Knee Needles

I'm writing this blog post from the lodge at Loveland ski area. I wish I could say I was able to hit the slopes with my dad and APL, even just a little bit, but sadly I am still having a lot of trouble with my knees. 

After almost two weeks of taking oral prednisone, my knees are still killing me. It was getting difficult to stand in the kitchen long enough to make a meal or unload the dishwasher. It was getting difficult to drive. Even sitting on the couch seemed to hurt - not that I get to do much couch sitting while chasing aflyer my one year old! Though my rheumatologist asked me to check back after trying the oral steroids for three weeks, I didn't think I could make it that long. It felt like my knees were only getting worse. 

So I emailed my rheumatologist and last Friday I went in to have cortisone injected directly into each of my knees. It wasn't exactly a pleasant prodecure. Those needles are pretty long and went pretty far into each of my knee joints. The pain was sort of like a zing that traveled through my whole body. But I figured it would be worth it if my knees would stop hurting so much. 

Friday evening my knees felt way more swollen and stiff than before - which I guess makes sense considering they were literally filled with a foreign liquid! But I wasn't exactly expecting to spend Friday afternoon and evening more or less crippled on the couch in the family room. Thank goodness APL was there to help me wrangle OZL! After about 24 hours or so, my left knee started feeling a little bit better. But my right knee (the one that has gone pop so many times) is still pretty painful four days later.  

I'm pretty sad and frustrated about it because I guess I sort of thought that cortisone injections were as close to a magic fix as possible. I thought I might be able to enjoy my dad's visit in less pain and maybe even ski a few runs with him. I emailed with my rheumatologist yesterday and he says to wait a few more days - maybe the cortisone will still kick in. But if it doesn't it could mean that I have an internal injury in my right knee - though I don't remember anything weird happening. I suppose if my knee still hurts in a week or so I will probably need some X-rays. 

In the meantime I guess there is nothing to do but wait and see. And try to enjoy the scenery.