that he’ll also say injections, and I try something that helps for anywhere between 6 weeks-6 months, only to have to repeat it again, or find myself getting surgery afterwards anyway since it did nothing.

I’m hoping to find someone here who might have had experience with the injections, someone who has dealt with the cartilage lesion/flap, and any other insight you might have. I don’t have many amazing “top level” doctors within a 2 hour drive of me, but if that’s really what I need to do if I don’t get decent feedback from this doctor, I guess that’s the only option? I know this is a second post sort of about the same thing, but it’s hard to talk to someone about it when they don’t sympathize at all, those darn healthy people and their normal joints… I’m jealous of them, but it’s also hard to deal with without feeling like I’m unloading a sob story on everyone.

[jeano]

I was twice your age when I tried cortisone, synvisc, unloaded braces and denial in order to fend off the inevitable knee replacement. Nothing helped for more than a couple weeks. Frankly, I think most of the relief I got from the synvisc series was due to the fact that they aspirated the excess fluid in there before putting the rooster juice in. If you’ve got a knee like a 70 year old with OA, get a new knee.

Bonesmart.org should be your go-to resource for information and support. There are folks younger than you with titanium knees. I’ve got two partials, or “unis”, as opposed to total replacements, and I was riding without difficulty at 5 weeks after the first knee and 4 weeks after the second surgery.

[jeano]

I was twice your age when I tried cortisone, synvisc, unloaded braces and denial in order to fend off the inevitable knee replacement. Nothing helped for more than a couple weeks. Frankly, I think most of the relief I got from the synvisc series was due to the fact that they aspirated the excess fluid in there before putting the rooster juice in. If you’ve got a knee like a 70 year old with OA, get a new knee.

Bonesmart.org should be your go-to resource for information and support. There are folks younger than you with titanium knees. I’ve got two partials, or “unis”, as opposed to total replacements, and I was riding without difficulty at 5 weeks after the first knee and 4 weeks after the second surgery.

[Jingo-ace]

I have had Euflexxa injections in my knee. They feel like someone has overfilled a balloon at first in your knee, but then they even out & the relief from pain is wonderful. (The pain of the injection is not that big of a deal, they ice or desensitize the spot, then it’s just a little pinch & feels like pressure of an overfilled water balloon for awhile - so don’t overthink that part of it!) I started with a torn meniscus, which was surgically removed, leaving me with bone on bone pain. The First Euflexxa shot lasted about 18 months, the next one relieved my pain for about 12 months, the third one only lasted about 3 months, and the fourth shot did not help my pain level. I started Euflexxa in 2009. I ended up having my knee totally replaced finally. No fault of the Euflexxa. It works, & is allowable under most insurances every 6 months… when it quits working, ie no longer relieves your pain, then you have to make other decisions. YMMV, J

[horsegal301]

Thanks for the response, jingo. This also started with a torn meniscus, so I’m expecting a replacement in my future anyway. I’d ask how old you are (because I feel like that’s a huge factor in replacements), but I don’t want to be too forward

After what seems like a handful of more doctors - orthopedic surgeons and specialists, rheumatologists, physiatrists and neurologists, I finally saw an out of town surgeon. He went into my knee and took out a lot of damaged cartilage out from under my knee cap. He said the injections wouldn’t work because the steroids didn’t and they essentially do the same thing.

I’m currently hobbling around on a single crutch, waiting to go back for a post-opp appointment tomorrow. Turns out I wasn’t crazy for knowing something was wrong with my body. Just hoping it turns out a little better than the last one and happy that a doctor was finally straight up black and white with me.

[PFMJ]

I have bone on bone arthritis and Euflexxa is wonderful. I do get it every 6 months, and don’t think I would want to risk going longer and risking bone damage at this point. There is also a new gel in the works that should be coming out shortly; however, I am not sure of the name. I went longer after my second surgery so the bone on bone part was quite painful–typically 8/10 on pain meds. Even the first shot of Euflexxa gave me enough relief to drop it to an easy 5 that day–and I do use spider braces typically. Heavy braces for walking at horse shows. Good luck. This type of pain is not fun.

I’m 48 and we are trying to put off knee replacements for as long as possible. Both knees are bone on bone due to cartilage deterioration due to lyme disease.