My right knee went out January 7th, 2005. I went to bed the night of the 6th & was fine. I woke up the morning of the 7th & could hardly move. I have tried everything... pain meds of all sorts (from ibuprofen to Oxycontin). Physical therapy. A variety of braces (from cheapies from the pharmacy to a custom $1500 one -- that my insurance wouldn't cover). Heat. Ice. Elevating the leg. Staying off it, Powering thru the pain. Cortisone shots. Some other kind of shot (you take a series of 3 over 3 weeks -- it worked for 2 weeks & cost over $1,000). I can't have replacement surgery & I wouldn't even if I could. I can't have it because there isn't enough viable bone to attach the new joint to. I wouldn't because of all the horror stories I hear about the replacements. Most of my family is in the medical field. They have shown me all sorts of studies that I don't like the looks of. My DD is a lawyer. While she doesn't practice medical malpractice law, she has friend who are personal injury lawyers & they tell her other horror stories. Nope... my knee might hurt so bad that my life has virtually come to a screeching halt (I can't sleep longer than about 2 hours at a time -- I can walk around the house but not for any kind of distance like the mall), but at least I don't have blood poisoning or something awful like that on top of the pain. I do use a cane & that helps. The only thing that really has helped is acupuncture -- except that my practioner moved in January & now I'm without one. I can truly say that my knee has changed my life almost 100%. But I live in hope that medical advances for us boomers will someday find a solution to it. I have medical team at Mayo here that I trust & a supportive family so I can't complain (tho it sounds like I am... sorry).
How far would the rest of you be willing to go to have your knee "fixed"? Fusion? Nerve blocks? Clinical trials? Stem cells?