New member

Report post · September 6, 2005

RE: New Member

> Mike.

>

> I have pain in the kneecap area and/or thigh area whether I am sitting or

> walking. The locking of course occurs while I am walking at a very very

> slow

> rate, small stride rate.

>

> The releases that you had done, did it reduce the stiffness?

I would say the releases relieved the pressure and tightness more than

anything. I got to the point I could no longer sit or do stairs. Now I can

sit comfortably, and do stairs with marginal pain. If your locking is due

to lateral tightness, a lateral release should help tremendously. I am

still as stiff as ever after sitting for a period of time, but I can live

with that as long as I can function otherwise in life.

Mike

MT

Report post · September 6, 2005

If you can afford it, and/or your insurance will pay for it, there's a doctor in

Italy (there are many doctors in Italy and Germany doing this) who do the

SaluCartilage plug operation (the EU approved the technique in 1999; it was

approved in Canada last May; the FDA will probably wait 20 years to see if it

works on EU and Canadian patients).

A US company invented the plugs, which are made of the same material as soft

contact lenses, but much tougher. The surgeon drills a hole where the CP lesion

is (or holes if more than one) and inserts the plugs, and voila, you're a new

woman! Short healing time. Cost about $15K depending on the exchange rate.

I've been in contact with this doc. He'll bill it, and write up the surgeon's

report, as chondroplasty (which isn't a lie, since " chondroplasty " mean " doing

something to the bone " so your insurance co. (if they pay for procedures done

outside the US) won't consider it an experimental procedure. For details, write

me privately. My insurance co. will pay for non-emergency medical care if I'm

living in another country. " Living " to them means 6 months out of the year. 6

months in Italy? No problem. Or you could SAY you were living there for 6

months, get your mail from them there, then " move " back here.

To get to Italy cheap, you can apply for a Untied visa & get 15-20K free miles

after your 1st purchase, then a mile for everything you buy or pay for (e.g.

your rent, your car payment, that 42 " HDTV you've been wanting) on the Visa

card.

If I had a way to get my cats to Italy w/o traumatizing them for life, I'd go

next week.

Ann

Re: New Member

My MRI showed a torn miniscus and surgery was scheduled to repair it, when

he got in the meniscus was fine, he did a LR and cleaned up my knee cap.

Strange how we can all be misdiagnosed time after time. Some of us time

after time after time......................

Ann <ruby2zdy@...> wrote:Yes, it's definitely possible for

an MRI not to show something. As for tearing a meniscus w/o knowing it,

that's what happened to me. I think the cause was my employer making me

crawl around under desks getting computer serial numbers for 2 years, but

there was no acute event. And when I went to my OS, with what I knew was a

new and different pain, he said " Oh, it's just arthritis " , but it didn't

feel like bone on bone, so he did an X-ray and agreed that it wasn't

arthritis. Then he said " It's probably patellar tendinitis " . But the pain

wasn't in the patellar tendon. It was deep inside the knee. He lost

interest. Later, having been reduced to using a cane, I went back. He

said, irritatedly (and mind you, he never ordered an MRI during this time),

" It's possible that you have enthesopathy. " I asked what that was. He said

it was an inflammation of the tendons, related to RA. I told him I'd just

had all the autoimmune tests done &

they were negative. He said " You can have enthesopathy with negative

tests " . So then I worried about having an RA-related disease. Finally I

gave up on him & went to another OS (without the clinic notes from the first

one), who did an MRI, found the torn meniscus, went in, removed part of it

(I thought this would end up with bone on bone & more pain, but it hasn't),

smoothed out my CP. It didn't help the CP, but at least it got me off the

cane.

Good luck,

Ann

Report post · September 6, 2005

So you would say that the surgeon going in & seeing the actual tissues, damage,

etc., is not a good idea?

Ann

Re: New Member

Just out of curiousity, how many doctors have you all been to see before you

found one willing to help. If I go for another opinion this will be my 5th o

Report post · September 6, 2005

I've discovered that my vastus lateralis is tighter on my R leg (the one with

the CP) than on the L leg. Also, the most lateral hams are tighter in that leg.

I've been trying to stretch these tissues. When I do quad stretches, after

doing the regular stretch, I bend away from that knee & feel more of a pull in

the vastus lateralis. When I do ham stretches, if I'm doing them by bending

over, I bend the good knee & that stretches the more lateral hams of the bad

leg. If I'm doing them lying down (using a rubber band to hold my leg where I

want it), I pull that leg across my body & a little toward my head. I'm not

sure that stretch will work because the tissues really don't want to stretch

there (ITBS sufferers on the group have found, in general, that the usual

PT stretch -- leg across the body -- sometimes actually makes the IT band

contract more). But I suspect that it's these tight muscles that are causing my

patellar subluxation. I could be wrong. Just another guess, trying to get to

the root of the problem.

