knee injury with severe pain with no diagonsis from specialist

[lufriend]

In Nov 2005 I ran into the leg of a chair tilted forward and the leg of the chair stabbed into the middle of my knee.  I thought it was a bruise and would get better.  It steadily got worse with sleepless nites and no pain relief. After an MRI and several X-rays the orthopedic doctor first sent me to Physical Therapy which made the pain worse, then a locking knee brace which did nothing but make me uncomfortable.  He said there is no indication in the xrays to show an injury and said he gives up because he has no other ideas.  At one time he thought maybe I injured the nerve but says it would only hurt if I touched it or bumped it somehow, yet the pain is mostly constant.  I would describe it as a sharp pain at the middle to the right of my right knee and feels almost like a toothache.  I cannot sleep, or walk, or sit comfortable for any amount of time.  I need help, my next idea is either mayo clinic or sosme other type of specialist.  I am discouraged that the specialist saw me 3 times and gave up and wants me to go to a pain clinic.  I have never had any knee pain in my life, white female, 49 years old, completely healthy (have no used my insurance for 5 years) so feel this has to be from the injury and must have some type of fix!!  Please help  Pain medication does relieve me for about 2.5 to 3 hours but then the pain is back full force.  Any suggestions would be so helpful.

[luvkitty]

I'm sorry to hear about the pain in your knee.  I suffer from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD).  It began in my knee after a slip and fall, which is typical of how this disease usually starts.  The pain is usually burning and/or cold, deep, ache, throbbing, sensitive to touch, and much worse than what the injury suggests it should be.  There are often color changes, swelling, and hair and nail changes.  If you're having any of these symptoms, then you should ask a doctor if they think RSD is a possibility.  The sooner you ask the better to help your chances of remission as there isn't currently a cure.  

I wish you luck and hope you feel better very soon!!!  Hang in there!!!


Hugs,
Michele

[Razorbackgal]

My husband has knee problems as well.  He was injured as a child in Hawaii when a chunk of lava rock stabbed into his kneecap. Later he was hit in the knee by a can of paint, and again in a car accident when it hit the dashboard.  He also recently in the last 2 years had a bakers cyst on the back of his knee which ruptured causing severe pain.  X-Rays showed that the kneecap was actually fractured during one of the hits his knee took a long time ago and just healed wrong which caused  lot of the pain he had prior to the cyst.  Have you had the x-rays show any previously mishealed fractures on the knee?  I think doctors do not take this seriously, but I will tell you that I know several people who have had all types of knee surgery and replacements, and all of them say the same thing.  If they say surgery, do not do it, it will not make it better, in fact it will make it worse.
Good luck and seek other opinions.