Im looking for a cause

[habibti]

For several years I have had constant pain in my knee's, I was diagnosed with degenerative cartlidge. I also had spurs under my knee cap. I have had 3 surgery's with no evail.  Within a few months the pain was back after each surgery.  Now my pain has radiated to my arms and legs and feet. I have a hard time to even walk and taking stairs wether it be up or down is almost impossible. I am having a hard time carrying even grocery bags my arms feel like they will colapse. If I bend over my legs ache as if I have ran a 50 mile marathon,  I get no relief and am unable to do the simplest things in life. I have become so depressed because I feel completely miserable all of the time. What is going on with me?

[Tuckamore]

Hello Habibti,

Welcome to the Pain Mangement Forum. I am so glad that you found us at MedHelp and took the time to post. However I am so very sorry to hear about your chronic pain. We all know how disruptive it can be to our daily life.  

Do you have degenerative cartilage in all your cartridge areas or just in your knees? If this degeneration has moved to effect other areas that could account for your increased pain in other joints.

What if anything are the physicians prescribing to help control your symptoms?

I hope you have or are seeing a physician that specializes in knees. A larger city will have this type of physician. If you have seen one I agree that a second opinion may be beneficial.

I would also suggest that you consult with a rheumatologist. They seem the best at diagnosing inflamatory processes. Again if you've seen one, a second opinion may be in order. It's important to get to the cause of your pain and than onto treatment.

It seems to me that your pain is not well managed or even managed at all. Even if the physicians are able to give you reasons for your pain they should be prescribing medications that will help control your pain. You should not have to suffer needlessly. Once you have a diagnosis there is no good reason for pain and even until you are diagnosed you should have some kind of pain management.

Please be assertive. You are your own best health care advocate.Don't assume that you have to live with the type of pain and restrictions you are experiencing.

I can't guess what may be going on with you. But I do encourage you to actively seek answers and treatment. Please keep in touch and let us know how you are doing. Our community is supportive and caring and I hope that you will actively participate in it. I'll look forward to your updates.

Take Care,
~Tuck

[jamlws]

I agree you need a second option and a pain dr. There are drs out there that can help you deal with the pain, so you can live your life the best that you can with your pain. My pain can't be fixed with surgery but it can be treated when I find the right dr to do it. When you deal with pain like this it takes up your life and you get depressed cause it is all about the pain and people shouldn't have to go thru that so you really need to find a good dr that can help you.
I wish you the best,
Jamie

[Sarajmt]

Mellie's right.  You need a second opinion.  And a pain management physician  Your pain could be from any number of causes but frankly it sounds like a spinal issue to me.  But that's an personal opinion and I'm certainly not a doctor.  Good luck to you.  And you've found a good place to come.  There's a lot of experience and knowledge here.  But do keep in mind we are patients, not doctors.

[mellie4]

What kind of doctors are you seeing?  I know I've had many surgeries on a joint in my thumb that failed.  At some point (no one is sure when), I also developed RSD.  The RSD has spread from my thumb to hand, wrist and up to my elbow.  I now have treatments for the RSD which help for a while.  I do know that RSD can spread from one area to many.  

Have you seen a pain specialist?  That may be a good place to start.  You also could have more than one thing going on.  Some of your symptoms sound like fibromyalgia..

Whatever you have going on, though, you need to see a doctor who is willing to listen to you.  Are you still seeing the original doctor who did the surgery?  Sometimes you need a fresh pair of eyes looking at your symptoms.

I'm sure you'll get more responses from people who are more knowledgeable.  Good luck.