Ann

Re: New Member

>>>

>>> Doctors make a lot more money from doing surgery than

>>> > referring you to PT.

>>>

>>> My experience was that I had more doctors who were a little too

>>> conservative

>>> and didn't listen to my cries for help and continued to send me to PT

>>> even

>>> when it no longer helped. Good doctors don't need to solicit business,

>>> they

>>> have plenty of it. The best doctors listen to their patients and

>>> realize

>>> every case is different, especially where CP is involved.

>>>

>>> Mike

>>> MT

>>>

Report post · September 6, 2005

You car insurance pays for medical??????? Not related to an accident???????

Ann

Re: New Member

>>

>> Doctors make a lot more money from doing surgery than

>> > referring you to PT.

>>

>> My experience was that I had more doctors who were a little too

>> conservative

>> and didn't listen to my cries for help and continued to send me to PT

>> even

>> when it no longer helped. Good doctors don't need to solicit business,

>> they

>> have plenty of it. The best doctors listen to their patients and

>> realize

>> every case is different, especially where CP is involved.

>>

>> Mike

>> MT

>>

Report post · September 6, 2005

I believe that, unless the new doc has a big ego & thinks he knows better than

anyone else, bringing in your past Dx's just sets you up for getting the same Dx

again. I just tell them that I haven't been able to get the records. Some docs

don't even ask for them.

Ann

Re: New Member

>When you went into every doctor for your first visit, were you upfront

>about your previous diagnosis or did you keep it vague so they would spend

>more time on you?

They always asked for previous records, and I was more than happy to give

the records to them. My biggest problem was getting the records from the

previous doctors. Sometimes you need to be firm and persistant. If and

when you get your records, keep them in your own possession. You paid for

them, they are yours. I was also fortunate in the fact I was with a good

insurance company that worked with me and was well known.

Mike

MT

Report post · September 6, 2005

Mike,

I ran across an interesting situation today. My new doctor's office called

just for pre-registration information and told me to make sure to bring my

MRI and " reports " with me. I said " reports? " She said that when they do the

MRI they also include reports on the inside. I took my records back from

the last doctor, but there were no reports included so I had to call and ask

for them to be sent to me. I thought if was funny the way the other doctor

said " they " say you have a small defect but he couldn't see it. I wondered

who in hell " they " were. So anyway, my point is, the radiologist tells the

doctor's which slides to look at and the findings that they see. I don't

think my doctor bothered with anything else. So now my new doctor is going

to be directed to the same damned shots and already told the findings. That

doesn't seem right to me. You'd think the doctor you see would look them

over too. No wonder they miss things.

On a side note, I know I am not good at describing my problem to doctors,

which I'm sure doesn't help the situation. Belonging to this group has

already helped me, because as you say Mike, we are all somewhat different.

My sharp pains seem to come in different places so I've decided that keeping

a diary is probably a good way to go. I figure it can't hurt.

Re: New Member

They helped a lot to relieve the pain and pressure but not movement. I

personally never had much problem with movement as such. However my

experience will not necessarily relate to yours since almost every case of

CP is somewhat different. It takes a good doctor who listens and reads the

scans to help you.

Mike

MT

Report post · September 6, 2005

RE: New Member

So anyway, my point is, the radiologist tells the

> doctor's which slides to look at and the findings that they see. I don't

> think my doctor bothered with anything else.

I would look for another doctor.

> My sharp pains seem to come in different places so I've decided that

> keeping

> a diary is probably a good way to go. I figure it can't hurt.

I think that is an excellent idea. I learned to start at least a week ahead

writing down questions I wanted to ask the doctor, and things I wanted to

tell him......and not let him get out of the exam room until we go over my

entire list.

Mike

MT

Report post · September 6, 2005

That's why I am going to a different doctor, this guy was " nice " enough, but

didn't instill me with much confidence. I've started a list too, although I

really don't know what I want to ask. Mostly I want to be as accurate as

possible in describing my pain when it happens, but it's not easy. If I

didn't get so nervous it would help. I'll let you all know if I learn

anything at my appointment.

Re: New Member

RE: New Member

So anyway, my point is, the radiologist tells the

> doctor's which slides to look at and the findings that they see. I don't

> think my doctor bothered with anything else.

I would look for another doctor.

> My sharp pains seem to come in different places so I've decided that

> keeping

> a diary is probably a good way to go. I figure it can't hurt.

I think that is an excellent idea. I learned to start at least a week ahead

writing down questions I wanted to ask the doctor, and things I wanted to

tell him......and not let him get out of the exam room until we go over my

entire list.

Mike

MT

Report post · September 7, 2005

The last doc I saw for my shoulder wasn't interested in the radiologist's

report, just the films, because he felt he was as good as or better than any

radiologist (who doesn't know where your pains are) at finding the problem.

That's why I sort of recommended an OS with a big ego.

