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General health

KNEES - mine are shit. Come and talk to me if you have crappy knees

74 replies

ButImNotOldYet · 29/11/2017 22:37

Namechanged because this will out me as one of my closest friends is a mnetter.

I fractured my tibial plateau about 5yrs ago. Since then I have ongoing problems with my knees (the injured one is worst but the other hurts too). I had an arthroscopy a few years ago on the worst one. I have a hole in the cartilage in my knee joint.

Walking up and down stairs hurts. Sitting still for too long hurts (when I get up), I can’t crouch down to pick things up, carrying heavy things hurts my bloody bastard knees. I’m in my 40s, I feel more like I’m in my 90s Shock Sad Come and talk to me about your knees, grumbling or positive stories welcome.

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KhalliWali · 29/11/2017 22:38

They can get better! I remember complaining of sore knees when I started Boot Camp. The trainer said they would get better but I didn't believe him. He was right.

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marzipancustard · 29/11/2017 22:42

I've had naff knees since I was 11. I'm now 28 - struggle sometimes but mostly just get on with it. I focus on pain management to keep me fit and active as when I do less ultimately I suffer much more.

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SmiledWithTheRisingSun · 29/11/2017 22:45

Oooo me too!
Tore right through meniscal cartilage a few years ago,
I need to loose weight but can't run.
It's very annoying.
Swimming helps lots I find though.

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ButImNotOldYet · 29/11/2017 22:46

khalliwalli - I have ups and downs. For the last few years they’ve been steady at irritating rather than a big problem but recently my injured one has become a major problem. I’m struggling a bit at work and in a reasonable amount of pain every day. I’ve had an MRI and waiting results so will see what they reveal.

Marzipan - what sort of knee-friendly exercise do you do?

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ButImNotOldYet · 29/11/2017 22:47

Sun - yes I need to lose weight too Sad. It will definitely help.

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SomedayMyPrinceWillCome · 29/11/2017 22:48

Ooh, me too! I remember my knees aching after climbing stairs or crouching as far back as primary school.
I've never injured my knees but they crack very loudly EVERY time I bend down.
They still hurt - feels like a burning behind the patellas- if I climb more than 20 stairs or if I try to kneel or crouch down

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notapizzaeater · 29/11/2017 22:49

Me, me, me -I knackered the ligament on my right knee trampolining 7 weeks ago and it’s still playing up. In the eat time my left knee ( and thigh) has swollen up so I’m finding it hard to bend and I don’t seem to have any strength in it. Can’t wait for physio on Saturday 😥

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ButImNotOldYet · 29/11/2017 22:54

Someday - that sounds familiar pain! I also have a sharp spot that catches. Trying to describe it to dh - it’s like a drawing pin is glued to the top of my tibia with the sharp bit pointing up, certain movements jab the point hard into my knee cap. Makes me cry out in pain.

I never realised how draining having pain every single day would be. Each staircase I get to at the moment is beginning to morph into Everest! It really makes me feel a million years old. Gah. Whinge, whinge, moan.

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PickAChew · 29/11/2017 22:54

Mine are knackered due to hypermobility - as much because my feet have collapsed as the knees themselves are hypermobile (which they are but I've trained myself not to hyperextend them any more.

Weight does make a massive difference. As do extremely sensible shoes and insoles.

I'm in my 40s, too, and have pensioners waiting impatiently while I grunt down the stairs on a bus. I can walk for miles and miles, illegally run for a bus and even climb up several flights of stairs and not even get out of breath, but getting back down those stairs would wipe me out with the effort.

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ButImNotOldYet · 29/11/2017 22:55

Pizza - are you putting heat or cold on it? They can really help. Heat for pain and ice for swelling I think is the right way round!

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ButImNotOldYet · 29/11/2017 22:56

Pickachew - that sounds awful, you poor thing. Stairs are the enemies of knees!

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teaandakitkat · 29/11/2017 23:05

Can I sort of join in because I have shit toes? I have arthritis, no cartilage at all left in one big toe and hardly any in the other. Every step hurts, I can't stand on tiptoe even a little bit without intense pain, I can't wear heels at all, I'm only 41 and also feel about 90. It's so bloody miserable.
Also largely invisible to others so they don't realise I'm in pain unless I complain about it, but what's the point of complaining really? It doesn't change anything.

I am always in sensible shoes and have stupidly expensive custom made insoles which I'm not sure do anything for me at all. I would live in furry crocs if they didn't look so ridiculous.

I like heat on them and I also have this lovely cream with some pepper extract called capsaicin maybe, I can't reach the tube from here and I'm not getting up. It's lovely, heats the joint right through. You get it from your gp on prescription. I'd recommend it. Just don't touch anywhere near your eyes for about half an hour after putting it on!

