Gel (visc) injections for arthiritis in knees

Yes I had the injections last November. I had them in both knees and the right knee is doing great. I've had problems off and on with the left one but I had more problems to begin with on that knee. I was told they would last about a year. I will do it again when the time comes. The secret is to continue with the therapy exercises they give you--do them at least 2 times a week. Good luck!

Thank you for the info ... how many injections did you have in each knee? How serious was the problem and what had you tried before?

I WAS TOLD 3 YEARS AGO THAT BOTH OF MY KNEES NEED TO BE REPLACED. SINCE MY HIPS WERE IN WORSE CONDITION, I OPTED TO HAVE THAT REPLACED FIRST AND WAS GIVEN SYNVISC INJECTIONS IN MY KNEES. THEY ARE GREAT! UNTILL IT IS TIME FOR MY NEXT SHOTS (ABOUT 8 MONTHS) I CANT EVEN BELIEV E THEY NEED TO BE REPLACED.

Did you have the Synvisc one injections? I am not a candidate for knee replacement I am in excruciating pain between pain mgmt. injections every three months. I recently was informed of the Synvisc One injection by a friend her mother takes them and highly recommends them. Thank you!

Hi @terrietime4, Welcome to Connect. Sorry to hear you are having severe pain with your knee. I had several cortizone injections prior to getting my right knee replaced. I did ask about the Synvisc injection but was told at the time it wouldn't help me. There is a newer discussion you may want to read through and see what other members have shared.

-- Alternatives to knee replacements: https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/alternatives-to-knee-replacements/

I did find some information that may answer questions you might have.
-- What to expect when getting a Synvisc-One injection: https://www.synviscone.com/treatment-with-synvisc-one

You mentioned you are not a candidate for a knee replacement. Were you told why you were not a candidate?

General comment: I had a torn meniscus, arthritis pain, and floating cartilage in my right knee with progressively worsening pain that made it hard to walk. Cortisone shots did not help. I had knee scope done in fall of 2017, not much improvement in spite of following all the PT exercises for about 6 to 7 months. Tried the synvisc series of 5 injections spaced a few weeks apart, got very temporary 15 to 20% relief. Finally had TKR done fall of 2018. “Normal” recovery and pain levels, end result a mostly pain free, very flexible, strong, knee that lets me do 85% of what I want/need. No jogging, no singles tennis on hard courts, no downhill hiking (uphill is ok... haven’t found a trail with down elevator yet), no kneeling (pain, not forbidden). All in all, it turned out well for me.

Thank you for sharing your experience with Synvisc, I was told I was not a candidate for the injections due to the loss of cartilage, so I have been (literally) limping along waiting for the pain to be bad enough to convince me to have another ortho surgery.
Sue

Hi Everyone,
I am suffering since a slip and fall on ice in 2018 where I broke both knee caps. Prior to this fall, my knees were fine. I have had tons of physical therapy over the years. On march 7 of this year I had a clean out of the left knee which had developed a bakers cyst. Now both knees are causing such grave pain I cant stand it. Nothing seems to help. I was now offered Visco Gel Injections. I would like to know your experiences with the gel shots. Thanks in advance

ok

I had one gel injection (sorry, don’t know what kind). It did not help me.