Ann

Re: New Member

They helped a lot to relieve the pain and pressure but not movement. I

personally never had much problem with movement as such. However my

experience will not necessarily relate to yours since almost every case of

CP is somewhat different. It takes a good doctor who listens and reads the

scans to help you.

Mike

MT

Report post · September 7, 2005

My injury is from a car accident but they will not pay it unless my primary

denies it. Getting them to pay for anything is like pulling teeth, but legally

they have to cover any medical I get for the rest of my life related to this

accident, I am sure that is why they are so hard to work with.

Ann <ruby2zdy@...> wrote:You car insurance pays for

medical??????? Not related to an accident???????

Ann

Re: New Member

>>

>> Doctors make a lot more money from doing surgery than

>> > referring you to PT.

>>

>> My experience was that I had more doctors who were a little too

>> conservative

>> and didn't listen to my cries for help and continued to send me to PT

>> even

>> when it no longer helped. Good doctors don't need to solicit business,

>> they

>> have plenty of it. The best doctors listen to their patients and

>> realize

>> every case is different, especially where CP is involved.

>>

>> Mike

>> MT

>>

Report post · September 7, 2005

Who's your insurance. It's always good to know which ones come through and

which ones balk. Unless they all balk.

Ann

Re: New Member

>>

>> Doctors make a lot more money from doing surgery than

>> > referring you to PT.

>>

>> My experience was that I had more doctors who were a little too

>> conservative

>> and didn't listen to my cries for help and continued to send me to PT

>> even

>> when it no longer helped. Good doctors don't need to solicit business,

>> they

>> have plenty of it. The best doctors listen to their patients and

>> realize

>> every case is different, especially where CP is involved.

>>

>> Mike

>> MT

>>

Report post · September 8, 2005

I had state farm insurance, and from the doctors cringing when I mention them

paying my bills, I think they are the worst!

Ann <ruby2zdy@...> wrote:Who's your insurance. It's always

good to know which ones come through and which ones balk. Unless they all balk.

Ann

Re: New Member

>>

>> Doctors make a lot more money from doing surgery than

>> > referring you to PT.

>>

>> My experience was that I had more doctors who were a little too

>> conservative

>> and didn't listen to my cries for help and continued to send me to PT

>> even

>> when it no longer helped. Good doctors don't need to solicit business,

>> they

>> have plenty of it. The best doctors listen to their patients and

>> realize

>> every case is different, especially where CP is involved.

>>

>> Mike

>> MT

>>

Report post · September 8, 2005

Thanks!

Ann

Re: New Member

>>

>> Doctors make a lot more money from doing surgery than

>> > referring you to PT.

>>

>> My experience was that I had more doctors who were a little too

>> conservative

>> and didn't listen to my cries for help and continued to send me to PT

>> even

>> when it no longer helped. Good doctors don't need to solicit

business,

>> they

>> have plenty of it. The best doctors listen to their patients and

>> realize

>> every case is different, especially where CP is involved.

>>

>> Mike

>> MT

>>

Report post · September 15, 2005

In a message dated 9/15/2005 7:17:53 A.M. Central Standard Time,

bluheron@... writes:

My question is he has to receive shots again in 2 months

> according to the Dr. How do I take him in again, knowing this could

> happen again and might be worse this time

Yougo in and refuse any more vax.....you have seen first hand what vax can

do to a poor childs immune system. Educate yourself on the truth about

vaccines and their side effects which can range from what you experienced to

death,

then make an informed decision on what you think is best for your baby.

Dr.'s will not tell you the truth most of the times

Amy

Report post · September 15, 2005

I would think it was the shots, but they won't tell you that,

I stopped vacc'ing my first son after the MMR and never vacc'd my second

son. I wouldn't do any more if I were you but...I am not you and don't know

your situation.

Western NY

New member

> Hello, my name is Tabitha. I am here looking for some info.

> Recently my 13 month old receiced his shots on a Friday afternoon.

> Shots were MMR, Polio, DTaP, and chicken pox. By Sunday night he

> had chicken pox a 104 degree fever, and loose stools. Took him to

> Dr.'s on Monday, just chicken pox and sent us home. Took him again

> on Tues. Sent us home with an antiviral and tylenol with codine.

> Still bad on Wen. Took him back and he had lost over one pound in

> less than 24 hours. Was then put into the hospital. We ended up

> spending 4 nights in the hospital trying to get fever and such under

> control. Sent away stool samples and blood work and everything came

> back -. I have asked directly if this was caused from his vaccines

> and they will admitt that it does happen sometimes that a child will

> receive chicken pox from shot, but keep telling me that the fever

> and loose stools are not from shots. How do they not find anything

> else then. My question is he has to receive shots again in 2 months

> according to the Dr. How do I take him in again, knowing this could

> happen again and might be worse this time

>

> Thank you for taking the time to read,

> Tabitha

>

Report post · September 15, 2005

Sorry, forgot to say welcome! Glad you are aboard

and checking things out.