The thing that I often worry about is that walking funny to compensate for my sore feet must be putting strain on my other joints, especially my hips often feel quite sore. I can cope with toes but if I end up ruining my hips too before I'm 50 I'll be really pissed off.

Thanks for letting me share in the general moaning, even though I've not quite got the right joints.

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ButImNotOldYet · 29/11/2017 23:11

Oh teaandakitkat that sounds thoroughly miserable. I had no idea that could happen to toes. I know exactly what you mean about it being an invisible pain. As it’s become so bad recently I have mentioned it a couple of times and people are surprised ‘oh I didn’t know you were having problems...’ I want to rant ‘EVERY DAY I’m in pain, I have to think before I move, I pay for it if I over do things’ but as you said it will do no good moaning and just irritate the crap out of everyone. However, here feel free to moan. I have ice pack and heat packs at the ready!

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deadringer · 29/11/2017 23:13

I have bastard knees too, I was told that my kneecaps are slightly out of position so they rub off the tibia when I walk, especially when I go up or down slopes or steps. The pain started when i was pregnant in my early 20s, aggravated by the extra weight which also caused fallen arches. I feel like a right old crock!

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marzipancustard · 29/11/2017 23:15

Butim i do a LOT of walking. And daily physio which was put together for me about 5 yrs ago by a private physio (nhs physio is rubbish for young people with chronic joint issues(

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HoobleDooble · 29/11/2017 23:19

Can I join the gammy knee club? Arthritis has been creeping in since my 20s, am now in my 40s and my ankles are going too. I've long given up on crouching down and walk like a very old, slow penguin most days. Stairs are my enemy both ascending and descending!

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31weeksgone · 29/11/2017 23:27

My knees are buggered and ache all day everyday, and I’m only 22 Sad literally can see me having knee replacements at 30. Have buggered ankles and feet too. Hypermobility/Loose ligaments but I actually suspect arthritis too seeing as my dad suffers awfully.

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64BooLane · 29/11/2017 23:32

Pathetic knees here too. Placemarking to come back later.

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ButImNotOldYet · 30/11/2017 06:42

Marzipan - I like walking and it’s the one thing which doesn’t hurt my knees (unless it’s up or down steep hills of course) but I’ve got out of the habit, once I have my scan results and am inevitably sent for physio (I’ve had limited success with it in the past) I’m going to talk to them about a plan which is heavy on walking if possible.

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ButImNotOldYet · 30/11/2017 06:46

Dead ringer, hoobie and 31 weeks - much sympathies to you and your extremely scronky knees.
Crappy knees is such a miserable fate as it seems that until you are old enough to have them replaced there doesn’t seems to be an awful lot they can do about helping them either Sad.

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IrritableBitchSyndrome · 30/11/2017 07:09

Mine have been prone to dislocating for years due to hypermobility. Recent MRI showed that years of walking as much as I could and doing lots of physio have not helped, and I have snapped both my anterior cruciate ligaments and worn through the cartlidge in one knee. I can't do stairs safely anymore unless they are narrow with a rail on both sides as my knees are prone to bending sideways. I can't walk more than short distances repeatedly (indoor distances, metres rather than miles) without injuring myself and ending up stuck on the sofa with a swollen knee for days. I invested a few hundred quid in a second hand mobility scooter and get around on that. I'm early 40s.

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ButImNotOldYet · 30/11/2017 07:18

DisclocatingShock OMG. That sounds awful, you poor thing. I’m glad the mobility scooter has given you a bit of freedom. Have you been able to get a disability badge for your car etc?

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AlpacaLypse · 30/11/2017 07:28

I'm recovering from having my other knee replaced. First one was done last year. It took about three years of nagging to get referred as my GP kept saying they didn't offer knee replacements to people under the age of sixty. (I am 51) It's fantastic, I have my life back. If anyone on this thread is having trouble getting referred to an orthopaedic consultant, I recommend banging on at your GP like a stuck record until she finally gives in.

The funniest thing is that she now acts like it was her idea to send me to see consultant!

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ButImNotOldYet · 30/11/2017 07:31

Alpacalypse - that’s awesome, give us all some hope! What is the difference before and after knee replacement?

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AlpacaLypse · 30/11/2017 07:32

Oh and my consultant says the youngest person he's done replacement knees for was in her thirties.

Appreciate that new knees will not be a fix for everyone on this thread but the myth that you can't have them done until you're retirement age is pretty powerful and needs fighting. The latest replacement joints should last at least 30 years.

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