Optimism

@johnbishop Thanks. Do you feel that PT has helped with your balance issues. I start my PT next week. I remember your telling us that you don't really have pain with your neuropathy.

@heisenberg34 I think the PT did help some with the balance and gave me a few exercises I could easily do at home to work on. I still struggle some but have become more aware of bad habits I have with sudden movements.

Good morning, heisenberg34

Others around Connect will have grown tired by now of hearing about my indecison between getting knee prosthetic or continuing with arthritic knee pain. The chief reason why I can't decide is because it's largely my weekly PT with an excellent therapist that brings on the pain. Other days I'm fine.

Mine is large-fiber PN, so I have no pain because of my PN, just poor balance. But in six years' time my balance has not worsened, at least not dramatically.

The has left me wondering: Would an artificial knee allow me to work even harder at the PT, and thereby being even kore helpful with improving my balance? Or is it strictly the PT that deserves all the credit for my balance not worsening; therefore, skip knee surgery, double-down on PT, and just grin & bear the periodic knee pain? My orthopedist is waiting for a decision.

I wish you well, heisenberg34. All maybes to you!
Ray (@ray666)

@ray666 Thanks for your response, Ray.

@ericmm I have heard a lot of folks here talk about the benefits of ALA. I bought some, but then my primary care doctor cautioned me against it because my blood sugar can run low, and ALA could possibly lower it more. One of my Neurologists said he would like me to try Lyrica instead of Gabapentin. I ask if it would provide me some gains that I wasn't getting from Gabapentin, and he couldn't name anything additional I would get from it, just said most of his patients use it. So I didn't want to experiment with something that "MIGHT" keep me the same as Gabapentin - it could have been not as beneficial for me, plus I'd heard from others they gained weight on it. So unless it could make me be able to walk/bike/run again, or take away my numbness & tingling, I didn't want to add a weight challenge to my other health issues. I think we all have to be mad scientists to find the right balance for us! Good luck with your next visit! Debbie

Say, I got 90% better from this website. My complete body was full of pins and needles, numbness, burning, etc. I read different people on this same forum and learned about alpha lipoic acid 600 mg. I went to the nature store and bought it and the brand was Source Naturals. He only had one bottle left - the owner takes it too. He said "it works" - can't remember how long it took but it wasn't very long plus I take a professional grade complex B - has all the Bs but even if your B12 is normal I was told to take it anyway as we age - I am 82 - we tend to lose B12 which can cause all this pain and was told by a professional that your body pees out what it doesn't need with glowing yellow. Don't give up - anyway, am happy now. I couldn't live like a pin cushion all the time. There is something besides Lyrica or gabapentin - Lyrica at its lowest dose made my fatigue so bad I couldn't walk to the car.

@ray666 Ray, I have to say that there is a lot of confusion with regard to knee surgery. We have similar symptoms with poor balance which could produce an occasional fall. And that is exactly what two surgeons said to me as to the reason they refuse to do surgery. I'm bone on bone left and right which as you know can produce high levels of pain impacting walking and I'd have to think balance. IF I had the option, I'd be on the fence as well. My next step will likely be consulting with my primary for a pain management doctor. Ibuprofen 600 and 800 mg not working anymore. Other than knee issues and PN, so far, I'm in good health. If unsure, perhaps staying on the course you're on for now would be a good idea keeping in mind that all surgeries carry an element of risk. All. Ed

@dbeshears1 Hi Deb - wow, that word "might" would kind of make me take two steps backwards and drill down on the odds a little. I guess my question would be that if the Gaba is working and there are no side effects, why gamble? And you're right, it's up to us to find that right balance since we know best what works for us.

Hi, Ed (@njed)

You're right, there is a lot of confusion concerning knee surgery. You've reminded me you’re bone-on-bone in both knees. That has got to be painful. I think you know my right knee is already a TKT, but it was done 20 years ago when I was 20 years younger, had Mell to help, and hadn't yet developed my PN balance issues. As I recall, the procedure and my recovery both went well.

Of course, "fond memories" of an earlier TKR only darken my dilemma over what to do now.

Oh, I almost forgot: that sepsis infection I had two years ago. The statistical rate of re-infection, even under the most sterile of clinical conditions, is disturbingly high.

I think your advice is sound, Ed: stay the course. Get that next cortisone shot. Keep up with the PT. If there's no guaranteed right road to follow, stay on the road you're on; you can always switch roads later (if the doc is still game to do another TKR) and, at a later date, if switching roads makes sense.

Onward, onward, ever onward! (Don't forget your cane, Ray.)

All my best to you, Ed.
Ray (@ray666)

@ray666 you mentioned cortisone injection. My sister used "durolane" injection, (not a steroid) . It lasted about 6 months which allowed her to continue hiking, and then she had another shot. I believe she said it was also good for the knee, unlike cortisone.