Oh the pain! Question for you bum knee people.

Hi all,
I had surgery on my right knee about 2 years ago (maybe 3)?? to remove some torn meniscus. I had a really, really rough recuperation. I'm thinking it was because of my fibro.
My knee has been doing great for those several years. Sometimes it would hurt a little, and I would start up my exercises again, and it would pass.

the other day, when I got up in the morning, I had this horrendous leg pain. I can't even be on it much. It okay when I'm not standing/walking, but when I try to do those things, I almost pass out from the pain.
It just doesn't make sense that the pain encompasses my entire leg.
So here's what I'm thinking: I'm thinking I'm having a little trouble with my knee stability, but all the muscles in my leg are reacting to it with spasms.
Has this happened to anyone else with knee problems? I mean it cramps from my thigh through the back of my knee, down the side of my leg, all the way to my foot.
Is this the fibro rearing its ugly head? Its just too much pain for my knee problem.
Its hard for me to know what the pain is. Its just a really horrible ache everywhere.

I'm doing my stretching/strengthening exercises, I'm icing it, I use heat on the muscles, I take tylenol (can't do NSAIDS)......but if I try to get up and walk or do anything, the pain just makes me sick.
So now I'm thinking maybe I should somehow focus on the muscle spasms.....instead of just the knee.
But.....I've heard that the muscles that support the knee can go haywire, if they're asked to do too much.
So I guess I'll just keep doing my exercises.
I feel like such a wimp. But dang, having spasms all the time in the entire leg is scary and depressing.
Anyone else have this problem with their arthritic knees?
Thanks.

Hi Cathy, I have to agree with yo-yo, it sounds like there is more of a problem here than just the fibro. Please get it checked out. I will be praying for you.
Gentle Hugs
Shirley

Cathy I'm sure no expert, but I had both knees replaced three years ago and the only pain I suffered was my therapy.  So it might be more than Fibro pain.

 

I hope you get to feeling better.

 

God Bless!

Shannon

Dear Cathy:

This is my first posting.  I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia one year ago and have been suffering for about 2 years.  I work full-time, but it is getting tougher and tougher.  I feel I am merely existing.  My GP is handling my Fibro care.  I was diagnosed at the U of M by a Rheumatologist who was cold, impersonal, and an arrogant jerk.  My GP is wonderful.

about your knee, I have a very similar complaint.  After I was diagnosed with Fibro, my left knee started causing me so much pain.  It made it tough to even get off the toilet.  At the time, I was in pool therapy which helped some, but the Savella and Vicodin barely touched the pain and I often woke up in the middle of the night with shooting pains in my knee.  These often radiated up and down my leg.    I have never had an injury in my left leg or knee.  I had a right ankle fusion in 2008.  I tried everything:  ice, heat, water, ICY-HOT patches.  Nothing helped!  I thought Fibromyalgia was on both sides of the body but this was just my left knee.  My GP ordered an X-Ray which was negative.

Slowly the pain went away and was gone (I still had all my regular Fibro pain ) for about 6 months.  Now the left knee pain is back with a vengence.  I'm afraid I have a blood clot or something.  My knee throbs night and day.  My GP put my on an NSAID and I'm taking Lyrica, Cymbalta,  Vicodin HP 10 mg and Ambien.  This knee pain still wakes me up.  I sleep with a pillow between my knees.  My doctor thinks it is Fibromyalgia.  My entire body aches, but this left knee is unbearable.  I can see the kneecap swollen and the pain radiates all over my left leg.  My GP wants my Sed rate checked and I am going back to PT in the pool tomorrow.  I am completely stumped.

SJN 

Thanks everyone,
FMS has really made all my painful episodes very confusing. For years I would go to the doctors for all my pains. After tons of tests, labwork, spending thousands of dollars, etc., everything would come back normal and each certain pain would go away. So I'm very hesitant to start a big long process with this pain, since its very expensive and many times shows nothing.

I was lucky enough to have a knee surgeon who must have had a wife with FMS or knew someone with it, because he said he knew of people who had knee problems that would cause a fibro flare. I'm starting to believe that!
SJN.....have you seen a sports medicine doc about your knee? My meniscus is shredding and it seems to me that I have an over-reaction to the pain it causes.
I, too, spent many years having a hard time getting up out of chairs. I think I have discovered that my quad muscles are really weak.

Even when I'm active and do lots of running around, my quads just don't get strong enough to support my knee.
I got out my folder of exercises that I got after my knee surgery and I'm really trying to do them alot.
I would suggest that you do an online search for "knee exercises", or "strengthen the knee", and it will show you the kind of exercises needed to support the knee.
I used to do them all the time, and then I was feeling so good that I quit. I'm thinking my supporting muscles got weak again.

My approach is going to be icing my knee several times a day, and doing all these exercises diligently. I'm convinced that lots of people would benefit from these, rather than rushing into surgery.
Good luck SJN!

But for now.....I can't go anywhere or do much around the house, because the pain is so great. The physical therapy people always told me to work through the pain. That seems sort of counter-intuitive, but I guess we have to find a reasonable compromise.
I get almost panicked when I can't go anywhere or do anything. I start fantasizing about getting a "hover-round"! I just want to be able to do things without pain.
Thanks again everyone! I think I just needed some sympathy! :)

I also would suggest you see a doctor, but I would see an orthopedest. The pain you describe was similar to the pain I had in my knee. I had to have a total knee replacement in January, my knee joint had totally colasped. It was gone. I had the pain for so long until I just couldn't stand it anymore. That was my left knee... My right knee was not as bad, however, I am beginning to have the pain in it now too and the cramps you speak of hit me almost every night and durning the day too running from my knee , down my leg and foot and even in the top of my foot. My knee surgery didn't go so well and I'm going to continue to put this off as long as I can, but I know that I will be heading back to surgery soon.