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Hello @howardk,
Thank you for starting a conversation on ankle & knee arthritis. I have some personal experience with these ailments as well. I have had my right knee replaced due to end-stage arthritis and have end-stage arthritis in both of my ankles as well. I have now had my left ankle fused and am postponing doing that with my right ankle as long as I can hold on.
I tried many things over the years. Ankle braces were about the only thing that kind of helped. I also tried Celebrex but didn't see any results from that and ultimately decided to discontinue it. Have you discussed custom ankle braces with your medical provider? There are prosthetics out there that will make custom molds of your ankle and custom fit braces, they help stabilize your ankles and it can help with taking some of the pressure off of your ankles when you are active. I also have hemophilia, meaning my blood does not clot on its own, so I also cannot take ibuprofen. I take tylenol when the pain is really bad, but as you may know tylenol's power is limited. I've learned the best thing for me is listening to my body when the joints are feeling inflamed and to take multiple breaks, and at the end of the day to elevate the joints and ice them.
@howardk, if you don't mind sharing a bit more, what options have been discussed with you? Have you thought about asking about custom braces? Are you also looking at joint surgeries or is your arthritis not yet to that stage?
Replies to "Hello @howardk, Thank you for starting a conversation on ankle & knee arthritis. I have some..."
I am beginning to feel foot paid that I think is due to arthritis which I have in my knees. Anyone had experience with this?
Justin, I know you wrote this long ago but I've been thinking about my own arthritis lately, started looking through discussions. I had bilateral spontaneous Achilles tendon ruptures in December from the antibiotic Levofloxacin. I've been wearing boots since the first of 2024, doctor doing the non surgical treatment before moving to surgery. I'm due to have a right knee replacement and a left sub talar joint fusion when I recover from my current catastrophe. At the same time as the ruptures I found I had a DVT in my left leg, so I had to stop Meloxicam to start Elequis. Now the OA in numerous joints is hurting, especially my hands.
All that to ask about custom ankle braces. Do they completely immobilize the ankle so an Achilles tendon can heal? A few years ago I had an internal brace put in my left ankle because I kept rolling it. Everything was torn up. Unfortunately the surgeon didn't notice the sub talar joint, so it went untreated. I get cortisone injections to get me through until I can have surgery. But a good brace might reduce the frequency of the shots in the meantime.
With severe burning neuropathy pain in my feet and ankles anything that has contact with my skin makes the pain worse. A soft OTC ankle brace is out of the question.
And then there's the question of footwear. Have you heard of anything that protects arthritic ankles? And one more thing, have you heard of or found anything that treats arthritis in hands? I put Diclofenac cream on them, which is a short term help. I hope not to have to take Elequis for more than 3 months, so I can get back to Meloxicam (which my doctor prescribed reluctantly because I had bleeding stomach ulcers ten years ago).
I know - a lot of questions. Sorry.
Jim Dickinson
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I am seeing my internist on Monday October 30 to review my current knee X-rays . I will update this reply later that week. Thank you for the suggestions.